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Barça struck five again tonight as they brushed aside Espanyol 1-5 at the Cornella-El Prat Stadium with Pedro (2), Xavi and Villa (2) getting the goals for the La Liga leaders.

González will contribute to consolidating Gas Natural Fenosa’s international presence, mainly in South America. With this move, the Catalan energy company will gain a figure of international prestige with a large list of contacts. González was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996. He leads the Expert Group on the future of Europe and his name was shortlisted to become the first President of the EU.

A year ago, the Barcelona City Council made the decision to convert pet kiosks on Les Rambles into souvenir kiosks. Now, they have changed their minds, claiming that their decision led to overcrowding and lack of public space.

For the whole of Spain, Autonomous Communities’ public debt represents 10.2% of Spain’s GDP in the 3rd term of 2010. It is the highest it has been since 1990. However, the largest part of the public debt comes from the Spanish Government, which represents 44.1% of Spain’s GDP. Finally, public debt from local public administrations only represented 3.4% of Spain’s GDP. In total, Spain’s public debt represents 57.7% of the country’s GDP, much lower than in the UK, Germany or Ireland.

‘Extraordinary Film Studios’ may open its doors as early as 2011 and employ some 80 people. The company already has three films scheduled for the new studios.

The G! Tourism Awards of Girona aim to promote the attractiveness of the Costa Brava and the Pyrenees. They honour audiovisual and print media reports related with the region. The awards ceremony took place at the La Sitja de Fornells de la Selva Civic and Cultural Centre.

The main Catalan airport received 15,1% more passengers in November, in comparison with last year. However, Girona and Reus airports are losing passengers.

FC Barcelona will meet Arsenal in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League with the first leg taking place at the Emirates on February 16 and the return game in Camp Nou on March 8.

As expected, Núria de Gispert became the first woman to chair the Catalan Parliament, which has its origins in the 13th Century and is one of the oldest Parliaments in the world. The Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) holds 4 of the 7 positions within the Bureau, including the chair. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) has 2 posts and the Catalan People’s Party (PPC), 1. The 4 smaller parties were not represented in the Bureau.

The Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture will see its budget decrease by 4.5% this year. Despite this, the centre has planned several exhibitions for 2011, including several photography exhibitions and conferences on themes such as immigration and the crisis.

Fira de Barcelona has just approved a new strategic plan for the next four years. The plan foresees increasing the turnover rate by around 50% and includes taking the Fira de Barcelona brand name to countries around the world.

Diverse Catalan singers, musicians and directors performed in Leipzig, Hamburg, Cologne and Weimar on Thursday. Tenor singer Josep Carreras teamed up with Andrea Bocelli and David Garret to raise funds and awareness for the fight against leukaemia in Leipzig. Jordi Savall played Jean-Philippe Rameau in Cologne and Montserrat Caballé sung in Hamburg.

Valencia-born architect Rafael Guastavino incorporated the Catalan vault system in over 300 buildings in Manhattan. Famous buildings such as the Grand Central Station, Saint John the Divine Cathedral, the Queensboro Bridge and the City Hall subway station, were built using this technique popularised in the U.S. by Guastavino.

In the Northern town of Catalonia, close to Girona, Pere Puig killed his employer and his employer’s son at a bar with a hunting riffle. Puig then left the bar and shot and killed 2 bank employees. The police arrested the man, who immediately confessed to the crimes. Puig had not been paid since May and was scheduled to be fired in the next few days. The Town Council met urgently and declared 3 days of mourning.

The price increase is the result of the start of the winter season, in particular regarding clothing and shoe sales.