ICL Signs Strategic Agreement with Dynanonic to Produce Lithium Iron Phosphate for European Battery Market with an initial investment of approximately €285 million site is currently in planning stages and will substantially expand the company’s battery materials business The project demonstrates ICL’s commitment to developing high-quality solutions for a sustainable supply chain and represents a significant step forward for the company’s battery materials portfolio Phil Brown president of the Phosphate Solutions Division of ICL existing upstream position in specialty phosphates globally and leverages the strengths of Dynanonic to develop a significant new market for growth as LFP is a critical solution for the future of Europe’s energy transition ICL is excited about this potential investment in Spain and we are extremely enthusiastic about collaborating with Dynanonic – a valued and long-term partner.” This JV aligns with Dynanonic and ICL’s goals and leverages each of our strengths as we seek to jointly benefit from the development of the lithium-ion battery industry in Europe “Establishing the project in Spain expands our presence in the European market and supporting our vision of becoming a leading global provider of new energy material solutions.” Isaac Chan, a partner in Roland Berger’s automotive practice Automotive OEMs are increasing their usage of LFP to improve the economic competitiveness of EVs in Europe the LFP share of lithium-ion batteries will more than double to reach 35% by 2030.” engineering and permits for the JV site in Sallent where ICL previously operated a potash production site are expected to be followed by construction and subsequent operations ICL is pleased to repurpose this location and to revitalize the roughly 25 acres of available land as it takes leadership in bringing mass production of LFP to the EU via Spain The location has an option for further expansion and is approximately 60 miles from the Port of Barcelona and is also in good proximity to planned LFP battery plants in Europe The JV agreement is subject to material conditions precedent final investment estimates and regulatory approvals ICL’s share in the facility in Spain will be 80% READ the latest Batteries News shaping the battery market ICL Signs Strategic Agreement with Dynanonic to Produce Lithium Iron Phosphate for European Battery Market, source XING Mobility Launches BBx48: Industry-First Immersion-Cooled BBU That Rewrites the Rules of Data Center Backup Power TAIPEI 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — XING Mobility Fontaine Modification Leads Supplier Consortium to Develop and Deploy Fuel Cell – Battery Electric Class 6 Truck CHARLOTTE 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fontaine Modification is leading a.. 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We love meeting interesting people and making new friends. has provisionally suspended two of the three officers arrested for helping Carles Puigdemont flee Barcelona on August 8 It was initially reported that all three had been suspended but interior minister Núria Parlon has clarified that the third officer is on leave and the suspension procedure cannot be started yet The officers have been suspended from their duties without pay the three officers were released after testifying before a judge One of the afents is the owner of the car that Puigdemont used to flee from the area of Arc de Triomf and another gave him protection in his brief public appearance saying they did not deserve to wear the uniform of the Mossos Puigdemont made a brief return to Catalonia for the first time in seven years on the morning of Salvador Illa's investiture debate on August 8 and then quickly left the country again.  There is still an active warrant out for his arrest for his role in organizing the 2017 independence referendum and it was expected that the police would arrest the former Catalan president that day.  Instead, Puigdemont is already back in Belgium In his first official public event since taking office, Salvador Illa visited the headquarters of the Mossos d'Esquadra to show his support for the police force.  Get the day's biggest stories right to your phone v1.1.0. Copyright © 2025. Powered by EBANTIC. All rights reserved. The search for former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in Catalonia continues despite information that he has already left Spain.  said he "does not rule out" that Puigdemont is still in Barcelona.  This morning, both Puigdemont's lawyer and his right-hand man, Jordi Turull, said he was already out of the country on his way to Belgium But Sallent accused them of "spreading misinformation" adding that the Mossos cannot believe information from someone who helped Puigdemont escape Carles Puigdemont returned to Barcelona on Thursday for the first time since he left after organizing the 2017 independence referendum for which he is still wanted by authorities The pro-independence leader spoke at a welcome reception in Barcelona ahead of the presidential investiture debate in Parliament and then disappeared. To find him, Catalan police had activated 'operació Gàbia', a special operation in which they close off the area in search of someone they want to arrest. Despite hours of checkpoints on Catalan roads and borders, causing hours of traffic jams, the police failed to find him. The Catalan police chief said that "everything was prepared to arrest Puigdemont," but that they prioritized public order and the protection of the parliament for the celebration of the presidential investiture debate. "We did not make a fool of ourselves. The Mossos were up to the task," Sallent said. Sallent also criticized the two Mossos agents accused of helping Puigdemont escape, saying that "they do not deserve to wear the Mossos uniform." Catalan acting interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena accused Puigdemont of trying to "sabotage" the presidential investiture debate. “The Catalan police did not expect such inappropriate behavior from what was once the highest authority of this country,” Elena said. The interior ministry head also criticized the "unfair and false attacks" against the Mossos and urged to "exclude them from the political debate." Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has requested reports from the Mossos and the interior ministry on the police operation to detain Puigdemont. The judge wants to understand the factors that led to the "failure" of the operation from a technical and police perspective. In a request addressed to the Interior Ministry, the judge asks for details of the operation that was initially approved and arranged for the detection and arrest of Puigdemont at the border, as well as the subsequent orders issued on Thursday for his detection and arrest after his escape. Therefore, he asks the Mossos and the Ministry of the Interior who was responsible for the design of the operation, who approved it and who was in charge of its execution or deployment. Volume 17 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2023.1152248 This article is part of the Research TopicNew Insights Into Schizophrenia-Related Neural and Behavioral PhenotypesView all 12 articles N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction is a pathophysiological mechanism relevant for schizophrenia Acute administration of the NMDAR antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) induces psychosis in patients and animals while subchronic PCP (sPCP) produces cognitive dysfunction for weeks We investigated the neural correlates of memory and auditory impairments in mice treated with sPCP and the rescuing abilities of the atypical antipsychotic drug risperidone administered daily for two weeks We recorded neural activities in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) during memory acquisition and long-term memory in the novel object recognition test and during auditory processing and mismatch negativity (MMN) and examined the effects of sPCP and sPCP followed by risperidone We found that the information about the familiar object and its short-term storage were associated with mPFC→dHPC high gamma connectivity (phase slope index) whereas long-term memory retrieval depended on dHPC→mPFC theta connectivity sPCP impaired short-term and long-term memories which were associated with increased theta power in the mPFC decreased gamma power and theta-gamma coupling in the dHPC Risperidone rescued the memory deficits and partly restored hippocampal desynchronization but did not ameliorate mPFC and circuit connectivity alterations sPCP also impaired auditory processing and its neural correlates (evoked potentials and MMN) in the mPFC which were also partly rescued by risperidone Our study suggests that the mPFC and the dHPC disconnect during NMDAR hypofunction possibly underlying cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and that risperidone targets this circuit to ameliorate cognitive abilities in patients a comprehensive neurophysiological characterization of prefrontal-hippocampal circuits following sPCP treatment is missing we investigated the neural correlates of memory and auditory deficits in the sPCP model of schizophrenia and their rescue by chronic risperidone experimental conditions closer to the clinical settings Experiments were performed in C57BL/6J male mice (n = 51) that were 2–3 months old at the start of the experiments Mice were housed under conditions of controlled temperature (23 ± 1°C) and illumination (12 hours light/dark cycle) All procedures were authorized by the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) Animal Research Ethics Committee and the local government Electrodes with tips outside the targeted areas were discarded from data analyses (D) Number and mean duration of visits to familiar and novel objects during the STM and LTM tests mice visited both objects evenly by increasing the number of visits to familiar objects reflecting poor recognition memory (F(1,13) = 15.12 (E) The duration of the visits decreased within a session as the mice became less interested in the objects ([baseline STM 0.0006; one-way repeated measures ANOVA with novel and familiar objects combined) A sharp decrease in duration occurred during the first 5 visits to both objects in the two tests and this was more pronounced for novel objects (first 5 visits to novel objects vs These behaviors were not overtly disrupted by sPCP or risperidone Low mobility was determined by a defined threshold in the output of the accelerometer signals and normal movement was defined as above that threshold The animals typically rested for brief periods between 2 and 10 consecutive seconds The exact number of visits used for each analysis was the following: [Familiarization phase] All conditions and objects combined late: 4.73 ± 0.14; [3 min test] Novel objects 3.24 ± 0.2; BAS: 3.07 ± 0.25 4.29 ± 0.13; BAS: 4.5 ± 0.16 RIS: 4.29 ± 0.36; [24 h test] Novel objects 3.83 ± 0.12; BAS: 3.84 ± 0.21 4.47 ± 0.1; BAS: 4.47 ± 0.15 We also note that we needed to concatenate more visits when they were short to reach five seconds Tones lasted 10 ms and were presented with 500 ms intertrial intervals The protocol consisted in the presentation of 1,000 tones All the recordings were implemented with the multi-channel Open Ephys system at 0.1–6,000 Hz and a sampling rate of 30 kHz Recorded signals from each electrode were filtered offline to extract local field potentials (LFPs) and multi-unit activity (MUA) PPC was determined using the phases of spikes from MUA in 25 s epochs only considering epochs with at least 250 spikes Neural substrates of memory acquisition and effects of sPCP and risperidone (A) Power spectra showing the effects of sPCP and risperidone in the mPFC and the dHPC during the familiarization phase Vertical dashed lines mark the first second upon initiation of the visits (B) Prefrontal theta power increased in healthy animals during the late visits to the objects sPCP increased non-specifically theta power in the mPFC (baseline vs p = 0.021; mixed ANOVA with time of visits (early vs sPCP) as factors) and reduced theta and high gamma power in the HPC (baseline vs disrupting the normal neural dynamics of memory acquisition Risperidone did not rescue these power changes (C,D) Intrinsic dHPC theta-gamma coupling (7–10 Hz with 60–80 Hz) did not change with memory acquisition sPCP disrupted theta-gamma coordination that was partially rescued by risperidone ([l-PAC] F(1,12) = 37.68 p < 0.0005; mixed ANOVAs as above; differences with sPCP-SAL controls: F(1,22) = 6.31 p = 0.02; mixed ANOVA with time of visits (early vs Similar results were obtained for inter-regional theta-gamma coupling ([ir-PAC] F(1,12) = 41.09 p < 0.0005; data not shown; differences with sPCP-SAL controls: F(1,22) = 4.62 mPFC→dHPC high gamma signals tended to occur during the late visits to the objects (PSI vs p = 0.069; paired t-student; marked with an arrow) sPCP disrupted these flows of information (baseline vs p = 0.49) that were not restored by risperidone (PSI vs (F) Proposed neural mechanism for memory acquisition and effects of sPCP and risperidone in orange sPCP-induced deviations ameliorated by risperidone Neural substrates of short-term memory and effects of sPCP and risperidone (A) Power spectra