Spanish Judge Summons Iraqi for Alleged Killings - WSJ.com

Spanish Judge Summons Iraqi for Alleged Killings - WSJ.com: "Spanish judge has summoned a top Iraqi military commander, accused of having directed a 2009 assault on an Iraq-based camp holding Iranian opponents of Tehran's regime, to face charges of breaching the Geneva Convention, a spokesperson for Spain's National Court said Tuesday.

According to the writ signed by Judge Fernando Andreu, Lieutenant General Abdul-Hussein Shemmari must appear before the court March 8 to answer questions about his alleged role in the attack against the Ashraf refugee camp, which left 11 people killed and 450 wounded, the spokesperson said, confirming an earlier report in Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The indictment, the latest in a series of controversial summons by Spanish judges applying the 'universal justice' principle to take on international cases, comes amid a growing controversy over Iranian influence on Baghdad's government.

A statement from the chief lawyer in the case, Spain's Juan Garces, explicitly cites Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki by name, saying that Lt. Gen. Shemmari worked during the operation under the supervision of a committee responding to the prime minister's office. Mr. Maliki himself, believed by many to be close to pro-Iranian elements in Iraq, isn't accused or cited in the court summons."

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Morocco arrests six men suspected of planning attacks | Earth Times News

Morocco arrests six men suspected of planning attacks | Earth Times News: "Moroccan police have arrested six men suspected of planning to carry out attacks in Morocco and overseas, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.
'A six-strong terrorist network involved in cybernetic terrorism was recently dismantled,' according to Morocco's state news agency MAP.
The ministry, which released a statement to MAP, did not specify when the six Moroccans were arrested, nor which countries they were targeting.
Members of the cell were making explosives and planning to use them in attacks, including car bombs targeting foreign interests in Morocco and security buildings, according to the ministry's statement."

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Spain will only discuss Gibraltar sovereignty issues with the UK — MercoPress

Spain will only discuss Gibraltar sovereignty issues with the UK — MercoPress: "She said sovereignty was a bilateral matter for Spain and the UK.
“The Forum has been, and is, very useful in order to try and bring the communities in the Rock and the Campo closer together” Trinidad Jimenez told the newspaper ABC.
“But we cannot accept that one of the vertex’s of the forum try to introduce matters that are outside and that affect sovereignty”.
“On questions of sovereignty, Spain only deals with the UK”.
The issue of Gibraltar was raised by the journalist during a wide-ranging interview on Spanish foreign policy."

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US warships try to avoid docking in Gibraltar to keep strong relation with Spain — MercoPress

US warships try to avoid docking in Gibraltar to keep strong relation with Spain — MercoPress: "Its release follows that of an earlier cable in which US officials recorded how Spanish officials had asked that US warships avoid Gibraltar wherever possible in favor of Rota and Spanish ports.
Spanish military cooperation matters,” the latest cable said. “The bases of Rota and Moron are strategic hubs, midway between the US and Afghanistan and Iraq”.
“US planes and ships account for around 5,000 flights and 250 port calls a year in Spain.” It added: “The Spanish military is pro-US and pro-NATO. We need to keep this relationship strong”."

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Night time skiing comes to Spain's Sierra Nevada

Night time skiing comes to Spain's Sierra Nevada: "You can now ski under floodlights at night on the Sierra Nevada.

Weather permitting the night time slopes of ‘El Rio’ open every Saturday night from 7pm to 9,30pm during the months of January and February.

The daily preparation work by the Cetursa company which runs the resort ensures that the El Rio piste, 3.258 kms long, can offer good quality snow at night."

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Church thief rescued by helicopter

Church thief rescued by helicopter: "man who broke his leg while trying to break into a church has been rescued and arrested.

It happened in Alcalá de Guadaira on New Year’s Eve when a 112 emergency helicopter had to be called to get the man off the roof of the Santiago el Mayor church in the town after he had slipped and broken his leg while trying to break into the building in the early hours.

