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It has now become more than apparent that the investigation into the March 11 bombings in Madrid in which 193 people died has become seriously unravelled, after a major daily newspaper published an extensive interview with Emilio Suarez Trashorras, the former miner who supplied some explosives to the bombers in which he revealed that he had been ‘set up’ by the police.. Now further investigations by journalists have revealed that the only ‘proof’ of the bombing weapons – a back pack that was purportedly discovered in Vallecas police station – had been ‘manipulated’; that the Skodia Fabria car that at one time was considered ‘vital evidence’ was in fact a red herring, and that some important security TV videos recorded in April of 2004 - near the time that the alleged bombers committed suicide by blowing themselves up in their apartment in Leganes – still have not been handed to investigating magistrate Juan del Olmo. In the light of all this, Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the Partido Popular, has tabled a series of questions for Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba that will form a key part to the first session of Parliament.
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Defence Minister Jose Antonio Alonso admitted yesterday that the Spanish soldiers taking part bin the United Nations operations to establish a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon are ‘on a high risk mission’, and that they would in all probability be sent ‘into the line of fire’. Tomorrow, the Government is to formally request Parliament to authorise the sending of 1,100 troops to join the UN force.
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A minor storm over protocol has broken out in Madrid over the reception of the Spanish World Champion Basketball team after it returned victorious from the championships in Japan. Initially, it was thought that the team would visit the Zarzuela Palace and be greeted buy king Juan Carlos and his family, later going to the Moncloa Palace for a reception with the Prime Minister. However, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero insisted and the team first went to the Moncloa and then on to the Zarzuela, in a round of visits that resulted in PP leader Mariano Rajoy terming the Prime Minister as being ‘highly disrespectful of the King of Spain’.
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It was reported yesterday that nineteen new fires are ravaging Galicia, the most serious of which is burning close to the capital of the autonomy Santiago de Compostela. As darkness fell yesterday, seven of the original fires remained active, with the remaining twelve under control. Meanwhile, the National Police have arrested a man and accused him of being involved with starting a fire in the area of A Zapateira that involved evacuating a students residence and a private home before bit was brought under control
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There still appears to be no end in sight for the boatloads of immigrants that sail into the Canary Islands from Senegal. In addition to the more than two thousand ‘illegals’ that are being put up in various areas of the archipelago, yesterday some 562 more arrived. Meanwhile, the Security Services for the Islands advised that it had spotted two more craft filled with immigrants, one ten and the other twenty miles from Tenerife.
Pakistan yesterday stated that Osama Bin Laden would not face capture ‘if he agrees to lead a peaceful life’. The surprising announcement was broadcast last night on ABC TV News in the United States, and came as the Pakistani army announced it was pulling out its troops from North Waziristan as part of a peace agreement with the Taliban. In a telephone interview, Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC that ‘if he is in Pakistan, Bin Laden would not be taken into custody, as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen’. America’s most wanted terrorist is believed to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas of Pakistan and near the border with Afghanistan, but his precise location remains unknown. In addition to the Pakistani troop pullout, the ‘peace agreement’ with the Taliban also envisages that weapons and captives will be returned. “In reality, what this means is that the Taliban and Al Qaeda leadership have carved out a sanctuary for themselves inside Pakistan”, stated Richard Clarke a former White House anti-terrorism adviser.
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The Mexican electoral college yesterday finally ratified the results of the recent Presidential elections and awarded the conservative candidate Felipe Calderon as the winner by just 233,831 votes or 0,56%. Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had consistently demanded recounts and also stated that he would not accept the result, forming a ‘government in opposition’ to Mr. Calderon. The decision by the College, which is not appealable, will enable Mr. Calderon to be sworn in this December.
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