Spanish court announces 11-M trial verdict

Court declares the 11-M Madrid terrorist attackers had no links with ETA

Javier Gómez Bermúdez, the magistrate in charge of the 11-M trial declared this morning that there was no evidence to back up the claims of the conspiracy theory put forward by the sensationalist press and Spain’s main opposition party, the PP, that the terrorists who carried out the March 11th terrorist attacks in 2004 had any links with the Basque terrorist organisation ETA. He also gave his backing to the investigation carried out by the judge Juan del Olmo and the Public Prosecutor, Olga Sánchez.

The court found 21 of the defendants guilty of the Madrid train bombings. Seven of the suspects on trial were cleared. Prison sentences of nearly 40,000 years have been imposed on the three lead defendants, Emilio Trashorras, Jamal Zougam and Othman el-Gnaoui.

In his declaration this morning Javier Gómez Bermúdez took apart the conspiracy theory bit by bit. He said that there was no evidence whatsoever to link the 11-M terrorists to ETA. He said that none of the evidence presented to the court during the trial could be linked to ETA.

He said that the Renault Kangoo van which has been in police custody since it was found at Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) train station contained explosive cartridges identical to those found in the flat in Leganés and that the denial that this evidence existed is unfounded.

Regarding the Vallecas rucksack Javier Gómez Bermúdez also pointed out categorically that this piece of evidence had been in police custody since it was discovered. He said that the rucksack which was found in Puente de Vallecas was identical to the others found during the investigation and was therefore a vital piece of evidence.
All or most of the explosives used in the 11-M attacks and those that exploded in the flat in Leganés came from the Conchita mine in Asturias. The explosives were stolen from the mine due to a lack of security. So far one person has been convicted of stealing the explosives.

Javier Gómez Bermúdez also said that there was no doubt over the 7 suicides that occurred in the flat in Leganés. He said that the document belonging to ETA that was found in the rubble belonged to a neighbour who was investigating the terrorist organisation for the police and who had made a statement to the court.

Spaniards arrested in Chad on charges of child trafficking

Spanish Ambassador in Cameroon to visit Detained Spaniards in Chad

María Jesús Alonso, the Spanish Ambassador for Cameroon has travelled to Chad to assist the Spanish air crew who have been arrested as a consequence of their association with a French charity that was taking 103 children to France. The Chad authorities accuse the charity of moving the children illegally without permission. The Spanish crew, chartered by the French charity to bring the children to Europe, apparantly were not aware of the operation and the ambassador has travelled to Chad to negotiate their release. Spain has no diplomatic headquarters in Chad.

Vicente Mas, Spanish consul in Cameroon, arrived in Abeche, Chad this morning on a special flight organised by the Chad authorities in order to try and gain access to the 7 arrested Spaniards all of whom are members of the air crew on the plane that the children were going to be travelling.

According to the Spanish Foreign Office the priority at the moment is to help those who are under arrest firstly via the French Ambassador because Spain doesn’t have an embassy in Chad and also through the efforts of Mas and Alonso’. In addition, The Spanish government has been trying to assure that the Spaniards are being treated correctly through diplomatic efforts at the highest levels although details of contacts that have already been established have not been released.

Relatives of the Spaniards detained in Chad have appeared on radio and television expressing their distress having seen television reports in which the Chad president seemed address the Spanish flight crew in an accusatory tone.

Tragedy of Immigrants trying to reach the Canary Islands by Boat

Two tragic stories of the desperate struggle of Africans trying to reach the Canary Islands have recently come to light. The first tragedy occurred 13 days ago when a small boat carrying immigrants from Senegal and Guinea Bissau broke in half in the middle of the voyage.

Only 10 people were rescued by a fishing boat and according to information given by the survivors the boat they had been travelling in was carrying up to 160 passengers. It is thought that the other 150 passengers must have died in the accident.

The survivors were first picked up by a Spanish fishing vessel which then transferred then onto a Mauritian fishing boat.

The second tragedy occurred when a Spanish fishing boat rescued an immigrant from a boat that was also trying to reach the canary islands. José María Abreu the captain of the fishing boat said that they approached what appeared to be an empty boat. He said as they drew nearer it appeared to be a scene from hell and there was a terrible stench of decomposing bodies.
Abreu said between sobs that there were seven bodies and one survivor who only had the strength to lift his hand. It is thought that at least 7 people died in this accident although another 50 are missing. Apparently the boat had run out of petrol when it went off course to try and avoid coast guards off the African coast.

Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the Spanish Home Secretary, confirmed that the Spanish fishing vessel the Tiburón III, captained by Abreu had rescued one man from a vessel off Cabo Verde.

According to the only survivor the boat had been carrying at least another 50 passengers.

Corruption cases in Gran Canaria

Two former PP Mayors arrested on corruption charges in Gran Canaria

The Spanish Civil Guard has searched the town hall in Santa Brigada, Gran Canaria for information on irregularities in the public accounts department. Six people including 2 ex PP mayors have been detained in the operation. Those arrested face charges of embezzlement and other irregularities committed whilst in charge of the town hall.

Santa Brigada has a population of 20,000 inhabitants and is located inland in Gran Canaria. The arrests have taken place following accusations made several months ago by various councillors of irregularities committed by some of the town hall’s mayors.

Furthermore the Civil Guard have searched several houses in Santa Brigada as well as the town hall. Santa Brigada town council was also searched in June in this year on the order of a judge in charge of the case when the town hall refused to hand over documents.

Related: Guide to Gran Canaria # Best beaches in Gran Canaria #

Spanish leader of the opposition questions climate change

Rajoy says climate change should not be regarded as a world problem

Many Spanish ecological parties have spoken out with indignation after Mariano Rajoy, leader of the PP party, played down the importance of climate change yesterday during a public act when he claimed that it shouldn't be viewed as a world problem. Rajoy was speaking at a conference held in Mallorca. Al Gore speaking at the same conference later on, criticised conservative leaders for being in denial about climate change.

Some organisations said that Rajoy's comments were scandalous while Cristina Narbona, Spain's Environment Minister, said that his ignorance and irresponsible views over one of the most important issues currently facing Spain was very worrying, especially as in theory he could one day be in charge of governing the country.

Narbona demanded that the PP started to take into account all the aspects relating to climate change and said that the comments made by Aznar on the Kyoto Protocol (when he claimed that it would be the death of many Spanish companies) were unfounded. Furthermore she pointed out that many Spanish companies are benefiting economically from the development of renewable energy.

Pablo Cotarelo, who heads Energy and Climate Change for Ecologists in Action said that if Rajoy ever governed Spain he would be ignoring one of the principal problems facing humanity and accused the president of the PP of addressing something of which he knows very little. He added that Rajoy confuses the meteorological forecasts with scientific studies on the climate.

The Spanish spokesperson for Greenpeace said that Rajoy’s comments were outrageous and said that other conservative political leaders such as Angela Merkel in Germany or David Cameron in Britain are conscious of the need to act against climate change which is a problem that has nothing to do with ideologies but with the dramatic reality which we are experiencing.

The ecological organisation WWF- Adena also said that Rajoy’s comments were a step backwards to the years when some people still discussed whether there was any evidence of climate change. He said that this debate was now over given that scientists have been able to demonstrate the reality of climate change of which the effects can be seen throughout the world.

Train delays in Barcelona

Thousands of People Affected by local train delays in Barcelona

A landslide in a railway tunnel in Barcelona caused by work on the AVE high speed train link to the Catalan capital has resulted in many local trains being cancelled. To replace the local train service RENFE is offering a bus service instead. However, although things appeared to be running smoothly first thing this morning as the day has progressed transport chaos seems to have prevailed. Around 160,000 passengers have been affected.

Many buses are not running on time and some users have complained that the bus drivers, many of whom are not from Barcelona, are not familiar with the bus routes. Another complaint by passengers is that they still have to pay the same ticket prices as a train journey although RENFE is offering a less efficient service.

There have also been problems on the roads in and around Barcelona. It has been estimated that there are at least 10% more vehicles on the road than usual. Since first thing this morning around 220 buses have replaced the train routes that have had to be cancelled which has further increased the volume of traffic adding to the travel chaos. The B204 in Viladecans, the B210 in Gavá, the C31 and the C32 have all been affected by long traffic jams today although traffic circulation hasn’t collapsed entirely.

Passengers on long distance train journeys have also been affected by train cancellations. Trains to Valencia have been replaced by a bus service that takes them as far as Tarragona where they can then catch the Euromet train to Valencia. So far this service is experiencing delays of up to 25 minutes.

The most optimistic forecasts estimate that delays and cancellations to train services will last at least a week on the El Prat-Sants line although on the rest of the lines cancellations and delays could last up to one month.