Reports indicate that he could not move because of the pain, despite the attempts of a fellow thief to help him down. He had first decided to stay the night on the roof while the friend found a way to get him down, but by 4am he phoned the police on his mobile and confessed to his crime, and location.

Once back on firm ground he was arrested and then taken to hospital for treatment."

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Marbella Town Hall hands over property to help clear debt

Marbella Town Hall hands over property to help clear debt: "Marbella is to repay part of its debt for a loan from the Junta de Andalucía by handing over property.

The town planning offices of Marbella Town Hall, on Avenida Ricardo Soriano in the town centre were where Juan Antonio Roca had his office, and was from where the corrupt Malaya case was allegedly controlled.

The building is a symbol of the excesses of the GIL era and now the Town Hall hands it to the Junta as part payment for a 106 million € loan granted to the management committee who took over the running of the Town Hall in 2006 before new local elections were held in 2007.

The building has been valued at 5.2 million €."

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According to reports in the press an accident on the A-7 motorway in Benalmadena has left one woman dead and three people in hospital

costadelsol.st - News - Costa del Sol: "According to reports in the press an accident on the A-7 motorway in Benalmadena has left one woman dead and three people in hospital

It is understood that the car they were traveling in crashed at 15.20 this afternoon at KM 215

There is no information of the woman but the three injured are a 54 year old man and two youths aged 14 and 15 years who were taken to hosptial"

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Moroccan writer Taia challenges homosexual taboo | My Sinchew

Moroccan writer Taia challenges homosexual taboo | My Sinchew: "Novelist Abdellah Taia, who has won acclaim in France and readers abroad, has challenged a taboo in his native Morocco and won't back down: he is the first writer to come out as gay in a country that bans homosexuality.

For 37-year-old Taia, who has lived in Paris for the last decade, being homosexual and Muslim are not mutually exclusive. He 'feels Muslim' and is from a country where Islam is the state religion.

'I am the first Moroccan writer who has spoken openly about his homosexuality, to acknowledge it, but without turning my back on the country I'm from,' he said.

'My homosexuality, I already felt it from the age of 13,"

'US losing power in Latin America'

PressTV - 'US losing power in Latin America': "analyst says US aggressive stance against Latin American and Caribbean countries shows Washington's anger over its diminishing influence in the region.


The region 'is no longer directly under the thumb of the US corporate power and US military power,' Co-Director of International Action Center Sara Flounders said.

'That certainly is infuriating US policy makers, the Pentagon, and the corporations that are used to treating the economies of Latin America as extensions; as sources of cheap raw material and cheap labor,' she told Press TV.

Flounders specifically referred to the US attempts to rig Venezuela-Colombia relations as an evident example of Washington's agenda for destabilizing the region.

'Any reconciliation or improvement in relations between Colombia and Venezuela would be to US detriment, and certainly to the detriment of the US military presence in Colombia,' she added.

Flounders argued that the US has, for many years, used fighting drugs as an excuse for its military presence in Colombia."

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Spain: Big turn-out expected for pro-family demonstration | Spero News

Spain: Big turn-out expected for pro-family demonstration | Spero News: "The Plaza de Plaza de Colón in Madrid will be filled with worshippers on Sunday, January 2 as thousands from Spain and elsewhere in Europe come to the Spanish capital to participate in the Mass for the Christian Family. This is the fourth year that the Mass is to be celebrated by Spain's Cardinal  Antonio María Rouco Varela.

Organizers are expecting over more than a half million to attend the Mass, bearing the motto 'Christian Family: the hope of Europe,' to be concelebrated by 50 bishops from Spain and elswhere. Among these will be Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Carlos Amigo of Seville, Cardinal Agustín García Gasco of Valencia, military Archbishop Juan del Río, Papal Nuncio Renzo Fratini. Also coming are Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, the President of the Pontifical Council on the Family Ennio Antonelli, as well as bishops from France, The Netherlands, and Poland. ,"

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Muslims in Spain Rise to Absurd Levels

Muslims in Spain Rise to Absurd Levels: "Spain, during a class discussion of geography, the teacher noted that areas of Spain have the perfect climate for curing Spanish ham.  At that point a Muslim student in the class interrupted the teacher stating that even discussing ham offended his religious beliefs.  The teacher informed the student that he was not discussing religion, but simply used the mention of ham in reference to climate.

