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Two superb first half goals from Xavi and Messi gave Barça the win in Seville, with an excellent performance – particularly in the first half-that’ll be a real morale boost for FC Barcelona.

Over 140,000 people in Catalonia depend on the distribution of food by the Red Cross. The number of beneficiaries who have been strongly hit by the economic crisis increased by more than 2,000 people compared to the last trimester of 2011.

The harvest of the millenarian olive oil dropped to one fifth compared to the previous season due to drought. This olive oil coming from 1,000 years old trees is a delicatessen from the Ebre Delta, in Southern Catalonia. Locals are pushing for UNESCO to declare the 4,500 trees a World Heritage.

The Catalan Government has drafted a plan regarding public employees for the 2012-2014 period. The aim is to reduce public spending in order to meet the deficit targets by reorganising civil servants, including their working conditions. The plan foresees the possibility of a reduction in salaries and working hours, as well as making their working conditions, tasks, and location more flexible. 6,800 temporary workers will have their hours reduced by 15% from April 1st. Unions have criticised the plan. However, the Catalan Vice President has asked unions to avoid exaggerating the issue and creating problems.

The Barça manager reckons the real tests are only about to begin, in all of the Champions League, Spanish League and Cup. From now on, he warns, “there is no turning the page after any setbacks.” He also feels that it will be of benefit to everybody that the return leg of the Champions League quarter final against AC Milan will be at the Camp Nou. Besides, Guardiola said on Abidal that right now nothing is more important than “finding a solution to the illness he’s suffering so that he can carry on with his life”.

Around 4,000 Catalan families are waiting to complete an adoption process. International child adoptions in Catalonia have fallen by 30% over the last five years in Catalonia whereas local adoption rates have risen.

‘The Clothed Maja’, ‘the Quitasol’, ‘the Puppet’ or the ‘Witches Flight’ are some of the canvases included in the largest retrospective exhibition on Goya organised in Barcelona in the last 35 years. Held at the Catalan capital’s CaixaForum, the exhibition ‘Goya. Lights and Shadows’ is organised by the social work foundation of the Catalan bank La Caixa and the Prado Museum. 96 pieces of the Aragon master’s work, including oil paintings, drawings and picture cards, will be on display for free until May 24th.

The Catalan Ministry of Finance has confirmed the figures released on Thursday by the party running Catalonia’s Government. The drug prescription fee would add €180 million to the budget, and will also save money due to its dissuasive impact. The symbolic tourist tax, which will be implemented from November, would also bring in €60 million. The remaining €60 million will come from other taxes and public fees.

The FC Barcelona Captain, Carles Puyol, stated that Abidal is “in good spirits”. “He’s a strong person”, he added. “He showed strength last season and he’ll do it again now” insisted Puyol. Besides, the Barça captain doesn’t have a particular preference regarding the Champions League draw and playing against Real Madrid. Finally, he underlined that Guardiola’s decision on his contract renewal has to be respected.

FC Barcelona player will have a liver transplant in the next few weeks. Exactly a year ago, Abidal went through surgery to remove a tumour from his liver. The player recovered and was able to lift up the last Champions League title in Wembley.

Catalonia’s capital discovers the new Pati Llimona community and art centre, after two years of renovation and enlargement works. The centre shows 17 metres of the Roman wall circling the old Barcino, which are integrated in the building. It also displays the wall’s gate facing the sea. Excavations have also unveiled thermae from the 1st century AC, which are on display together with other remains. The new Pati Llimona will focus its cultural activity mainly on photography.

The Alstom factory in Barcelona will build the 22 new tram cars that will serve the English city of Nottingham. This order completely guarantees the viability plan for 2012 and 2013, as the factory will be working at full capacity for the next 2 years. However, the French multinational has warned about the fact that no new orders have been placed in Spain since 2009. This has forced Alstom’s factory to focus on exports and has been building underground trains for Santo Domingo, Lima, Panama, London, Washington and Rabat.

Every year, two temporary exhibitions from the Thyssen collection will be organised in the Catalan coastal town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, in the Costa Brava, until the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Center for Catalan Painting is built. The first exhibition will be at the Abbot’s Palace, where 60 works will be exhibited in May, combining a selection of Catalan painters and international artists from the 19th and 20th century.

Barcelona was declared the Mobile World Capital last summer, and the organising city of the Mobile World Congress until at least 2018. Being the Mobile World Capital means that Barcelona aims to become one of the main world centres for the mobile industry. Furthermore, several projects will be based in the Catalan capital, such as a Mobile World Hub. A foundation has been created to promote these projects and attract investments. It is funded with € 30 million each from Barcelona City Council, the Catalan Government and the Spanish Government, and it is open to the private sector.

A medical team from the Catalan capital’s Hospital Clínic and the Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital, in Greater Barcelona, cured a foetus with a lung malformation in a world pioneer intervention. The baby girl is currently 16 months old, has a normal life, and no further surgery is expected. The malformation was diagnosed in the 20th week of pregnancy, surgery took place in the 26th, and Alaitz was born in the 38th week.