Spanish Press Review
Spain Papers Review - Thursday July 3 2008
By h.b. - Jul 3, 2008 - 9:35 AM

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The release of Ingrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas in Colombia dominates the Spanish front pages today.

El Mundo shows a photo of her being hugged by her mother at a military base in Bogota yesterday. The paper says she has been held captive by the FARC since 2002. The release came after the Colombian army managed to infiltrate the guerrillas. The operation freed the ex Presidential candidate, three United States citizens as well as 11 soldiers.
Ingrid told the press ‘I give thanks to the whole world, but we have to get out those who are still there’.
El País leads with the story and says the Colombian army has rescued Ingrid Betancourt in the forest. The paper says that in the same operation 14 more FARC hostages were released.
Público leads with the story and says she was held 6 years, 4 months and 9 days.

El Mundo headlines that ‘Everyone accuses Zapatero of not telling the truth over the crisis. The paper reports that the Prime Minister promised to continue with a ‘social democratic’ policy, and that Mariano Rajoy told him that it was rancid to apply left and right wing recipes when talking about the economy.
El País considers that the debate on the crisis left Zapatero isolated in Congress and says that Rajoy accused him of tricking and lying over the serious economic situation.
La Vanguardia says Zapatero was left alone in his optimism.
Público says that Zapatero has guaranteed social spending and that Rajoy does not believe any of it.

El Mundo has a photo of the Minister for Industry, Miguel Sebastian, sitting in Congress without a tie. He is the minister who has turned up the temperature, or turned down the air conditioning to 24 degrees for Spanish civil servants. The President of the chamber, José Bono, sent him a tie to put on, but he refused to do so, says El Mundo.

El País reports that another businessman has been questioned by the Guardia Civil for paying the ETA revolutionary tax – the extortion payment demanded of businessmen in the region.

El Mundo tells us that the prosecutor has said that to attribute the Madrid train bombings on the suicide bombers in Leganes was ‘rhetoric’. The paper says that the Public Ministry has told the Supreme Court hearing the appeal that the National Court sentence is not correct, as it was not possible to try the men in Leganés.

El País reports on the attack in Jerusalem carried out by a Palestinian yesterday driving a large excavator into cars. The paper reports that it caused panic, three deaths and injured more than 40.

El País tells us that the three main mobile phone operators in Spain have been accused of pacting their prices.

El País reports that the European Commission has opened the door to the free circulation of patients across the European Union. The paper says that the Spanish Government is not too keen on the idea, already having problems managing its current resources.

And finally,
El País is among the papers to say goodbye to the grand old lady of the kitchen. Simone Ortega, author of ‘1080 recetas’ has died.

(ABC pdf off line again today)

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