While this may have shut the Muslim student up in class, it did not keep him from informing his parents, who then turned around a sued the teacher for that they call 'abuse with xenophobic motivations.' [1]  This means 'hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture.' [2]

Essentially, the parents are accusing the teacher of a hate-crime, by abusing the young man because of the teacher's alleged fear of him.  I feel badly for the teacher and I'm quite sure that the suit will (hopefully) go nowhere.  The reality is that the more these incidences of stupidity occur, perpetrated by radical Muslims, the more the world will grow sick and tired of radical Muslims and their charades."

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Spain holds Europe's fate in its hands in 2011, say analysts - Channel NewsAsia

Spain holds Europe's fate in its hands in 2011, say analysts - Channel NewsAsia: "For financial markets the doomsday scenario in 2011 starts with Spain buckling under its debt and unleashing a Europe-wide crisis that dwarfs anything seen so far in Greece or Ireland.

Financial analysts disagree on the likelihood of such a Spanish sovereign debt crisis but they agree the risk is real and that existing European and international rescue mechanisms would be unable to cope.

In part to avert just such an outcome, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government is slashing spending to lower the public deficit from 11.1 per cent in 2009 to 3.0 per cent in 2013.

He vowed in an end-of-year address Thursday to meet his targets. And many in the markets believe the plan is credible, especially coupled with announced sales of big stakes in the national lottery and airport operator.

Spain's government has repeatedly stressed that the accumulated public debt is below the European Union limit of 60 per cent of annual output, or gross domestic product. It rose to 57.7 per cent of GDP at the end of September from 53.2 per cent at the end of 2009."

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Spain enacts tough anti-smoking law

The Associated Press: Spain enacts tough anti-smoking law: "The tapas bar — the noisy and bustling Spanish success story that combined delicious morsels with good wine and, often, an ever-present cigarette — is now smoke-free. So are restaurants, discos, casinos, airports and even some outdoor spaces.
Spain on Sunday introduced an anti-smoking law that is likely to turn the EU's fourth largest tobacco producer from a cigarette-friendly land abounding with smoky bars and restaurants, into one of Europe's most stringently smokeless.
The law prohibits lighting up in enclosed public places, although hotels are allowed to reserve 30 percent of their rooms for smokers. In a particularly tough measure, outside smoking is banned in open-air children's playgrounds — even those set inside parks — and at access points to schools and hospitals.
'It's a step that should have been taken four years ago, but I think the government got cold feet,' said bakery worker Inma Amantes Ramos, 29."

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Spanish officials honor Hilton Head woman for economic development efforts | islandpacket.com

Spanish officials honor Hilton Head woman for economic development efforts | islandpacket.com: "Windmill Harbour resident and expatriate Laura Stanbridge sees many similarities between Hilton Head Island and Marbella, Spain, where she has been honored for her efforts to forge international business relations.

Both rely heavily on tourism and real estate industries to drive the local economy, she said.

'Marbella is very similar to Hilton Head. It's a residential-tourism community. ... It has that close-knit community feel, but is welcoming to visitors, which is very similar to Hilton Head.'

Stanbridge, 49, is president of CCG, a firm of accountants, lawyers and payroll specialists based in Marbella. She has been working in southern Spain since 2002 to provide services to Spanish and international companies. She divides her time between Hilton Head, London and Marbella, spending two weeks overseas and then three weeks on Hilton Head, on average.

In October, the Andalusia state government in Spain and the Malaga Chamber of Commerce gave her their top annual awards for her contributions to economic development in the country."

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