"The crisis has made many people in Catalonia desperate, " said Gonzalo Bernardos, a University of Barcelona economist.

CNN: Ruling party in Catalonia region loses seats in parliament

The cross-species interactions were brought about by computer scientists at University College London (UCL) and the University of Barcelona.

BBC: Rats and humans meet via virtual reality and robotics

Whilst recuperating he spent two years developing his artwork, before he enrolled at the University of Barcelona to study law.

BBC: Spanish artist Antoni Tapies dies aged 88

Albert Esteve of the Autonomous University of Barcelona reckons that the total number of cross-border marriages among 25-39-year-olds in his sample was about 12m in 2000.

ECONOMIST: International marriage

Writing in Evolution and Human Behaviour Victoria Reyes-Garcia, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and her colleagues describe a study they carried out on the Tsimane', a group of Amerindians who live in Bolivia's slice of the Amazonian rainforest.

ECONOMIST: Your parents were right. Patience is a virtue

The University Network will include in its initial phase eight universities: Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), University of the West Indies (Jamaica), Cairo University (Egypt), University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Temple University (USA), Beijing Tsinghua University (China), Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University (Morocco) and Queensland University of Technology (Australia).

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Because the proceedings are secret, researchers know little about what exactly motivates cardinals to switch their votes, but Romain Lachat, a political scientist at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, says the formation of coalitions where electors slowly rally around a man who may only be their second or third choice is inevitable.

NPR: Arcane Process Encourages Papal Horse Trading

This year, the University of Chicago launched its own Singapore operation, designed to complement its successful five-year-old Barcelona program.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Culture on Demand: Sky Surfing