Spanish scientist announces successful malaria vaccine trials

Vaccine against Malaria

Pedro Alonso, a Spanish medical researcher, has announced the results of clinical trials on a vaccine against malaria in an article published today in the prestigious Medical journal, The Lancet. The clinical trials which were carried out on African babies just a few weeks old appear to have demonstrated the efficiency of the new vaccine.

The results of the study were presented in a press conference held in the Clinical Hospital in Barcelona yesterday. Speaking via video link from Seattle, Pedro Alonso said the results represented a ‘milestone in the fight against Malaria’.

The trial was carried out in Mozambique in the province of Manhiça which is situated to the south of the country. Over two hundred babies between 10 and 18 weeks old participated in the trial and all of them responded satisfactorily to the vaccine. Pedro Alonso confirmed that a vaccine against malaria could be available within 3 or 4 years.

Related: Malaria vaccine seems nearer

Santander Bank and its partners take over ABN Amro

Today Santander Bank, together with its business partners, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Fortis will officially become the new owners of the Dutch financial group, ABN Amro, for the price of 71,000 million euros after outbidding the British bank Barclays.

The purchase of the Dutch consortium means that ABN’s assets will be distributed between the three banks. Santander bank will take over the Royal Bank of Brazil and the Italian bank Antonveneta at a cost of around 19,850 million euros. RBS, will pay around 27,200 million for their share in the company and Fortis will pay around 24,000 million for their share in ABN Amro.

This operation is significant for Santander because it means taking a lead role in Italian banking which is a difficult market for foreign companies to break into.
Santander which is led by Emilio Botín is hoping to introduce some new banking practices and improve the efficiency of Antonveneta which it hopes will lead to improved profits.

Antonveneta is the 7th largest Italian bank and the 6th most important in the north of the country where most of Italy’s wealth is generated. It is considered to be an excellent platform from which to develop the market for mortgages and loans.
Santander is also strengthening its position in the Brazilian financial market where it already owns and controls Banespa, the 6th largest bank in Brazil. It will now be the 3rd largest company in terms of offices and the volume of lending.
Botín said that the purchase of ABN Amro was one of the largest operations the bank had ever undertaken and that the purchase of the Royal Bank of Brazil was the jewel in the crown.

Related: Santander Bank profits soar after Abbey takeover # Santander Bank announces new profits

Heavy rains return to Valencia and Murcia

The Spanish National Meteorological Institute (INM) has forecast further heavy rain in Malaga, Almeria, Ibiza, Mallorca and Tarragona and very heavy downpours in the Comunidad Valenciana and in the province of Murcia, with persistent fog on the Asturian and Cantabrian coastlines.

The Costa Blanca and Levante is forcast to have continued bad weather. Following the torrential rain that caused serious flooding in various villages and towns near Alicante last weekend, the National Meteorological Institute has issued a new warning of further heavy rain in this region. The news is a blow to residents who are still clearing up the mud and debris from homes in villages along the coast of the Costa Blanca and inland.

Moderate showers with some storms are expected in the interior and to the south of the Valencian Region with particularly heavy rains in southern parts of the province of Alicante.

The cost of repairing the damage caused by the storms at the end of last week is estimated to reach several millions of euros. Hundreds of families have been left homeless, and 2 people were killed during the torrential rains as the banks of two rivers burst and flooded surrounding villages. Agriculture has also been severely affected, especially vine crops and orange groves.

Self employment in Spain

New Laws Governing Self Employment in Spain come into effect

The news laws governing self-employment in Spain which have taken 3 years of careful negotiations came into effect this weekend. The various measures included in the new laws will be implemented in phases.

One of the new measures is that the self-employed, or autonomos as they are called in Spanish, can now contract their children under 30 years old.

From the 1st January 2008 when the new Spanish financial year begins, self employed workers who pay according to the Régimen General system and more specifically those who work under the RETA scheme will have the right to reduce their costs.

According to the President of the Association of Self Employed Workers in Spain disabled self-employed workers, those who travel and work and those who work in direct sales should have their costs reduced.

The minimum wage established under the proposals for next year is 700 euros which according to the Association of Self-Employed Workers in Spain needs to be reduced to 380 euros in order to make it worthwhile registering as self-employed.

