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The Partido Popular yesterday refused to modify in any way a video in homage to Miguel Angel Blanco, killed by Eta nine years ago after being kidnapped by the terror group. The controversy appeared to be the inclusion of a shot of a logo showing the Socialist Rose intertwined with the snake emblem of Eta that appeared in an edition of the Basque newspaper Gara last month. Socialist General Secretary Pepiño Blanco yesterday termed the video ‘highly stupid as it combines the assassins with the assassinated’. Fop the Partido popular, Angel Acebes stated that he did not understand the Socialists’ reaction, when what the logo clearly indicated was the genuine state of politics in the Basque Country today.
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The families of nine of the eleven victims of last years’ Guadalajara fire yesterday staged a public walkout form the church where a memorial service was being staged. This was because they had discovered members of the Socialist Autonomous Government inside the Church. As they emerged a spokesperson stated that the Government had done nothing for the victims or their families, and had claimed that the deaths of the eleven forestry agents in the fire was due to ‘an error on the agents’ part’.
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Apparently resigned to ‘going it alone’ in his negotiations with the Basque terror group Eta, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero does not want any divergence of opinion inside the Socialist Party. In line with this thinking. Mr. Rodriguez Zapatero yesterday vetoed the nomination of Carlos Chivite, the General Secretary of the Navarran Socialists, as the Socialist Candidate for the Presidency of the autonomy. This follows on from doubts expressed publicly by Mr. Chivite over talks with Eta, and his total refusal to hold talks with Batasuna.
Socialist Environment Minister Cristina Narbona yesterday publicly called on all tourists who stay in hotels in the Valencian Community that they ‘save as much water as possible’. She made this statement at the start of her department’s summer campaign aimed at preventing forest fires and saving water The campaign has been created by the Concept Agency at a cost of over 4 million Euros and leaflets are expected to be distributed later this week to coincide with the advertising campaign
Tensions in the Middle East were ratched up even higher yesterday after Hezbollah fired several series of rockets on Haifa, damaging the port area, and destroying a residential building , whilst a rocket descended on the hospital of Safed, injuring at least six people. The Israeli armed forces announced that they had managed to intercept and shoot down a long-range missile of Iranian manufacture
Meanwhile appearing in the Knesset yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that Israel was formally accusing Syria and Iran of creating the current situation, and added that the current campaign was in ‘self defense of the rights of Israel’.
Also yesterday Chinook helicopters started airlifting British people out of Beirut, and the French sent a large ship to the area to undertake the same thing for their citizens.
The death was announced early this morning of macho mystery writer Mickey Spillane, the creator of the Mike Hammer novels. Born in Brooklyn, he grew up in New Jersey, becoming a swimming champion before turning to writing, starting his scribing career by writing for such comics as ‘Batman’ and SubMariner. He enlisted after World War II broke out, and returning home in 1945 turned out his first Mike Hammer novel “I The Jury” in just three weeks, withy twelve more novels following, many of which were filmed or developed into television series. He also wrote a dozen other books including several for young people that garnered awards, as did his Mike Hammer novels, which won prizes from the Mystery Writers of America and the Private Eye Writers of America. Mickey Spillane, who was married three times and fathered four children, was 88.
Brad Pitt has visited New Orleans to see for himself the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina, and came away stating that ‘it was much worse than I imagined’. He is chairing a panel whose aim is to build ‘ecological’ homes in the area and combines the actor’s architectural interests with an effort to save the environment. The project has been organized by Global Green USA an environmental group in the USA, whose spokesman at the new conference with Mr. Pitt stated that if any questions were asked about Mr. Pitt’s personal life, the conference would end immediately.
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