in the mPFC and the dHPC during the 3-minute memory test and effects of sPCP and risperidone (B) Theta and high gamma oscillations were similar during the visits to familiar and novel objects in both regions sPCP increased theta power in the mPFC non-specifically interfering with the normal theta dynamics (F(1,7) = 8.26 p = 0.024; mixed ANOVA with object (familiar vs sPCP also reduced dHPC high gamma power (F(1,12) = 8.37 p = 0.023; differences with sPCP-SAL controls: F(1,20) = 6.44 p = 0.022; mixed ANOVA with object (familiar vs sPCP) as factors) that were partially rescued by risperidone (C,D) Intrinsic hippocampal theta-gamma coupling (7–10 Hz with 60–80 Hz) was similar during visits to familiar and novel objects sPCP disrupted theta-gamma coordination that was partially rescued by risperidone ([l-PAC] F(1,12) = 10.36 p < 0.009; differences with sPCP-SAL controls; F(1,22) = 19.13 p = < 0.0005; mixed ANOVAs as above) Similar results were obtained for inter-regional theta-gamma coupling ([ir-PAC] F(1,12) = 16.38 data not shown; differences with sPCP-SAL controls: F(1,22) = 17.5 mPFC→dHPC high gamma signals were detected during the visits to the familiar objects (PSI vs sPCP disrupted this flow of information (baseline vs p = 0.19) that was not restored by risperidone (PSI vs (F) mPFC→dHPC PSI at high gamma frequencies during the visits to familiar objects correlated strongly with discrimination indices during baseline (R = 0.7 p = 0.43) or risperidone (R = –0.39 (G) Proposed neural mechanism for STM and effects of sPCP and risperidone Neural substrates of long-term memory and effects of sPCP and risperidone (A) Power spectra in the mPFC and the dHPC during the 24h memory test and effects of sPCP and risperidone (B) Power in the mPFC and the dHPC was similar during visits to familiar and novel objects sPCP reduced high gamma power in the dHPC non-specifically (F(1,12) = 15.33 p = 0.006; mixed ANOVA with object (familiar vs sPCP) as factors; differences with SAL controls p = 0.021; mixed ANOVA with object (familiar vs risperidone partially rescued hippocampal gamma power sPCP disrupted theta-gamma coordination that was partially rescued by risperidone ([l-PAC] F(1,12) = 15.96 p < 0.003; differences with sPCP-SAL controls: F(1,22) = 6.31 Similar results were obtained for inter-regional theta-gamma coupling ([ir-PAC] F(1,12) = 33.19 p < 0.0005; differences with sPCP-SAL controls: F(1,22) = 5.97 dHPC→mPFC theta signals were detected during the visits to the familiar objects (PSI vs p = 0.94) that was not rescued by risperidone (PSI vs shuffle (F) dHPC→mPFC PSI at theta frequencies during the visits to familiar objects correlated strongly with discrimination indices during baseline (R = –0.72 p = 0.17) or risperidone (R = –0.47 (G) Proposed neural mechanism for LTM and effects of sPCP and risperidone We finally investigated the effects of sPCP and risperidone on the neural substrates of auditory attention and processing. More specifically, we examined alterations in auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) and mismatch negativity (MMN), as both biomarkers are highly translational between patients and rodent models of schizophrenia (Amann et al., 2010; Nagai et al., 2013; Javitt and Sweet, 2015; Modi and Sahin, 2017) mice were placed in a cage surrounded by a sound enclosure with four speakers The animals were presented with standard auditory stimuli first and subsequently the oddball paradigm in 30-min sessions during baseline after sPCP and after risperidone treatments as above Only animals evaluated in the three experiments were included in the analyses Neural activities were recorded both in the mPFC and the dHPC but hippocampal responses were inconsistent and highly variable between animals therefore we only present data collected from the mPFC Neural substrates of auditory processing in the prelimbic cortex and effects of sPCP and risperidone (B) Ratio of AEP responses detected in the PFC after the auditory stimuli The ratio decreased in sPCP-treated animals ([baseline vs respectively) and was partially recovered by risperidone (C) Mean AEP and corresponding spiking activity (multi-unit firing rates) at three different timescales P2 (40-70 ms) was associated with less spiking activity after sPCP ([baseline vs whereas P3 (200–300 ms) was reduced in amplitude and spiking activity ([baseline vs Risperidone increased the spiking activity associated within P2 with respect to sPCP (F(2,10) = 2.49 p = 0.076; one-way repeated measures ANOVA) and augmented the amplitude and spiking activity associated with P3 component ([amplitude (D) Protocol used for the oddball paradigm to assess mismatch negativity (MMN) (E) MMN was detected during the presentation of the 6-8 KHz target-frequent combination (left) but not the 8–6 kHz combination (right) Shown is the subtraction of target-frequent responses MMN was absent in the sPCP-treated group (baseline vs paired t-test) and not restored by risperidone Vertical dashed lines mark the start and end of tone presentation and auditory processing in mice that were partially rescued by risperidone administered daily for two weeks The behavioral deficits were accompanied by disrupted dHPC-mPFC neural dynamics that attenuated after risperidone These findings suggest that risperidone may target this circuit to elicit its beneficial actions on cognitive abilities in patients with schizophrenia our findings on sPCP- and risperidone-produced alterations of AEPs and MMN are highly translational and relevant to human studies sPCP impaired recognition memory that was associated with increased mPFC Risperidone rescued the memory deficits and attenuated hippocampal desynchronization but did not ameliorate mPFC and circuit connectivity alterations sPCP also impaired auditory attention and its neural correlates in the mPFC which were also ameliorated by risperidone The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors All procedures were conducted in compliance with EU directive 2010/63/EU and Spanish guidelines (Laws 32/2007 6/2013 and Real Decreto 53/2013) and were authorized by the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) Animal Research Ethics Committee and the local government and MVP contributed to conception and design of the study and wrote the final version of the manuscript CD-S and MVP wrote the first draft of the manuscript All authors contributed to manuscript revision This study was financed by grants SAF2016-80726-R and PID2019-104683RB-I00 to MVP funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF “A way of making Europe” CD-S was supported by a FI AGAUR predoctoral fellowship from