There are other aspects of self-employment laws that need to be developed further such as the working contract between autonomos that obtain more than 75% of their income from one client. This group of self-employed workers, known as TRADE workers will be allowed at least 18 days unpaid holidays and will be able to sign interprofessional agreements with their employers. The government has a maximum of one year to pass a law that regulates the type of contracts and the possibility of creating a register of TRADE workers that could be governed either by each regional authority or the state.

Sebastián Reyna, the General Secretary of the Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers, believes that the recognition of TRADE workers is one of the most important aspects of the new laws giving security to this emerging group and will also give these workers the opportunity to have a ‘full professional career’.

The government still needs to pass a law which regulates payment to the self-employed who suffer accidents while at work, those who suffer from work related illnesses and those who work in dangerous or harmful conditions.

Maternity care in Spain to be improved

Government announces measures to improve birth and maternity care in Spanish hospitals.

Although Spain has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world, giving birth in some Spanish hospitals can involve certain medical procedures which make it a cold and clinical experience. Over-frequent caesareans, women forced into uncomfortable postures with legs tied to stirrups or unnecessary episiotomies can make giving birth in Spain an unpleasant experience with little or no intimacy. This is why the Inter-Regional Council (the organization that coordinates health services belonging to different autonomous regions and the Health Ministry) has introduced a ‘Strategy for a Normal Birth’ in which each region in Spain is committed to allowing the woman giving birth to have a say in her care, as long as her safety or the safety of the baby is not put at risk. This strategy will also be applied to care for pregnant women. However, on announcing the measures yesterday, the Spanish Health Minister, Bernat Soria stressed that this didn’t mean home births.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine
The Inter-Regional Council also approved the introduction of the new vaccine against cancer of the cervix. Despite receiving protests from several regional health authorities, the vaccine against the human papiloma virus (which causes cancer of the cervix) will be financed by each autonomous region at a cost of around 300 euros per vaccine. In Spain about 2000 cases of cancer of the cervix are diagnosed per year and there are 600 deaths from this disease. A commission is to be set up to establish at what age the vaccine should be given.

Free dental care for children
A plan for dental health to be partly financed by the government is to be introduced at a cost of 12 million euros in 2008. The plan consists of giving free dental health care (check ups, dental hygiene procedures, fillings and extractions) to all children between the ages of 7 and 15.

Finally, Health Minister also announced a digitalization of health records in Spain so that all patients would have access to their health records wherever they were and in this way they could receive better medical treatment.

Related: Health care in Spain # Pregnancy in Spain # Heart operation in Spain

ETA bomb in Bilbao injures bodyguard

Yesterday an ETA car bomb exploded in Bilbao seriously injuring the bodyguard who was driving the vehicle. This is the first time that ETA has used this type of bomb since May 2003 when it killed 2 policemen in Navarra which was the last mortal attack before the last ceasefire was declared.

A Government spokesperson said it believed that the objective of bomb attack yesterday was to kill. The bomb exploded after the bodyguard, Gabriel Ginés, had driven just a few metres down the road. Ginés was admitted to hospital in a serious, condition suffering from second and third degree burns to 4% of his body. The MP for Galdakao, Juan Carlos Domingo, who Ginés was protecting was not in the vehicle at the time of the explosion and was not injured in the attack.

The Secretary of State for Security said that the ETA bomb yesterday was a significant development and showed their true intentions following the end of the last ceasefire on 5th June this year. The Basque Interior Minister, Javier Balza, agreed with him saying that ETA had reappeared with clear intentions of carrying out further attacks of this kind. It is the third bomb attack carried out by ETA since the end of the ceasefire.

Furthermore, yesterday’s bomb attack occurred after many leading members of Batasuna were arrested last weekend and just days before a national bank holiday in Spain which celebrates the Spanish Constitution.

Yesterday members of the PP (the official opposition party in Spain) and PSOE attended separate demonstrations in Madrid against the attack.

Phone helpline for victims of domestic violence

016 - New Confidential Telephone Helpline in Spain

This weekend the Spanish government presented a new confidential 24 hour telephone helpline for victims of domestic violence. The helpline has actually been up and running since the 3rd September and has already received 445 calls. The number to call is 016 and it won’t appear on the telephone’s last dialled number or on the bill.

Soledad Murillo, the General Secretary of the government’s Equality Policy team and Encarnación Orozco who represents the government in its campaign against violence against women both said that victims of gender violence needed a 24 hour helpline operating 365 days a year. Murillo pointed out that battered women often don’t want to go through the lengthy process of filing a formal complaint and that the new 016 helpline was aimed a assisting these women by assessing their situation and informing them of their rights.

