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GLOBAL NEWS Daily from SPAIN Monday, 12 December 2005

ETA Literature Seized
The Basque Autonomous Police force (Ertzaintza) yesterday raided the annual Book and Music Fair in Durango, some 33 Kms from Bilbao. They discovered some 450 copies of the Internal Eta Magazine "Zutube" had been placed on two stands at the show, and confiscated them. None of the exhibitors or participants had any knowledge of the placing of the copies of "Zutube," and the stands where they were found had been set up outside the knowledge of the Fair's organizers.

Cruise Liner Success for Valencia
Jose Salinas, the head of the Valencia Turismo Convention Bureau, revealed yesterday that passengers from cruise ships spent some 17 million Euros in Valencia during the current year. He added that some 115,000 cruise line passengers visited the city this year, and that these figures were "truly excellent." Mr. Salinas also stated that the perspectives looked "excellent" for next year with the arrival of the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth II, which will stay in Valencia Port for a few days on her way from Dubai to Southampton.

Rubalcaba Accuses PP Over EU Budget Negotiations
During a rally held in Santander to review the achievements of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government during 2005 yesterday, PSOE House of Congress spokesman, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, accused the PP right wing opposition party of complicating president Zapatero's negotiations over EU subsidy levels 2007-20013, because "the interests of the Spanish people matter very little to them." Mr Rubalcaba alleged that the PP were manipulating the situation for "party political purposes," and that they "could not give a toss about" what is best for the people of Spain. He added that they had adopted a similar strategy when Felipe Gonzalez, who they described as "importunate," was trying to negotiate what turned out to be record subsidies for any EU member, at the Edinburgh summit in 1992. With respect to the economy, the socialist spokesman insisted that Spain "was going in the right direction," because the economy is growing "in a serious and balanced way," at a rate higher than the European average, and faster than at any time during the previous eight year PP administration.

Fresh Claim of More CIA Flights through Spain
In a new twist to the row over secret CIA flights carrying terrorist suspects through European airports, it was claimed another aircraft used by the agency had stopped off at Barcelona. The Turkish foreign minister Abdula Gul said the DHC-8 flight had arrived in Istanbul on 31 October after stopping off at Barcelona airport. The plane was on its way to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Until now, it had only been claimed that CIA flights had used stopped at Majorca and the Canary Islands, as well as other European airports. The flight was said to have returned to Istanbul on 15 November, then flew on to Schipol airport in Amsterdam. From there it is said to have flown to Iceland before returning to Florida in the U.S.A. It opens the possibility that there have been more CIA flights through Spain.

Left Wingers Ask Questions about Spain's Role in Iraq
Spain's left wing grouping IU has called on the Minister for Defence, Jose Bono, to explain Spain's participation in the war in Iraq. It follows the publication of a leaked document over the weekend which shows that the Spanish unit in Iraq saw 40 combats in a 48 day period, and claims that the troops are living in a state of open warfare. In theory the Spanish contingent are in the country on humanitarian duty. The Socialist Party has said it will respond to the IU request once it has been passed through the correct channels.

Poor State of Housing in Alicante
Alicante has been named as the second city in Spain with most property in a poor state of repair, following Cadiz. The number in Alicante is double the average in other cities according to the figures which come from the National Statistics Institute. It's claimed that 21% of the homes in the city are in a poor state of repair.

New Regional Land Laws Come Into Force Today
The Junta will have will have “zero tolerance” with any local council which does not comply with the new Andalucian Land Law which comes into effect today. Gaspar Zarrias, councillor responsible for the Interior with the regional government, said on Friday that the public works department will take action against Councils who fail to comply with planning regulations, as they did in the case of the local authority in Marbella. “Laws are there to be obeyed,” he said, “And to be applied in all Councils, whatever their political creed may be.” Reports came out in the press yesterday that 32 of Marbella's councillors this legislation have been or are still the subject of criminal proceedings and that four of them have actually been sent to prison. Because of that, the local corporation has had to substitute nine councillors over the past two and a half years.