the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya grant number 2018 FI_B_00112) Fath for scientific insight into this study and Patricia Ruiz for administrative support The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2023.1152248/full#supplementary-material Sub-chronic psychotomimetic phencyclidine induces deficits in reversal learning and alterations in parvalbumin-immunoreactive expression in the rat Alemany-González Prefrontal-hippocampal functional connectivity encodes recognition memory and is impaired in intellectual disability Alemany-González Postnatal environmental enrichment enhances memory through distinct neural mechanisms in healthy and trisomic female mice Mouse behavioral endophenotypes for schizophrenia The effect of antipsychotics on the cognitive performanc of individuals with psychotic disorders: network meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials NMDA receptor antagonist rodent models for cognition in schizophrenia and identification of novel drug treatments Ketamine alters oscillatory coupling in the hippocampus A critical role for NMDA receptors in parvalbumin interneurons for gamma rhythm induction and behavior Castañé PCP-based mice models of schizophrenia: differential behavioral neurochemical and cellular effects of acute and subchronic treatments Neuronal circuitry for recognition memory of object and place in rodent models Delgado-Sallent antipsychotic drugs reduce hypersynchronized prefrontal- hippocampal circuits during psychosis-like states in mice: contribution of 5-HT2A and 5-HT1A receptors N-methyl-d-aspartic acid receptor antagonist-induced frequency oscillations in mice recreate pattern of electrophysiological deficits in schizophrenia Deviance-elicited changes in event-related potentials are attenuated by ketamine in mice Hippocampus: cognitive processes and neural representations that underlie declarative memory PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Physiological correlates of positive symptoms in schizophrenia 5-HT2A and dopamine D2 receptors strongly influence prefronto-hippocampal neural networks in alert mice: contribution to the actions of risperidone Atypical antipsychotics attenuate a sub-chronic PCP-induced cognitive deficit in the novel object recognition task in the rat Rigor and reproducibility in rodent behavioral research Network asynchrony underlying increased broadband gamma power Interactive effects of an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist and a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist on mismatch negativity: implications for schizophrenia Mismatch negativity but not P300 is associated with functional disability in schizophrenia Auditory and visual oddball stimulus processing deficits in schizophrenia and the psychosis risk syndrome: forecasting psychosis risk with P300 Cognitive and psychomotor effects of risperidone in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder Auditory dysfunction in schizophrenia: integrating clinical and basic features Pre-frontal parvalbumin interneurons in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of post-mortem studies Hippocampal interneurons are abnormal in schizophrenia NMDA receptor ablation on parvalbumin-positive interneurons impairs hippocampal synchrony Reduced auditory mismatch negativity reflects impaired deviance detection in schizophrenia Surrogate data for hypothesis testing of physical systems CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar NMDAR hypofunction animal models of schizophrenia PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Cortical inhibitory neurons and schizophrenia The role of serotonin in the NMDA receptor antagonist models of psychosis and cognitive impairment Translational use of event-related potentials to assess circuit integrity in ASD Medial 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Chronic ketamine produces altered distribution of parvalbumin-positive cells in the hippocampus of adult rats Neural circuit dysfunction in schizophrenia: insights from animal models PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Hippocampal-prefrontal interactions in cognition Object/context specific memory deficits following medial frontal cortex damage in mice Takehara-Nishiuchi Prefrontal-hippocampal interaction during the encoding of new memories Theta-gamma coupling increases during the learning of item-context associations The utility of P300 as a schizophrenia endophenotype and predictive biomarker: clinical and socio-demographic modulators in COGS-2 Abnormal neural oscillations and synchrony in schizophrenia Effects of risperidone on auditory event-related potentials in schizophrenia CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar An improved index of phase-synchronization for electrophysiological data in the presence of volume-conduction Hippocampus–prefrontal coupling regulates recognition memory for novelty discrimination Aberrant auditory steady-state response of awake mice after single application of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 into the medial geniculate body Neural circuitry for rat recognition memory PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Zorrilla de San Martín Alterations of specific cortical GABAergic circuits underlie abnormal network activity in a mouse model of down syndrome López-Cabezón C and Puig MV (2023) Neural substrates of cognitive impairment in a NMDAR hypofunction mouse model of schizophrenia and partial rescue by risperidone Copyright © 2023 Delgado-Sallent, Gener, Nebot, López-Cabezón and Puig. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: M. Victoria Puig, dmlja3lwdWlnLmJjbkBnbWFpbC5jb20= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish and peacebuilding activities; women’s involvement in peace and security; and efforts by individuals and governments to finally ‘Silence the Guns’ in Africa More from In the Spotlight: The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent Emma Sallent, professor from the Department of Fundamental Physics of the UB, was appointed president of the Catalan Society for the History of Science and Technology (SCHCT), affiliated with the Institute for Catalan Studies (IEC). Sallent succeeds Mònica Rius professor from the Department of Semitic Languages who was elected president of SCHCT in 2009 Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Volunteer group rehearsed ahead of open-air performance two days later I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice At least 30 out of 41 members of a gospel choir in Spain have contracted Covid-19 after they rehearsed indoors in a space with little air circulation, the