http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/index.rss It's the news. It's from Barcelona. Updated throughout the week, find out what's making the headlines here en-en 2009 Creative Media Group SL. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:19:09 GMT here, El Pais). Stall holders had been asking for the closure since 2003 and are delighted that finally it will become reality. It will cost approximately 80,000 euros to fence the market. There will be eight points of access which residents and emergency services will be able to use with keys. The project should be completed by the end of this year. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/friday-3rd-september/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/friday-3rd-september/index.html Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:19:09 GMT here, El Pais). It wasn’t the only location hoping to house the Chinese factory but sources close to the company president Yi Yaontong say that he’s confirmed his wish to come to the region after extensive talks with the Catalan Government. On the table is a factory, a logistical centre and 10,000 new jobs. The car plant will be where new cars, destined for Africa, Europe and the Near East, will be assembled and sold. Construction would start in 2012 with a view to the factory opening in 2015. According to a source close to the negotations, Chery has chosen Catalunya but as Chinese business culture dictates that nothing is declared until every last detail is ironed out, the Generalitat have been cautious about making a statement. The three possible sites for the factory are reported to be: Vila-rodona (Alt Camp), L'Espluga de Francolí (Conca de Barberà) o Abrera (Baix Llobregat). ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/thursday-2nd-september/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/thursday-2nd-september/index.html Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:49:37 GMT here, El Periodico). The building is on the corner of Carrer Sant Pau and Carrer de les Flors and was built in 1992. It contains five luxury apartments which have never been sold. The real estate company that owns the building, Camats, suspects that this is the same group of squatters that were evicted by the Mossos d’Esquadra in May this year. Camats estimates the damage done last time by the group at 30,000 euros. Since then they boarded up all the doors but according to the owner’s spokesperson this is no deterrent. “They are professionals. If they want to enter a building, they know exactly how and when to do it”. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/wednesday-1st-september/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/wednesday-1st-september/index.html Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:25:43 GMT here, El Periodico). Engineers will completely revise and inspect the tunnel over the next few weeks but they have been given the green light to continue past the famous church. The committee of engineers includes representatives from Adif, the town hall and the government. Their analysis of the work indicates that it is safe for the tunnelling to continue. After the tunnellers crossed the Meridiana on the 6th June there was an initial revision of the maintenance shaft at Mallorca/Trinxant and since then, progress has been rapid. If they continue at the same speed, they’ll arrive at Mallorca/Marina and the corner of the Sagrada Famila for the Mercè. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/tuesday-31st-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/tuesday-31st-august/index.html Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:00:52 GMT here El Pais). Reported thefts in Barcelona have dropped by 5.4%. The authorities admit that 2009 was a terrible year for security with 56,351 reported thefts just in the first six months – 25 % of Barcelona residents say they were the victim of a crime in 2009. This year, that figure has dropped by 3,000, thanks in part to 400 new police officers patrolling the area. Pickpockets take advantage of the fact that if they steal money or objects worth less than €400 it’s considered a misdemeanour rather than a crime and if caught, in many cases they don’t even get taken to the police station. To combat this sense of pickpocketing with impunity, the police are focussing on locking up the most active offenders. This is also the first summer in which security cameras have been used with 7 cameras on La Rambla and 9 in the Raval and the Gòtic. Groups of drug dealers in fixed positions have also been broken up. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/monday-30th-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/monday-30th-august/index.html Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:39:51 GMT here, El Periodico). A hot air mass from Northern Africa that reached Catalunya yesterday caused temperatures of around 40ºC and in Tornabous (Urgell) which reached 41.1ºC, the highest temperature measured in Catalunya since the summer of 2006. However this isn't exceptional where last year, in the third week of the month and 2007 records were set between 26th and 28th August. The Cabanes, the official observatory,  recorded 39.9ºC yesterday beating the record of last year of 39.4ªC. Despite the high temperatures and week long duration, Meteocat and the Agencia Española de Meteorolgía (Aemet) maintain the heat alert for today but are expecting a moderate drop in temperatures from Saturday. Barcelona is also suffering from overly high humidity levels and uncomfortable temperatures at night. Last night they recorded a humidity level of over 90 percent on the coast. The lowest temperatures recorded at night were on Wednesday night to Thursday which were 24.4ºC in the neighbourhood of Raval. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/friday-27th-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/friday-27th-august/index.html Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:45:26 GMT here, El Periodico). Joan Clos' candicacy was backed by Ban Ki-moon and comes four years after his hasty departure from the ayuntamiento. The UN General Assembly elected Clos, currently the Spanish ambassador in Turkey as their executive director of the agency which specialises in agency management and development of human settlements (UN-Habitat). Clos' bid was back by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon but was approved unanimously by the 192 members of the conclave without the need to go to vote. Clos, 61 will replace Tanzanian Anna Tibaijuka on October 18th at the agency base in Nairobi. In the final opinion poll made three months prior to his appointment as minister, Clos was rated fourth (of five) of the highest rated municipal leaders, three tenths of Xavier Trias, who was third after Jordi Portabella (ERC) and Imma Mayol (ICV-EUiV). ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/thursday-26th-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/thursday-26th-august/index.html Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:42:22 GMT here, La Vanguardia). The latest data on foreign tourist arrivals indicate an increase of 4.5 percent in July, with many of the nearly seven million travellers who entered Spain by air boarding a low-cost flight. Meaning that in July, one of every six visitors enjoyed low cost rates to travel to Spain - 10 percent more than the same month last year. The main company responsible for this increase is Irish airline Ryanair, which is expanding in the Spanish market. In a year, they have seen their market share increase from 13.6 percent to 17.2 percent of the total of all budget airlines. In the first six months of the year, 42.7 percent of the total flights using El Prat airport (who sees Ryanair operations start next week) were with low cost airlines. This was  similar to last year's figures which stood at 42.3 percent. However, in July El Prat saw an increase of 5 percent of low cost flights, however this trend is predicted to change radically thanks to the arrival of Ryanair at the airport. The airline hopes to reach 2.5 million passengers a year and a 56 percent share of the low cost travel market. In contrast to Barcelona, Madrid's Barajas airport has increased their quota of low-cost flights by 23 percent in July and 25 percent in the last seven months of the year were thanks to Ryanair. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/wednesday-25th-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/wednesday-25th-august/index.html Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:16:58 GMT here, La Vanguardia). The two Catalans, who had been held hostage for nine months, landed at El Prat airport yesterday at 1.17pm from a Spanish Air Force plane coming from Burkina Faso. The two were met by members of their immediate family and after spending around an hour with them met with the press. Both appeared calm and in apparent good health, despite Vilalta walking with a crutch as a result of injuries sustained during his abduction. Accompanied by the president of the Generalitat, José Montilla, and the two mayors of Barcelona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Jordi Hereu and Núria Parlon, they expressed their gratitude towards the Spanish government's for their diplomatic efforts which led to their release. Vilalta said: "It is a very important day after being kidnapped for nine months - now we have freedom. I am thrilled and very excited," said Vilalta. "We know that the Spanish government has made a major diplomatic effort with all the governments from the region. We are very proud of our government." The president of the Generalitat, José Montilla, welcomed their return to Barcelona and said: It is a moment of happiness for them all and Catalunya." He also thanked the Spanish government's work and all of those who had contributed to the release of the hostages. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/tuesday-24th-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/tuesday-24th-august/index.html Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:06:06 GMT here, La Vanguardia). Officials in Mali have confirmed the release of Albert Vilalta and Roque Pascual who were kidnapped by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on November 29th. Press have confirmed the release with the Sahara Media quoting "sources in northern Mali," the region that the two Catalans were supposedly being held. According to both the Sahara Media and Al Arabiya the release is related to the recent extradition of Omar Uld Sid'Ahmed Uld Hame, more commonly known as Omar Saharaui, who was sentenced to 12 years in a prison in Mauritania for his part in the kidnapping. Vilalta and Pascual were kidnapped along with Alicia Gámez (who was released in March) on November 29th on the road between Nouadhibou (northern Mauritania) to Nouakchott, where they were part of a humanitarian convoy traveling with Barcelona Acció Solidaria. Francesc Osán, the president of Barcelona Acció Solidarity, the NGO, which Vilalta and Pascual belonged to said that he had received no confirmation that the pair had been released yesterday. Osan has ensured that neither the organisation nor the family of the kidnapped pair have heard any official news and are still awaiting confirmation from the Spanish government. ]]> http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/monday-23rd-august/index.html http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/blogs/the-informer/monday-23rd-august/index.html Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:05:31 GMT