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Australia's RMIT University opens its European campus in Barcelona

June 7, 2013 01:41 AM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, which is one of Australia’s main universities, will offer Master and PhD programmes in Barcelona. The RMIT University, which has three campuses in Melbourne and two in Vietnam, is now coming to Europe and will coordinate its activities in the continent from Barcelona. The Australian education institution will also cooperate with several Catalan universities, in particular the UPC, the UPF and ELISAVA. The Catalan Minister for Economy and Knowledge, Andreu Mas-Colell, attended the opening ceremony. He underlined that Australia’s higher education system is “the most internationalised in the world”. He also stated that the RMIT campus in Barcelona “is a bridge towards Europe, the Mediterranean Area and Latin America”.

"Despite the crisis in Spain, Barcelona is a city that scores positively in international markets"

June 5, 2013 01:34 AM | Pedro Javier Armengou

Mateu Hernández is the General Director of Barcelona Global, an independent private association that is trying to make Barcelona one of the best cities in the world to attract talent and business activity. Its activities are similar to associations like Partnership for New York, Berlín & Partners and London & Partners, for example. Barcelona Global is made up of the main research centres in the city, prestigious professionals from the Catalan capital or related to it, and more than thirty of the most powerful and innovative companies in Barcelona.

Neymar signs contract with FC Barcelona, set to stay through 2018

June 3, 2013 11:11 PM | CNA

56,500 Barça fans came to the Camp Nou to welcome Neymar to FC Barcelona. "Barça are more than a club and a great team and I want to help Leo Messi to continue to be the greatest player in the world," he said. Neymar da Silva Junior signed his contract with FC Barcelona on Monday afternoon. He will be a Barça player through the 2017/18 season. The signing ceremony took place at thye club’s offices in the Catalan capital. The player, Barça President Sandro Rosell, Vice President Josep Maria Bartomeu and the Football Director Andoni Zubizarreta were all in attendance.

Export container transport in Barcelona up by 13%

June 1, 2013 12:50 AM | CNA

The port of Barcelona dealt with 174,711 TEU export containers between January and April. Most of the containers go to countries such as Russia, Turkey, Algeria or the United States, as well as regions in South-East Asia and South America. A new study by the port states that exports are now higher than ever and have helped create a diversified market to the five continents. The number of cruise passengers has also jumped 10%.

'BCN World', a project with many questions

May 29, 2013 10:15 PM | Berta Seijo, Ariadna Vaz, Margalida Vidal

The Catalan Government announced last September the ‘BCN World’ project, a mega-resort that will be built on the Costa Daurada, near Tarragona and Salou. According to the forecasts, the construction will cost €4.7 billion and the opening is scheduled for 2016. The complex will consist of six casinos and theme parks, 12,000 hotel rooms, golf courts and a smart city, among other aspects. The initiative was presented just a few hours before it was confirmed that Sheldon Adelson’s ‘Eurovegas’ would go to Madrid, although the Catalan Government denied that ‘BCN World’ is the alternative project. While experts validate the economic viability of the project, they do question the suitability of this leisure model in Europe. Just weeks before construction begins, there are still a lot of questions without being answered.

Catalonia awarded 90 blue flags for its clean and safe beaches, 3 more than last year

May 24, 2013 12:29 AM | CNA

In addition, 24 marinas in Catalonia have also been awarded a blue flag this year. In 2012, 87 beaches and 24 marinas were awarded. The blue flags recognise the cleanness, safety, environmental management and services provided at the beach. Spain has obtained a total of 648 blue flags: 551 recognising beaches and 97 for marinas. It means 11 more flags for beaches and 1 less for marinas than last year. Catalonia is the 3rd Autonomous Community with the highest number of blue flags in Spain recognising the quality of the beaches. The Costa Brava has 28 blue flags, the Costa Daurada and the Ebro Delta have 38 and the beaches near Barcelona or even in the city have 24 flags.

Adriano Correia renews his contract with FC Barcelona through 2017

May 23, 2013 05:21 PM | CNA

FC Barcelona has reached an agreement with the Brazilian player to extend the contract linking the two parties for four additional seasons. The player's buyout clause is set at 90 million euros. Adriano has become known as one of the most versatile players on FC Barcelona’s roster. He’s performed well in the centre back position, as well as the right and left full back positions and as an attacking midfielder.

CaixaBank and Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce to offer €3 billion in loans for member companies

May 23, 2013 01:33 AM | CNA

In a situation of difficult access to credit by Catalan and Spanish companies, Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce and the main Spanish bank – which is based in the Catalan capital – have agreed to open a new credit line for the 25,000 private companies (small, medium-sized and large) and independent workers affiliated to the Chamber’s ‘Club Cambra’. In January 2012 they created the first credit fund with €2 billion. Now, a total of €3 billion will be available, of which €1 billion will be for internationalisation projects. CaixaBank’s President, Isidre Fainé, and the President of the Chamber, Miquel Valls, signed the new agreement on Wednesday.

The Barcelona International Motor Show 2013: positive sales results and more than 700,000 visitors

May 23, 2013 12:17 AM | Marc Ferragut

Car dealers are satisfied with this year’s Motor Show as several brands posted solid sales balances. However, some visitors were disappointed as major car manufacturers were absent, attendants were not very enthusiastic about the worldwide premiers and there was a lack of glamour. Driving simulators and luxury-car payment tours were the main alternative for those who wanted something other than the regular exhibition. The organisers are optimistic and aim to restore the splendour of past shows as the economic situation improves and Barcelona becomes a more important city for motor events.

Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival keeps growing in size, budget and visitors

May 22, 2013 11:46 PM | CNA / Pau Cortina / Anna Pérez Martí

The independent music event held in Barcelona occupies 20,000 square metres, has a budget increase of 7% (reaching 7.5 million euros) and an estimated public of 150,000 only on its main stage, the Parc del Fòrum. Nick Cave, Animal Collective, Blur or My Bloody Valentine are just some of the leading indie figures to play in the Catalan capital between the 22nd and the 26th of May.

Almost 115,000 people joined the X-Games, the extreme sport competition in Barcelona

May 22, 2013 11:33 PM | Andrea Cabrera / Àlex Ramis

The rain that fell on the Catalan capital did not tarnish the first X-Games held in Barcelona, although it did cause a headache for the organisers, who had to juggle with competition schedules and even cancel the RallyCross and Moto X Freestyle competitions. 114,600 people attended the event in total, crowding out the venues in which the different competitions were held.