Search: null

Barça are looking to make it 12 points out of 12 in the Spanish League against Sevilla at the Camp Nou (0 pm CET) after the international two-week break. Sergio Busquets has been declared fit and Xavi and Alexis return, but Pedro is being rested, after a fortnight in which eleven of the first team have been away on international duty. However none of them have come back with injuries and there are high hopes for the league leaders against a Sevilla team that so far only have two points in their account.

In an exclusive interview with the CNA about Catalonia, the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Algirdas Butkevicius, states that each country “has to find its own way” and “has the right to self-determination”. Lithuania is holding the European Union Presidency from July to December. The CNA interviewed the Lithuanian Premier on the occasion of the 400-kilometre human chain ‘Catalan Way towards independence’, which was inspired by the ‘Baltic Way’ of 1989 requesting the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from the USSR. The ‘Baltic Way’ united in an uninterrupted and peaceful human chain Tallin, Riga and Vilnius; two years later the 3 Baltic states became independent. Butkevicius said he was “very happy that the Lithuanian example inspired” the Catalan human chain.

In an exclusive interview with the CNA, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Valdis Dombrovskis, was asked if his country would recognise an independent Catalonia. Dombrovskis answered: “if there is legitimacy in their process, then I would say, theoretically, 'why not?'”, opening the door to  recognition. The statement has been badly received in Madrid and the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García Margallo, requested an urgent meeting with Latvia’s Ambassador in Madrid in order to clarify the issue. The Spanish Deputy Minister for the European Union, Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, will also be present at the meeting.

An investigation in the Pyrenees in the areas of Lleida (western Catalonia) and Huesca (northern Aragon) may have found the footprints of the last dinosaurs that inhabited Europe. The footprints are said to come from the Hadrosaurid family of dinosaurs and roughly be 65.5 million years old. The amount of fossils and footprints of dinosaurs that exist from the era just before their extinction - 65 million years ago - is scarce and limited to just a few places worldwide. Now one of those placed is in the Pyrenees.

Barcelona-based publisher RBA has announced that Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason (Reykjavik, 1961) has won the seventh edition of the Crime Novel RBA Prize for his forthcoming book ‘Shadow Channel’ (‘Skuggasund’ in Icelandic). The novel begins with the mysterious murder of an old man in the Icelandic capital, and then goes back in time to a series of crimes committed in 1944. Indridason is one of the most prominent authors of crime fiction and has already published six works with the RBA. His novels have been translated into 21 languages and the majority involve the protagonist Detective Erlendur Sveinsson. The prize for the winner of the award is €125,000.

In an exclusive interview with the CNA, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Valdis Dombrovskis, stated that the ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ human chain is a “powerful signal” that is “worth paying attention to”. When asked if Riga would recognise an independent Catalonia, Dombrovskis stated that “if there is legitimacy in their process, then I would say, theoretically, why not”. He highlighted how “we should look at options” on how to deal with the independence demands that exist in Catalonia following a 1.6 million people human chain that took place on Wednesday. However, he also warned that if Catalans decided upon a unilateral declaration of independence, it would be “more complicated”, although he does not rule out the possibility of gathering international recognition.

Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF) has signed a contract with the South Korean company Kogas to supply between 1 and 1.5 bcm for the next two years. This is the first deal that Catalan GNF has signed with Kogas, the largest gas operator in South Korea and the biggest importer of LNG in the world. Furthermore, in recent months, GNF has signed contracts with companies in both Japan and India, contributing to its increase in the Asian market, which has a high growth potential in the coming years.  International sales now represent 30% of the total portfolio of the Catalan energy company.

The day after Catalonia’s National Day and the 1.6 million strong human chain supporting independence from Spain, Catalan parties reacted to the massive demonstration. The President of the Catalan Government and leader of the governing Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), Artur Mas, re-affirmed yesterday his “commitment” to organising a referendum on self-determination for 2014. The Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) declared its intention to work with other parties and civil society organisations on having the question and exact date for the vote ready within the next two months in order to call it in 2014. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) asked the other parties to put forward their projects for the day after the referendum.

