To get fresh news like this delivered by email to your inbox every day, go to http://www.valencialife.net/ and subscribe.
It would seem that those close to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero have indicated that he is ‘simply incandescent’ at the revelations emanating from the Catalan Socialist Party over the replacement of Industry Minister Jose Montilla by Barcelona Mayor Joan Clos. These same sources stated that the Prime Minister ‘wanted to do things his way, and was intent on making the announcement on September 8 following a Cabinet meeting’.
Pedro Valero, the Security Councilor for Torrevieja and whose offices are in the same building in the municipality as those of the Municipal Police Force, stated yesterday that in his opinion, putting the local police on trial was ‘a great mistake’. He added that in his opinion it was ‘completely false’ that members of the local force had mistreated or tortured suspects and he had ‘never’ been advised of any such incidents. As he left the court hearing yesterday, Mr. Valero stated that he had no idea who was actually being accused of anything, adding that he was ‘utterly tired’ of the investigation and that if there were any charges leveled against him he had no idea why. Equally sources close to Health Councilor Hipolito Caro stated yesterday that the Councilor in his capacity as a general practitioner had ever altered documents that he was asked to sign by the local police. Meanwhile, sources close to Police Chief Alejandro Morer stated that he had been converted into a ‘target’ by opposition politicians on the Town Council, and revelations were also made to the effect that Mr. Morer was on holiday at the time that a young Algerian was detained after he had broken into the home of a municipal policeman. The entire case and the findings of the judge have been declared secret, which under Spanish laws, give the court just thirty days to maintain the secrecy.
Francisco Camps, the President of the Valencian Community yesterday visited Torrevieja accompanied by Ramon Luis Valcarcel, the President of the Region of Murcia, and told journalists that ‘justice should run its course’ in the case of Orihuela mayor Jose Manuel Medina. Both presidents were attending the meeting of Mayors of the Vega Baja area of Alicante and Murcia Provinces that took place in Torrevieja, and counted with the presence of Mr. Medina, and Pedro Angel Hernandez Mateo, the Mayor of Torrevieja. Mr. Camps refused to make any comment on the current court cases involving both municipalities and equally the possible consequences of these judicial actions.
Jan Egeland, the United Nations UnderSecretary for Humanitarian Affairs has formally accused Israel of using cluster bombs in its attacks on southern Lebanon. Each one of these bombs contains 184 smaller ones that convert the immediate area into a prospective minefield, and the smaller bombs that are the size of a grenade are easily confused amongst the rubble of fallen buildings. Mr. Egeland added: “The most shocking aspect of all this for me is that 90% of the bombs launched by Israel in the last 72 hours of the recent conflict were of this type.” The Geneva Convention states that bombs of this sort may only be used against military targets, but UN bomb disposal experts have recently found the remnants of cluster bombs in civilian areas.
The death has been announced of Nobel prize-winning author Naguib Mahfuz, the only Arabic writer this far to win the prize that was awarded in 1988 for his monumental work “ Cairo Trilogy”. Mr. Mahfuz had published over fifty works, but was forced to live as a virtual recluse after an Islamic fundamentalist tried to kill him, accusing him of attacjing the Moslem religion in his novels. Mr. Mahfuz was stabbed in the neck that ultimately caused serious damage to his sight and hearing, as well as paralysis to his right arm. He was taken to a hospital in his native Cairo in the middle of last month suffering from respiratory problems. Naguib Mahfuz was 94.
The death has also been announced of Hollywood legend Glenn Ford. During the 50s, 60s and 70s, Mr. Ford encapsulated the leading man in Hollywood films with such pictures as ‘Gilda”, “The Blackboard Jungle”, “The Big Heat”, and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father”. However his career declined slightly in 1961 after the box office failure of what he considered his greatest film Vicente Minelli’s “The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse”, yet this did not prevent him form starring in a slew of other memorable pictures including “Is Paris Burning” “The Battle of Midway”, “Happy Birthday to Me” and “Superman”. At the start of the 90s he suffered a series of heart problems that got progressively worse, impeding him to take part in a special tribute to his life’s work that was staged in Hollywood last May. Police and paramedics were called to his home after receiving an emergency call, and discovered the actor had died. Foul play was not suspected. Glenn Ford, who was born in Canada, but raised in Santa Monica, was 90.
© 2006 Valencia Life SL. All rights reserved.
This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.