chorus and local authorities have said. The River Troupe Gospel, a volunteer group, rehearsed on 11 September ahead of an open-air performance two days later for a local festival in Sallent, a town in the province of Barcelona. It was their first public show since the beginning of the pandemic. One member of the chorus tested positive following the performance on 13 September, forcing more than 40 other members and their close contacts into isolation, the chorus said. Since then, at least 30 singers have tested positive, the Sallent municipal government said. Although the chorus claims it complied with most health safety measures, including temperature checks on arrival, hand washing, social distancing and masks on for most of the rehearsal, the venues windows were closed to avoid moths and mosquitoes. The group said it had switched on air conditioning to fight the heat. It is not known if any of the singers’ relatives have also been infected. Experts have warned that in certain circumstances, such as during medical procedures or when people are in close indoor spaces while singing or shouting, coronavirus can spread in the air. Choir practices in the US have been identified as a super spreading event in which hundreds of people later came down with the virus. The Sallent town hall believes there was no risk of infection during the 13 September performance following the rehearsal because it was outdoors with required safety measures. It comes as Spain continues to battle a second wave of the coronavirus. The country has a confirmed death toll of over 31,000. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Three young geologists were killed in a potash mine collapse in the Spanish province of Barcelona on Thursday told reporters that the victims were all around 30 or younger and the government will open an investigation to determine the cause of the “tragic accident.” Catalan firefighters rushed to the scene early morning after they said a landslide occurred inside the mine at a depth of 900 meters (2953 feet) After a complicated rescue mission that took several hours In a now deleted tweet from before the victims were confirmed the dean of The Technical University of Catalonia in Manresa said two of the victims were in the process of earning their master’s degrees The Suria mine is one of the two potash mines in Spain is located nearby and is operated by the same company — ICL Iberia Suria & Sallent (IBP) was acquired by the Israeli ICL Group in the early 2000s ICL Iberia produces all of Spain’s potash exporting 80% of its production to countries in the EU two miners died after the same mine collapsed A mine safety employee who identified himself as Carlos told reporters on the scene that the mine gallery that collapsed was relatively new He added that one of the geologists was an intern but the other two had been at the company for a while “It could have been any of us,” he said explaining that they died carrying out routine tasks The Israeli minerals group ICL and the Chinese battery material manufacturer Shenzhen Dynanonic are setting up a joint venture for the production of LFP cathode material in Europe The initial investment amounts to around 285 million euros The joint venture plans to build a new production facility at the existing ICL site in Sallent The plant is currently in the planning phase and is intended to significantly expand the company’s battery materials business lithium iron phosphate (LFP) is a perfect fit for ICL’s portfolio “This expansion builds on our strong to develop a significant new market for growth,” said Phil Brown President of ICL’s Phosphate Solutions Division “The time is right to make this move and we are extremely enthusiastic about collaborating with Dynanonic – a valued and long-term partner.” “This JV aligns with Dynanonic and ICL’s goals and leverages each of our strengths as we seek to jointly benefit from the development of the lithium-ion battery industry in Europe,” said WangBao Ren “Establishing the project in Spain expands our presence in the European market and supporting our vision of becoming a leading global provider of new energy material solutions.” The project is also likely to be subsidised the Catalonian regional government is very positive about it emphasised that the Catalan government is delighted with this announcement: “We have accompanied these conversations We are very satisfied by an announcement that implies a strong investment in Catalonia which will lead to the direct and indirect creation of quality jobs.” Minister Sàmper added that this project “places Catalonia in the objective of sovereignty in the production of strategic materials driving the value chain of electric mobility.” He also announced that he would be travelling to China in the coming months to continue this support According to management consultancy Roland Berger the proportion of LFP in lithium-ion batteries is set to more than double to 35 per cent in Europe by 2030 “Automotive OEMs are increasing their usage of LFP to improve the economic competitiveness of EVs,” says Isaac Chan Partner in the Automotive division at Roland Berger icl-group.com, catalonia.com I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013 we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology The parents of the Sallent twins case have broken their silence on the matter through a letter published in the newspaper La Vanguardia on Friday.  In late February, one 12-year-old died by suicide after jumping from a third-story balcony after reportedly being bullied on racist and transphobic grounds, while their twin sister was critically injured but remains in stable condition, with hopes of recovery, after the pair jumped together.  The child who died by suicide had reportedly expressed the desire in school to be called "Iván" instead of "Alana."  The parents explained in the letter how they appreciated the efforts of those who are helping them at this moment, but they also denounced false information reported in the media about the case.  "This avalanche of media, assuming facts that do not conform to reality, can cause uncomfortable situations: generating more pain for the family; contaminating the investigation carried out by the police and, finally, politicizing the tragedy," the letter reads.  They also finished the letter with a message in full capital letters: "NO SE LLAMABA IVÁN. SE LLAMABA ALANA." ("THEIR NAME WAS NOT IVÁN. THEIR NAME WAS ALANA.") Authorities are investigating the circumstances following the death, and Catalan police do not rule out that the children were bullied on racist and transphobic grounds. Education department sources initially ruled out that there was evidence of bullying, but hours later changed their stance on this.  