However, the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García Margallo, recognised the “success” of the demonstration. Earlier, the Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, had stated that there was “a silent majority” who “stayed at home” and did not participate in the 1.6 million strong demonstration, since Catalonia has 7.5 million inhabitants. She also insisted in holding “a dialogue within the Constitution”, which means completely rejecting a self-determination vote. The Catalan Minister for the Presidency, Francesc Homs, considered that the Spanish Government emphasising that there was a “silent majority” was an “absurd” statement. Homs added that, if the Spanish Government really wanted to count how many people are against Catalonia’s independence, the best thing is holding a democratic vote on the issue.

This Wednesday, an extreme right-wing Spanish nationalist group interrupted the institutional celebration of Catalonia’s National Day at the Catalan Government delegation in Madrid. The Fascist group assaulted the delegation and attacked some of those present causing five minor injuries, including a 4-year old girl. As the Catalan Government’s representative was about to make his speech, some 15 members of an extreme-right wing group entered the centre shouting “make no mistake, Catalonia is Spain”. The group was carrying Nazi flags as well as flags of the Falange – the party of Franco. One camera operator was taken to hospital with a dislocation. No arrests have been made by the Spanish Police.

The ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ has achieved significant coverage throughout the world as numerous media outlets focus on the impact and scale of Catalonia’s historic 400 km human chain, gathering 1.6 million people. The world’s major newspapers and news agencies have published articles detailing the events of the ‘Catalan Way’ human chain. The Associated Press revealed how there was “a festive mood” and that an “estimated 1 million people took part”, before the official figures were released. Meanwhile, the BBC spoke of a “huge human chain”. The Guardian documented the success of the human chain that ran all the way from “the border with neighbouring France to the region of Valencia”.

The civil society platform that organised the colossal ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ demanded a self-determination referendum to be held in 2014 and not at a later stage. The festive demonstration was a great success, gathering more participants than last year’s 1.5 million strong rally, which was also organised on Catalonia’s National Day. Most of the Catalan Government Ministers took part in the human chain, but neither the President of Catalonia, Artur Mas, nor the Chairperson of the Catalan Parliament took part. However, they did both gave their personal support to the peaceful demonstration. Many folkloric performances and festive celebrations were carried out throughout the non-interrupted human chain. 500,000 citizens held hands in the city of Barcelona alone, and a total of 1.6 million Catalans participated in the rally, according to the Catalan Police.

The CNA provides a range of images from this Wednesday’s ‘Catalan Way towards independence’, the 400-kilometre human chain that spanned Catalonia from north to south. The demonstration gathered 1.6 million people and called for an independent Catalonia from Spain. The ‘Catalan Way’ has been organised by the grass-roots organisation the Catalan National Assembly. It was organised after the success of last year’s peaceful demonstration that bought 1.5 million people to the streets of Barcelona. Catalans seek to hold a referendum on whether Catalonia should remain part of Spain. Opinion polls reveal that over 50% of Catalans would vote to leave Spain if the vote were to take place.

11^th September is Catalonia’s National Day and two main ceremonies traditionally take place in the morning. The first one is the flower offering at the Rafael Casanova monument, honouring the leader of Barcelona’s defence against the Bourbon invasion of 1714. The second one is an institutional ceremony near the Catalan Parliament honouring Catalan culture, language and identity, including: poetry, music and flamenco dancing brought by Andalusian immigrants. The People’s Party (PP) – which runs the Spanish Government – has not been participating in the flower offering for the last few years, but this year it also decided not to attend the institutional ceremony. Instead, the PP held its own get-together with party banners.

On Wednesday, the 400 kilometre ‘Catalan Way’ human chain, which calls for an independent Catalonia, passes through FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium and into its stands. The Vice President of the sports club, Carles Vilarrubí, stated that Barça “always has its doors open to FC Barcelona fans and Catalans who want to express themselves”. He stated this following the flower offering that took place at the statue of Rafael Casanova during Catalonia’s National Day. Along with Vilarrubí, Barça’s delegation was headed by first team coach, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, defender Gerard Piqué as well as other first team players, technical staff and players from other sections.