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Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba appeared before a parliamentary Commission yesterday and stated in his opening address that ‘immigration is good’ and added that ‘Spain has ideal conditions to enter the country illegally’. He also stated that it would be ‘impossible’ to stop the current waves of immigrants arriving in the Canary Islands. He highlighted the fact that “On our coasts almost no one drowns. In the Canary Islands I believe that 25 people have died, but they died on board their craft, and did not drown.” Meanwhile, as the Minister was making this statement, some 300 more immigrants were picked up off the Canaries.
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It has been revealed that the Basque Socialists yesterday issued a formal agreement to Arnaldo Otegi, the spokesman for the illegalized Batasuna Party to the effect that Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ‘would put into action shortly’ a plan under which Eta prisoners are grouped together in jails inside the Basque Country, whilst those seriously ill members of the Basque terror group that are currently in jail are too be set free. According to various sources, these were undertakings given to Mr Otegi but have yet to be undertaken by the Socialists
Today the Governmental anti-smoking law comes into effect, affecting bars, restaurants and hotels in the Valencian Community. Under the new law, smoking and no-smoking areas must not only be clearly indicated but also separated by a wall from each other in order that smoke not filter into the non smoking areas. However, the vast majority of establishments in the Valencian Community have opted for the ‘wall of air’ technique developed by the US Space Agency NASA, and widely used in airports, instead of building walls. Although the use of this system is not contemplated by the new law, the Valencian Government will not make any official inspections of the fulfillment of the new law by these establishments until next month.
United States President George W. Bush stated yesterday that there would be ‘consequences’ for Iran after it defied a United Nations demand that it stop its nuclear programme. The President added: “The world today ids now facing a serious threat from the radical regime in Iran.” Meanwhile, and with the full knowledge and consent of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez has arrived in Teheran to have a series of meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. Prior to his departure, Mr. Gonzalez stated that Iran ‘had a right to use atomic energy’.
The Norwegian police announced yesterday afternoon that they had managed to recover “The Scream” and “Madonna”, two paintings by Edvard Munch that were stolen from a museum in Oslo two years ago. Police sources stated that the condition of the two works ‘was better that was expected’. It was August 2004 when two masked armed men burst into the Munch Museum, threatening two security guards, and removing the two paintings by slicing through their attachments. For the moment it is unknown as to whether the find had anything to do with a deal made with David Toska in exchange for a reduced sentence. Toska was arrested in Malaga in April last year, and in May was sentenced to eight years in jail for stealing paintings and bank robberies – a court decision that was appealed both by the prosecutor and the accused.
It now appears that it is possible to sell anything over the Internet, after a waiter took a half eaten sandwich and sausage that had been ordered by Britney Spears and her husband Kevin Federline and offered them for sale, realizing $100 in the process. The note accompanying the leftovers stated that it would be possible to conserve them ‘or if you like, eat them and feel a little bit closer to the stars’.
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