The letter also pointed out that the family will publish a press release when the time is right for them to do so.  The grandfather of the twins, Gustavo Lima, assured that letters confirmed the 'bullying' they suffered at school. Speaking to the Argentine channel A24, Gustavo said that one of the twins explained that they were bullied in school for both their Argentine accent and for requesting that their classmates call them 'Iván' instead of 'Alana' as they intended to transition gender.  However, despite the parents writing that their child's name was Alana, the female name given to her by her parents as opposed to Iván, the name they wanted to be referred to by, La Vanguardia report that the grandparents are certain that the twins' parents would have supported any decision to transition gender. However, according to the grandparents, the child never communicated their desire to change their name at home.  La Vanguardia also report that in the commemorative mass for the children, the parents chose to have the name Iván included in the mass card as a gesture of respect for the child's wishes.  The Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, admitted on Thursday that "every young person who takes their own life is a collective failure of society," and pointed out that "a lot more needs to be done" to prevent such tragedies from happening.  Aragonès added that the mental health of young people worries the executive and said that support has been increased in this field. Almost one in four 15- and 16-year-olds has thought of dying or going to sleep and not waking up at some point according to a survey led by Barcelona's regional authority (Diputació de Barcelona) After asking 25,000 students in the fourth year of secondary school during the current academic year the report has also found out that 12% of them has often such suicidal thoughts This is the first time that a question about suicide is included in the comprehensive survey the report had found that 53% of girls are in a negative state of mind and 51% suffer from anxiety after the pandemic – these figures are much lower for boys The differences in gender also include the perception of pornography as a source of learning about sexuality something that 36% of boys and 7% of girls believe Also according to prior surveys – full results for the latest one have not been disclosed – 40% of female teenagers say they have been victims of sexual abuse something that drops to 6% for their male classmates Recent surveys also show that 43% of girls are on a diet The figures on suicidal thoughts were published on Thursday, the same week as a 12-year-old died by suicide in the central Catalonia town of Sallent, near Manresa, after jumping from a third-story balcony. Their twin, who also jumped, is in critical condition but remains stable, with "hopes of recovery." After the incident, authorities said there was no evidence of bullying, but on Thursday the Mossos d'Esquadra police said they were not ruling out any hypothesis, including them having been bullied on racist or transphobic grounds. The Catalan education ministry does not rule out any reasons behind the events either now. The Unit of Support for Students suffering from Violence (USAV, in Catalan) is already looking into the case, as is the Catalan ombudsperson. Sallent's mayor, Oriol Ribalta, also changed his original rejection of bullying after having gathered further information. The twins, from Argentina, had a "complicated" environment and social services had provided them with assistance. That will change in the age of electric mobility Alpine’s ‘Dream Garage’ will comprise seven BEVs in its final configuration and we got to test it not only on normal roads but also on the racetrack our test car looks massive and has a rather sporty presence on the road The Renault origin is decidedly more visible in the interior than on the outside; the screens and operating concept are identical to the R5 The quality is what you would expect from Renault: Hard plastic and glossy surfaces go hand in hand At least everything is properly under-foamed There is even leather upholstery (or imitation leather) in key areas making the door panelling and dashboard feel surprisingly high-quality Several switches have been added to the steering wheel only the lumbar supports on the front seats are electrically adjustable; the rest must be operated manually While the seat bolsters at least offer some support the seat surface is definitely too flat and offers too little support especially when driving in a sporty manner The space in the rear of the car is not huge The flat floor gives the centre backseat a little more space The knees are too high and the hips too low but even Alpine can’t do magic if the external length is to remain under four metres There is enough room for the knees to the front and the feet can be placed comfortably under the raised front seat anyone shorter than 1.70 metres can comfortably sit in the backseat Speaking of small people: There are three Isofix connections it is significantly larger than you would expect in a small car The rear bench can be folded down in two parts (60:40) allowing for a maximum load volume of 1,106 litres and the number of storage options could generally be larger – the rear doors have no storage at all Alpine did the right thing and didn’t bother attempting to develop bumpy in-house creations instead opting for a working solution from Google is logically structured and allows you to use a wide range of apps from the Play Store Google Maps not only navigates reliably but the map can also be displayed prominently on the speedometer display even though it is almost unnecessary for an Android-based infotainment system Alpine is not entirely without software bugs: Spotify can only be set up when the car is stationary it does not know when the car is stationary When switching between the various speedometer displays the otherwise so smooth system unfortunately jolts at times The fact that the A290 is not simply the top-of-the-range variant of the Renault 5 but an independent model is emphasised by the numerous features in addition to the higher driving performance (130 kW in the basic version and 160 kW from the ‘GT Performance’ upwards) the typical Alpine large gear selector knobs in the centre console and sporty firm suspension (more on this in a moment) There is also an extra rotary switch for the recuperation levels the steering wheel button for more power has been copied from Porsche – at Alpine it is called ‘OV’ and is positioned in the upper part of the steering wheel The same power is available with a kick-down when you exceed a pressure point on the power pedal There is also a switch for driving modes and extensive software for analysing races with tips for a sportier driving style The artificial sound sounds a little exaggerated and brassy in Launch Control mode we quickly switched it off and enjoyed the peace and quiet there is no direct start; you still have to press the start/stop button before you can engage a gear the propulsion is more than sufficient for a car of this size Alpine emphasises at every opportunity that the A290 is the most powerful car in its class but the next most powerful competitors are not much bigger A Smart #1 is less than 30 centimetres longer thanks to all-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive always lacks a bit of punch; six seconds from zero to one hundred no longer knocks anyone’s socks off in the electric age the car shines with a great (albeit very hard) chassis and excellent manoeuvrability The less than 1.5 tonnes whizz nimbly around every corner and don’t push outwards as sluggishly as bigger electric cars That is particularly fun on winding mountain roads where the 218 electric horses are more than enough Alpine lets us out on the circuit at the end of the test drives to test the car’s racetrack suitability in addition to everyday driving especially with its low weight: little mass that pushes outwards makes driving in the bends really fun Together with the firm suspension and precise steering What Alpine gets out of the technical basis of a relatively simple compact car is impressive The A290 responds to every steering command without a murmur and even without the high-tech air suspension Two points spoil the racetrack fun somewhat: the brakes are good but could be tuned more precisely the ABS takes a second too long to regulate properly The little speedster quickly runs out of breath on the way up as there is not much ‘oomph’ above 100 kph Alpine has made a remarkable car out of the rather unsportsmanlike basis and has created a pleasant antithesis to the 2.5 – 3 tonne SUVs one important point is still missing for everyday driving: the assistance systems The adaptive cruise control does what it should as does the lane departure warning system – as long as you are driving on relatively straight motorways the little helpers quickly stumble; leaning back and letting the car do the work is impossible here But Alpine customers are unlikely to expect this as the A290 is not a chauffeur-driven vehicle but a fun car we leave the assistants deactivated and prefer to chase the car along the road manually The anti-slip control is quite a fun brake on winding mountain roads because it delays bold acceleration too long at the exit of a bend as there is a button right next to the steering wheel that switches off the electronic assistants Despite numerous adjustments to the chassis the underlying electrical technology remains essentially the same which means the battery is not overly large at 52 kWh the EV has a range of almost 400 kilometres – but in reality it will likely quickly shrink to half that or less with an Alpine-worthy driving style The charging capacity of just 100 kW is also not really suited to the speedy runabout and faster charging would have been all the more important to compensate for higher consumption there is a glimmer of hope here: when asked Alpine representatives confirmed that the platform could do much more a great deal is theoretically conceivable – but nothing is planned for now It would appear that Renault has succeeded in revitalising the Alpine brand In contrast to the many almost soulless electric cars of other brands the A290 captivates with its French charm so that one even wants to overlook the fact that acceleration and charging performance are not really ‘sporty.’ As a fun vehicle for amateur race car drivers Individualists could also get a taste for it you don’t see many Alpine vehicles on the roads outside France This could be your dream car if you want to stand out from the crowd the suspension is a bit too hard for an everyday or long-distance car it is quite moderate and relativises the weak points still has a reasonable base price of 44,700 euros So it seems quite possible that Alpine could make itself comfortable in the niche of affordable the former Attorney General of the Dominican Republic reacted to the cancellation of his and his family’s entry permits to the United States following public accusations of corruption Rodríguez asserted that the US State Department based its decision on information provided by the Dominican Attorney General’s Office and expressed confidence that the US would change its stance upon receiving “the other side of the coin.” Rodríguez along with his wife María Isabel Pérez Sallent and their two minor children faces this sanction due to allegations of significant corruption during his tenure as Attorney General from 2016-2020 He criticized the action against his family stating he is accustomed to personal persecution but not against his family members The Public Ministry (MP) of the Dominican Republic regards […] Local December 13 Rodríguez asserted that the US State Department based its decision on information provided by the Dominican Attorney General’s Office and expressed confidence that the US would change its stance upon receiving “the other side of the coin.” The Public Ministry (MP) of the Dominican Republic regards the US sanction as a recognition of the strength and evidence supporting the accusation against Rodríguez the Litigation Coordinator of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) clarified that the MP has no influence over decisions of another state like the US She emphasized that the evidence led to the US’s decision indicating the robustness of the charges in the Medusa case Among the allegations against Rodríguez is his involvement in the irregular process for constructing the La Nueva Victoria prison which remains non-operational despite being inaugurated over three years ago Judge Amauri Martínez of the Third Investigative Court has postponed the trial until the following Friday marking the third consecutive postponement due to legal challenges in the defense of one of the accused Judge Martínez is set to review Rodríguez’s house arrest terms as Rodríguez seeks conditional freedom without an electronic shackle The former Attorney General initially served an 18-month prison sentence at the Najayo-Hombres Correction and Rehabilitation Center highlighting the complexity and scale of the