Spain Papers Review - Wednesday November 25 2009

Spain Papers Review - Wednesday November 25 2009
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By h.b. - Nov 25, 2009 - 9:39 AM

El País today

Success against ETA leads some of the papers

El País headlines that the swoop against the ETA youth group has sunk the hard wing of the radical ‘abertzale’ left wing. The paper says that 34 members of the group which ‘feeds the gang’ have been arrested. The paper says that 1,000 agents took part in the raids in 16 localities in the Basque Country and Navarra. El País has a photo of a young girl in handcuffs, arrested in San Sebastian.
ABC leads with the arrests of the members of Segi and considers that the police have frustrated an ETA plan to control the youth groups.

El Mundo leads with the story of three agents from the CNI, the Spanish secret service, who pretended to be anthropologists, and then tried to buy the freedom of the Basque and Galician fishermen who were thought to have been taken ashore in the recent Alakrana case. El Mundo says the three met with the Somali Ministry of Defence, having made contact via the French Secret Service. They agreed a deal with the pirates for a million dollars, but the deal never came to fruition.
La Razón notes that the crew of the Alakrana have described the Government’s management of the affair as disgusting.
ABC says insurers have said damage to the boat carried out by the pirates is worth 500,000 €.
ABC has a front page photo of the Captain of the ‘Virginia G’ which has been impounded by the authorities in Guinea Bissau. The paper says the boat has been abandoned to luck by the Government, despite them giving an undertaking in October to resolve the matter.

The arrest of Juan Cano, the PP Mayor of Polop is well covered. El Mundo has a photo of the current Mayor watching the coffin of his predecessor, Alejando Ponsoda, during his funeral. The paper says the Mayor planned in a ‘puticlub’ to kill his predecessor, and that there are two witnesses who recognized him. The arrested man apparently blackmailed the previous Mayor, saying he would reveal his hidden business deals if he was removed from his post of Councillor for Town Planning.

El Mundo notes that the builder who carried out the work on the mansion owned in Palma by PP President Jaume Matas, has told the court that he was paid 70,000 € in black money for work in 2004.
El País also puts the story on the front page and notes the lack of facture for the building work.

El Mundo reports that the Prime Minister thinks that the forthcoming ruling on the Catalan Statue expected from the Constitutional Court, will be positive for the region.
Público notes that the Government has come out in support of the Constitutional Court and that Zapatero has called for calm.

La Razón notes that the cabinet has done a U turn and that the law for sustainable development will keep part of the tax breaks on home purchase.

El País highlights some of the news coming out of the British enquiry into the Iraq war. The paper headlines that Bush already had Saddam in his sights, far before September 11th, and that there were war drums in Washington at the start of 2001.

Público leads with what it describes as a confidential report. It comes from the United Nations and says that war crimes in the Congo have been financed with Spanish money. A group of experts designated by the Secretary General of the United Nations, has denounced that Spanish organisations are lending money and political support to an armed group accused of massive civil rights violations in the African country.

El Mundo notes that Brussels has stopped the help planned by the Government for Spanish Cinema.
El País has the details, and says the first consequence is the suspension of help planned for 2010. Culture Minister, Ángeles González-Sinde, told the paper that the legislation would be in place, if not in a month, then in three or four.
La Razón leads with the news and notes that it comes after complaints to Brussels from unhappy film makers.
Staying with films, after its successful launch in the United States last weekend, the film, Planet 51, which has cost 55 million € and is the most expensive Spanish film ever, was presented in Madrid yesterday.

ABC tells us that it is the only main paper to see its readership go up so far this year. The paper does not mention that Público is also seeing increased sales.

Spanish track athlete, Paquillo Fernández, has been linked to a doping network, and El Mundo puts the runner on its masthead today.
El País says the athlete’s home has been searched, and that an ex doctor from the Kelme cycling team has been arrested.

Happier sports news in El País with Barcelona beating Inter thanks the paper says to Piqué and Pedro in the Champions League.

And finally,
La Razón has coverage of what has become a very public row between Baroness Thyssen and her son Borja. Her opposition to his marriage was noted last year, but now mother and son are in the courts. La Razón quotes Borja as saying ‘My mother wants to damage the image of my wife’.

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