tunisia

Catalonia will open new offices in Argentina, Mexico and Tunisia

The terrorist attack in Tunis' Bardo National Museum that took place on Wednesday killed 23 people, 20 tourists and 3 locals, and injured more than 40. Among the fatalities there was an elderly couple from Barcelona, who were celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. Antoni Cirera, aged 75, and Dolors Sánchez, aged 73, were given a cruise trip by their children to celebrate the special occasion. Their family is already on their way to the North African country. Neighbours preferred not to talk to the press out of respect for the family. The Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council have expressed "a fervent repulsion" to the attack and have paid tribute to the victims in Sant Jaume Square on Thursday. In addition, the Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, expressed his sorrow "for the Cirera-Sánchez family" and announced that members of the Spanish Police specialised in counter-terrorism have travelled to Tunisia.

The €6.6 million project will last for 6 years and will start in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. It aims to strengthen the training of logistics sector workers in 10 countries in the Southern Mediterranean area. During the project’s presentation in Barcelona, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbouring Policy, Stefan Füle, asked for a greater financial commitment from the 43 countries that are members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). He lamented that “it is not healthy” that the European Commission continues to be the main funding source for the UfM. Three years after unveiling its permanent Secretariat in the Catalan capital, the UfM is starting its first projects.

The initiative targets 10,000 young women, studying at university and wanting to start their own business, from Morocco, Palestine, Jordan and Spain. The 'Young Women as Job Creators' project aims to create 400 new businesses. It is an initiative by the Union for the Mediterranean – whose headquarters are based in Barcelona – and the Association of Organisations of Mediterranean Businesswomen (AFAEMME). The project will run from May to November 2013 and it will be based on workshops and courses taught in universities from the four countries involved. The initiative has a budget of €300,000, paid by the Government of Norway, the Catalan multinational Gas Natural Fenosa, the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Investment Bank.

Given the flood of questions asking about a possible rest for the Argentinian star, Pep Guardiol, FC Barcelona’s Manager, insisted that he is in perfect condition to play the full Spanish League game against Zaragoza on Saturday.

Tunisia will benefit from the greatest investment with 73 million euros for the Kairouan factory. Besides, Ciments Molins is aiming to penetrate into the Chinese market with “a small two million euro investment” in prefabricated products, as a start. 87% of the investments will be channeled abroad, specifically in Tunisia, México, Argentina, Uruguay, Bangladesh, and China.

The Islamic intellectual, Tariq Ramadan was interviewed by CNA. “We are afraid of the arrival of immigrants, but the best thing to do is develop the countries of origin”. The grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder criticised Europe’s lack of commitment with the democratization of the Muslim world as revolts go on and racism grows in countries like Switzerland and Spain.

A newly approved Tunisian law prohibits citizens to criticise the Tunisian government in front of other countries and organisations. A band of writers met in Barcelona to take a stand against this action.