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Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero yesterday refused point blank to comment on the Socialist defeat in the recent Catalan elections. Equally, he refused to take any responsibility for the failure of the campaign of his former Industry Minister Jose Montilla in the elections, but did call on all parties involved to ‘have a good look at yourselves’ in order ‘to correct any possible errors’. All he would say was that he would have liked the Catalan Socialists to have achieved a better result, and added that he would not interfere in any negotiations as these were the responsibility of Mr Montilla
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Judge Baltasar Garzon yesterday ordered a police inspection of the Banco Espirito Santo in Madrid and Barcelona and the BNP-Parisbas Bank in Madrid. The inspections come after the anti-corruption prosecutor registered a complaint over money laundering some six years ago. However, many insiders have stated that the inspections were carried out yesterday in order to draw attention away from the Socialist defeat in Catalunia. In statements yesterday, both banks admitted that the inspections did affect certain of their clients, but not the overall running of the banks.
The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey, that already has been postponed for a year, and is now set for November 28, hit a new low yesterday after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would not be in the country to receive the Pontiff. It was also revealed that Mehmet Aydin, the Turkish Minister for religious Affairs would similarly be absent when the Pontiff arrives. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi stated last night that he had ‘absolutely no comment’ on the absence of the Prime Minister, but apparently the Vatican had been advised that the presence of Mr. Erdogan to coincide with the Pope’s visit ‘could not be guaranteed’, as he would probably be in Riga at a NATO summit meeting. However, the Pope will be received by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. It has also been revealed that many people min Turkey are highly critical of the Pope, who, when he was merely Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote an opinion column on Turkey’s possible entry into the EU for the French newspaper Figaro in which he stated that ‘Turkish roots are not in Europe’. Other sinister developments: On the top of the bestseller lists at the moment is a fictional novel about the assassination of the Pope during his visit to Turkey; Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II sent a letter a few weeks ago to Pope Benedict warning him not to go, and the latest reading of the works of Nostradamus by French researcher Jean-Charles de Fontbrune reveal that the assassination of the Pope could have dire consequences for the entire world.
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The Al-Jazeera network, whose taboo-smashing broadcasts often infuriate Washington politicians, is now set to launch an English language service on November 15. After being banned at one time in 18 countries, the launch of the English service is the biggest gamble yet for the broadcaster, whose stated aim with the new service is to steal viewers from the BBC and CNN. In the ten years it has been broadcasting from its base in Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera has had three of its collaborators killed in Iraq, another locked away in the prison facility in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and a correspondent – Taysir Alyoni, who interviewed Osama Bin Laden - convicted on terror charges in Spain. Al-Jazeera inspires fear in the Arab world and this is best seen in Saudi Arabia, where the network has never been allowed to send a reporter, and this boycott meant in effect that almost all advertisers were chased away, leaving the Network entirely dependent on the deep pockets of the Qatar Royal Family. Now, the International branch has hired some 500 people, and its stated aim is to reverse the information flow to the one billion English speakers in the world ‘who currently have no choice other than to watch Western-orientated broadcasters’.
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Investigators in California yesterday stated that they had arrested a man in connection with the recent wildfire that burned over 30,000 acres, destroyed several homes and outbuildings and killed five fire fighters. The 36-year-old suspect – identified as Raymond Lee Oyler – is already under arrest on suspicion of deliberately starting two other fires this past summer.
Tom Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner have now signed a deal with MGM that in effect gives them control over United Artists – the studio and distribution company founded by Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. Miss Wagner will be Chief Executive of UA and Mr. Cruise will star in several UA films, but the agreement also allows him to appear in pictures from rival studios. This latest development marks a major comeback for Cruise/Wagner Productions after the company was unceremoniously dumped last August following 14 years of producing films for Paramount. At the time, a statement from Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, Paramount’s parent company, blamed the antics of Mr Cruise for hurting the performance of “Mission Impossible: III” at the box office.
Betty Walker, who lives near Atlanta, thought she heard an unusual sound in her home that appeared to be like thunder, yet there was not a cloud in the sky. However, she soon discovered what the problem was: a deer had crashed through the picture window of her living room. It then panicked, and ran through other areas of the bungalow, leaving a considerable path of destruction in its wake as it went into the bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen. As soon as she saw the animal, Mrs Walker called the 911 emergency services, and after managing to convince them they came to her house and managed to get the deer into the garage, where it ran off. Commenting on the chaos left behind, Mrs Walker stated: “It’s something I guess wouldn’t happen in 100 years.”
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