allegations Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Economy North Coast Local Sports Health DominicanToday.com - The Dominican Republic News Source in English The new president of the Catalan government showed his direct support for the regional police force - the Mossos d'Esquadra - on Wednesday this week with a visit to their headquarters in Sabadell (Barcelona) With Illa still finding his feet in the job he has had to deal with the prestige of his regional police being called into question after separatist leader Carles Puigdemont fled from outside the Barcelona regional parliament last week just ahead of Illa being voted in by regional MPs Illa told assembled officers on Wednesday that during his term in office he would work so that "the men and women who form part of the Mossos d'Esquadra can carry out their work away from political confrontation in the best conditions and with rigour and serenity." The Catalan president was trying to lower the tension and show confidence in the Mossos at a time when they are facing criticism for their shaky performance on the day of Illa's investiture session when Puigdemont - still wanted in Spain for embezzlement - was allowed to flee after a short speech to supporters "Although Catalonia has a very good police force I want to be clear: things can always be done better," said Illa who greeted the chief commissioner of the Mossos the senior police officer who gave the public explanations for Puigdemont's escape from the hands of his officers Three of these regional police officers were held for allegedly helping the Catalan separatist back into France after last week's appearance to the embarrassment of the force's leaders Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados Egyptian Businessman Amir Garranah has acquired 90% of Spanish Football club CF Badalona through his company M2A Sports Management Garranah said that he achieved his dream of owning a football club adding that this has been a long time in the making and that he is beyond proud to see it finally come to fruition The Egyptian Businessman went on to add that he couldn’t be more excited for this new chapter and the opportunities it will bring and that he will always be grateful for everyone’s support “I am absolutely thrilled to share with you all that after 10 years of hard work, dedication, and unwavering passion towards sports, I have officially acquired C.F BADALONA with M2A Sports Management,” Garranah said “I can’t wait to dive into this new adventure, working tirelessly with my brothers Marc Serra Sallent & Michel de Voronine to bring success to the club & the city of Badalona,” he added CF Badalona was established in 1903 and is located in Badalona City The club competes in Group 5 in the fifth tier of the Spanish football league system “Tercera Federación” and they play their games in Estadi Municipal de Badalona the club finished fourth in the Catalonia group (Group 5) before losing in the final against L’Hospitalet The league system features 18 regional groups with the first four teams in each group qualifying for promotion play-offs before the winner of the playoff plays one final game on the national stage to decide the promoted team CF Badalona have never played in La Liga before but they spent 14 seasons in the Segunda División and reached the round of 16 of Copa del Rey four times before the club went on a historic run in the Copa del Rey before losing to Granada in the round of 32 3-1 after extra-time and website in this browser for the next time I comment This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed Zamalek have been slapped with yet another transfer ban by FIFA Mohamed Elneny has been awarded the UAE Pro League’s Player of the Month for.. Mohamed Salah has credited Liverpool manager Arne Slot for unlocking his best-ever form by.. Al Ahly announced the departure of Marcel Koller on Saturday Manchester City and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush have reportedly reached a full verbal.. Manchester City have reportedly submitted their first official offer to sign Egyptian forward Omar.. Mohamed Salah has equaled Thierry Henry’s Premier League goal record and surpassed Luis Suarez.. Mohamed Salah is currently delivering some of the finest performances of his career Indo Defence – Jakarta – 11-14 June DSEI – London – 9-12 September PARTNER – Belgrade – 23-26 September Seafuture – La Spezia – 29 Sept.-2 October ADEX – Seoul – 29 October-2 November Dubai Air Show – Dubai – 17-21 November Milipol Paris – Paris – 18-21 Novenber Expodefensa – Bogotá – 1-3 December Whether you are a beginner in the world of karting looking for a Team Building activity for your company or just want to try a new hobby with friends We invite you to explore the best karting circuits for beginners in Barcelona and immerse yourself in an experience full of fun and competition Indoor Karting Barcelona is one of the first places in Europe to set up indoor karting facilities Its 500-meter track includes curves and a tunnel that adds excitement to the experience they offer a specially designed circuit for children with two-seater karts which allows the little ones to enjoy the fun accompanied by adults Indoor Karting Barcelona offers prices starting at 15 euros which makes it an affordable option to enjoy karting in Barcelona This karting company is based in the commercial center of Viladecans Children from 6 years old and adults from 14 years old can run in this circuit can race in a two-seater kart but only if accompanied by an adult It is open every day and birthdays can be organized there from 8 children and group races from 10 adults Just 40 minutes from Barcelona is Karting Sallent one of the best karting circuits in Catalonia With almost 1,500 meters of track full of curves this circuit offers an experience full of adrenaline and excitement dividing the circuits independently for personalized events bachelor parties or team-building activities They also offer a karting circuit for children offers the opportunity to feel like a racing driver in an open air circuit of 45,000 square meters With exciting straights and challenging curves this karting track is suitable for all ages Kartodrom Catalunya offers a variety of activities It is a professional karting experience in a breathtaking environment Barcelona offers an impressive variety of karting circuits for beginners and enthusiasts of all ages professional or family fun karting experience there is a perfect circuit for you in Barcelona Stock images by Depositphotos La venta de la nuda propiedad Copyright © 2022 Salirporbarcelona , All rights Reserved. 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