Lmrabet was sent to jail in 2003 for writing about Morocco’s king and his supposed real estate interests. He was also banned from media. Finally he has created ‘Demain’, an online newspaper directed from Barcelona. It has the same name as the publication he had in Morocco, which was shut down by King Mohammed VI’s regime.
The company, that processes 1.2 million hams, is the first Catalan meat factory authorized to sell in the United States. As from next year, Pernils Llémena will start exporting to California and New York.
The Catalan restaurant has been considered the best restaurant in the world for five consecutive years. Chef Ferran Adrià announced he would close his restaurant definitively this July, and will be transformed into the ‘elBulli Foundation’ in 2014. However, the movie Hollywood is planning on the restaurant has obliged the Catalan chef to change his mind and open again for two months in 2012 or 2013. His idea is to show the movie team how the restaurant works.
The Autonomous Community public debt has increased 26% in the last 12 months and represents now the historic maximum of 11.4% of Spain’s GDP. Spain’s total public debt reached 63.6% of its GDP and totals 679.8 billion euros. The Catalan Government’s debt has reached 34.3 billion euros, 17.2% of Catalonia’s GDP. It raised 33% in the last 12 months, as the Catalan Government’s public deficit was 3.86% in 2010.
This Friday is the third anniversary of Josep Guardiola’s presentation as Barça’s manager. On June 17, 2008, a project began that has gone on to make history.
The Catalan capital is these days the electronic music world’s capital city. The 18th edition of the International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art Sónar kicks off in Barcelona. It the annual meeting place for electronic music fans and will take place from June 16th to 18th. This year it will have a parallel festival happening in A Coruña, Sónar Galicia. Barcelona’s Sónar Festival will also have a twin festival in Sao Paulo. Sónar Barcelona has also a programme for children called Sónar Kids and for professional called Sónar Pro.
The Catalan Parliament will also file a formal complaint regarding the violent protests that took place last Wednesday in Barcelona. Protesters tried to besiege the Parliament and impede the entrance of MPs, some of whom were insulted, threatened, pushed and sprayed. The Spanish Penal Code states that these type of actions are a felony and offenders could face between three and five years in person. Catalan Police had to protect the Parliament and the MPs, with a deployment of 600 police officers. All political parties condemned the violent acts by protesters and most of the opposition said that the deployment of security forces was too small.
The Catalan People’s Party (PPC) abstained and facilitated the rejection of the motions to substitute the budget bill presented by the Catalan Government, run by the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition CiU. The motions had been presented by four parliamentary groups for a range of reasons, but mainly because the Government’s budget proposal was cutting too much social spending while it did not make enough efforts to raise revenues.
The trade fair focuses on entrepreneurs and company growth. It wants to switch business ideas and projects with investors. Bizbarcelona also provides advice to entrepreneurs who want to start their business. It takes place on June 15th and 16th in Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue.
The Catalan Parliament was under siege by the “indignats” protesters, who have been camping on Catalunya Square for the last month. They tried to impede MPs' access to the park where the Parliament is located. Some MPs arrived on foot and were insulted, pushed or sprayed. Others, including the Catalan President and the Parliament’s President, had to arrive via helicopter or inside police vans. The ‘indignats’ movement condemned “the isolated violent episodes”, but said they have the right to block the Parliament. Today the first voting on the budget was held, which reduces public spending by 10%. Despite the protests, the parliamentary debate took place.
Regal Barça have clinched the ACB League after winning game three of the final series at Bizkaia Bilbao Basket’s arena. Xavi Pascual’s team won a gripping game to win back the crown they lost last year.
A pilot programme set up by the Catalan Police in one of Barcelona’s districts will enable tourists to report minor thefts on city streets from their hotels, without needing to go to a police station. The programme will be in place on a trial basis in July and August in 18 hotels. If successful, it could be applied to all Barcelona hotels.
A Barcelona-based newspaper announced in its Tuesday edition that the two Catalan savings banks would see a state intervention and would be nationalised by the Spanish Government and the Bank of Spain this summer. CatalunyaCaixa has denied the claims. Unnim also denied the rumours and reminded the press of the 30th September deadline set by the Bank of Spain to restructure its business and find additional capital.
Thanks to a five-year contract, the Catalan Government undertakes the enlargement of the airport terminal and Neilson-Thomas Cook agrees to include ski resorts in the Lleida Pyrenees as part of its winter holiday offer.
This season, in addition to continuing to fill the cabinet with more trophies, has served to break down some barriers that until now had been insurmountable for this Barça team. Winning at grounds like Espanyol or Valencia are two examples.