The underground reaches the Carmel

By Denis Timotei Savu

Since July 2010 line 5 of Barcelona’s underground railway has arrived in the neighbourhoods of the Carmel, El Coll and La Teixonera. It was a historical moment for the residents, who now have the city centre in easy reach. These new stations connecting up with the northern part of the city will be used by up to 30,000 people every day.

On the day of the opening ceremony the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Mayor of Barcelona visited the underground and paid homage to the residents’ movement whose campaigns made possible the existence of these new underground stations.

Raimon Panikkar

Raimon Panikkar

By Alex Font

Raimon Panikkar was a Spanish philosopher and theologian. He was born in Barcelona in 1918 and died in Tavertet in 2010.

He was the son of an Indian father and a Catalan mother, and always felt both Indian and Spanish. He studied chemistry, philosophy and Catholic theology. In 1946 he was ordained a Catholic priest. Panikkar was a member of the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei.

He taught in universities in Spain, India and the United States. All his life he worked to achieve inter-religious dialogue. He criticized Western countries because they tried to impose their views on the way poor countries should develop.

He wrote more than 40 books and 900 articles. In 1961 he was awarded Spain's National Literature prize.

Accident on the Pendulum

By Xènia Nogué

In July 2010 a 15-year-old girl died as the result of an accident that occurred in the Tibidabo Amusement Park. Four teenagers, three girls and one boy, aged between 12 and 14, were on the Pendulum ride. One girl died, and another was seriously injured. The other girl and the boy were practically unharmed.

How did it happen?

Three hours before the accident, the maintenance service stopped the ride because they thought that something was wrong. They did not find any problem, however, so they reopened the ride. Two hours later the Pendulum failed while these four teenagers were on the ride. It fell on to another ride called "La mina d'or". It was fortunate that no more people were harmed. The emergency service arrived at the site of the accident 20 minutes after it happened. They did all they could to rescue the teenagers but it took three hours to get to the girl who later died. Although she arrived alive at the hospital, she eventually passed away. The most seriously injured girl had to stay in hospital for three months.

What is going to happen now?

When the experts and staff discover what really caused the accident they will set up a family recreation area.

The Mayor, Jordi Hereu, said that he is going to do everything he can to prevent such an accident from ever happening again.

Apple first shop in Spain

Apple first shop in Spain

By Laia Esquerrà

There's a phenomenon which hasn't been studied. The passion for Apple. A day before the Apple Store in Barcelona opened there were people already waiting. Some of them even saw how they did the last arrangements in the shop. They organized themselves because the most important thing wasn't getting out of the shop with something or being the first to get in. It was being part of the event.

The Apple Store in Barcelona, in La Maquinista, is the biggest in a shopping mall so far. In this store they also do every kind of activities. They teach kids to play music and make videos and they do courses of every programme that Apple has. The first 1.500 purchasers got as gift an Apple t-shirt.

Apple has promised opening at least 10 Apple Stores in Spain in the next years but they also said that it isn't easy to find the right place for it. The second shop was opened in Madrid.