Murillo also emphasised that it would always be the decision of the victim whether to file an official compliant or not. She also said that the helpline was not only aimed at the victims of gender violence but also at friends, neighbours or relatives so that they could be informed about how best to help such people.

The government advertisement for the new 016 helpline shows a black screen with a cardiogram on it showing a heartbeat which suddenly stops and then you can hear a dialling tone followed by a voice saying ‘For this never to happen again call 016 at the first sign of abuse. The telephone number 016 can change lives.

Rain Storms Cause Havoc in Spain

There was traffic chaos in Madrid yesterday morning from about 10 am onwards due to intense, persistent rain. According to information from the DGT (el Departamento General de Tráfico) there were more than 150 kilometres of traffic jams on roads leading into the capital and on the major ring roads around the city.

The worst traffic jam was on the M-40 towards the A-1 where there was a 12 kilometre stretch where traffic was practically stationary. There were other hold ups too on the A-6 and A-3, this time caused by an accident. Another accident also occurred on the M-50 affecting a 12 kilometre stretch of the motorway going towards the A-1. There was a 5 kilometre traffic jam in Boadilla going towards the A-6 and 4 kilometres of jams in Getafe heading towards the A-5.

There was also slow traffic for 5 kilometres on the M-45 going towards the A-1 and the A-2 experienced 11 kilometres of jams in the direction of Madrid and 4 kilometres of hold ups in the direction of Barcelona.

Meanwhile the severe weather experienced in the province of Sevilla yesterday resulted in two deaths in Alcalá de Guadaira. There was an extremely heavy downpour including hail (which reached up to 50 centimetres high in some places) and winds of 100 kilometres per hour. Some areas received 60 litres of rain per square metre.
The youngest victim was crushed by cars which were being washed along the street and the eldest victim died of a heart attack when water entered her home. Ten other people were injured, one of them seriously.

The local town hall has called for two days of mourning and has asked for the area to be declared a catastrophe. In addition the town hall has set up a help centre for those affected by the severe weather and has asked for assistance from the Regional Andalucian Government.

The unsettled weather is expected to continue today in Southern and Eastern areas of Spain and heavy rains and storms are forecast in Castilla La Mancha, Murcia, Valencia and Andalucía.

Monarchy in Spain

As the monarchy becomes subject to increased criticisim in Spain, King Juan Carlos I defends his role in Spanish democracy.

King Juan Carlos I used his speech at the opening of the academic year at the University of Oviedo to defend the monarchy saying that "parliamentary monarchy that supports the constitution has provided the country with the longest period of stability and prosperity in Spanish history".

His words are particularly poignant as two Spanish citizens, Jaume Roura Carellas and Enric Stern, have been charged with ‘seriously insulting the monarchy’ by Santiago Pedraz, a Spanish High Court judge, following their participation in a protest against the monarchy on 13th September in Gerona. This protest was timed to take place just before a planned official visit by the monarchy to the city. The two are accused of taking part in an act in which a photos of the Spanish king and queen were burned as part of the demonstration. Insulting the monarchy is a crime according to the Spanish constitution.

The judge, Grande-Marlaska has also summoned nine other people to court next Thursday for their part in a second demonstration in support of the first in which photos were also burnt.
A further demonstration took place in Manresa, Barcelona, last Saturday supporting those who have been charged over the last few days for burning photos of the Spanish king and queen. In this demonstration around 60 people burnt small photos of the king and queen as a way of showing solidarity with those accused of the same crime.

The demonstration last Saturday passed off peacefully without incidents or arrests. According to the Catalan police it didn’t last very long and the demonstrators who were carrying placards against the monarchy with pro-Catalan independence slogans dispersed as soon as it was over.

Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska has ordered the photographer who took photos of demonstrators burning photos of the monarchy in the original demonstration in Gerona to hand over his film to the courts. Although the photographer, Jordi Ribot, refused at first saying ‘he didn’t work for the police’, he consented to the judge’s request when he was called to appear in court.

Yesterday the Catalan police removed an explosive artefact which had been placed outside the headquarters of the ICV party in Barcelona. This incident is believed to be connected to the anti-monarchy protests currently taking place in Catalonia because Joan Saura who is a member of ICV is the Interior Minister for Catalonia and is in charge of the Catalan Police. So far no one has come forward to claim responsibility.