Spanish king undergoes lung surgery

Madrid/Barcelona - Spain's King Juan Carlos on Saturday underwent surgery to one of his lungs, the royal palace announced.

Doctors at a hospital in Barcelona removed a 2-centimeter growth from the 72-year-old monarch's right lung which had been detected in previous routine examinations, according to the palace.

Juan Carlos kept to his work schedule, including a meeting with US Vice-President Joe Biden, the day before he was admitted to hospital.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322613,spanish-king-undergoes-lung-surgery.html.

Spanish king comes out in defense of bullfighting

Fri, 26 Mar 2010

Madrid - Spain's King Juan Carlos has intervened in an ongoing debate on the country's bullfighting tradition, describing it as a "fertile cultural and artistic world," press reports said Friday.

The monarch made the comments while presenting bullfighting prizes awarded by a cavalry institution in the southern city of Seville on Thursday.

Breeders of fighting bulls preserved their "pure race," the king said.

Juan Carlos and his eldest child Elena are known as bullfighting enthusiasts.

The king commented on bullfighting at a time when the parliament of the north-eastern region of Catalonia is considering a ban on the spectacle, which opponents regard as animal torture.

The regions of Madrid, Valencia and Murcia, on the other hand, have announced they will declare bullfights a part of their cultural heritage.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315931,spanish-king-comes-out-in-defence-of-bullfighting.html.

Stop murdering Palestinians, Spanish kids say

The Israeli Embassy in Madrid has recently been received hundreds of schoolchildren's letters protesting against Tel Aviv's conduct toward the Palestinians.

One letter directed at Israel's ambassador in Madrid, Rafael Shotz, asked, "How many Palestinians have you murdered today?"

Another read, "Mr. Ambassador, you should think about not killing the Palestinian children and elderly. I don't know if it doesn't bother you, having to murder people. You should leave Palestine."

Israel has blockaded all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The illegal Israeli imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the coastal enclave.

Some 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education. Poverty and unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% respectively in the Gaza Strip.

Three weeks of Israeli air strikes and a ground incursion into the Gaza between late December 2008 and early January 2009 resulted in the death of over 1400 people — mainly women and children.

The carnage also inflicted more than $1.6 billion of damage on Gaza's economy.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119746§ionid=351020202.

Spanish king concludes visit to Lebanon by inspecting UNIFIL

Beirut - King Juan Carlos of Spain concluded a two-day visit to Lebanon Tuesday by visiting the headquarters of his country's UNIFIL contingent in southern Lebanon. "We in Spain are determined to work with the countries concerned to reach a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East," the king was quoted as telling Lebanese president Michel Suleiman before heading south.

The king, wearing a military uniform, placed a wreath at the memorial for soldiers who have died in Lebanon since the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deployed in 1978 to monitor the borders between Lebanon and Israel.

The king and his Defense Minister Carme Chacon visited the headquarters of the Spanish battalion in Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, where the monarch met with the commander of UNIFIL in Lebanon, the Spanish General Alberto Asarta Cuevas.

Juan Carlos' trip comes after the UN Spanish battalion took command of UNIFIL from the Italians last month.

Spain is also currently heading the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, who is accompanying the king, held talks Tuesday with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his Lebanese counterpart Ali Chami.

"The time now is for ... all the parties to engage in serious talks" on both the Palestinian-Israeli and Israeli-Syria tracks, he said.

Moratinos said that his talks with Hariri touched on the recent Israeli threats against Lebanon.

Last week, Israel accused Beirut of allowing the fundamentalist Hezbollah to work on smuggling weapons into Lebanon in "violation of (UN Security Council) Resolution 1701."

Resolution 1701 ended 33 days of war between Israel and Hezbollah in July 2006.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/308349,spanish-king-concludes-visit-to-lebanon-by-inspecting-unifil.html.

Spanish King arrives in Lebanon to inspect UN Troops

Beirut - Spanish King Juan Carlos arrived Monday in Beirut on a two-day visit to Lebanon during which he will inspect Spanish troops serving with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon. The king is accompanied by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

Juan Carlos will be hosted by President Michel Suleiman at a state dinner held in his honor, later Monday.

The trip by King Juan Carlos comes after the UN Spanish battalion took command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), from the Italians last month.

According to the Lebanese Central News Agency the king's visit to Lebanon is not a state visit, but a trip to inspect his country's troops in southern Lebanon.

The Spanish king is expected to pay a 3-day state visit to Lebanon along with his wife Queen Sofia in July or ultimately by September, according to the news agency.

UNIFIL currently has 13,000 troops from 29 countries. Italy has the largest contingent with 2,500 soldiers, while Spain contributes 1,100 soldiers.

In June 2007, a UN patrol belonging to the Spanish battalion was targeted by a car bomb blast, killing six Spanish peacekeepers.

The number of UN peacekeepers was increased in 2006, following 33 days of war between Israel and Hezbollah. The main task of the peacekeepers is to monitor a fragile ceasefire at the Lebanese-Israel border.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/308141,spanish-king-arrives-in-lebanon-to-inspect-un-troops.html.

Spanish king to visit Lebanon next week

Beirut - Juan Carlos, the Spanish king, will visit Lebanon later this month to hold talks with officials and inspect his country's peacekeepers - who now head the UN command in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese foreign ministry source said Friday. The king is due to arrive for his two-day visit on February 8 and will be accompanied by a large Spanish delegation.

The trip by King Juan Carlos comes after the UN Spanish battalion took command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), from the Italians last month.

UNIFIL currently has 13,000 troops from 29 countries. Italy has the largest contingent with 2,500 soldiers, while Spain contributes 1,100 soldiers.

In June 2007, a UN patrol belonging to the Spanish battalion was targeted by a car bomb blast, killing six Spanish peacekeepers.

The number of UN peacekeepers was increased in 2006, following 33- days of war between Israel and Hezbollah. The main task of the peacekeepers is to monitor a fragile ceasefire at the Lebanese-Israel border.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/307743,spanish-king-to-visit-lebanon-next-week.html.

Spain to coordinate EU aid to Haiti

Wed, 13 Jan 2010

Madrid - Spain will coordinate European Union aid to the victims of Haiti's devastating earthquake, sources of the cooperation secretary of state's office said Wednesday. Spain holds the rotating EU presidency until June 30.

Eighteen Spanish rescue specialists were also preparing to travel to the Caribbean country on Wednesday.

They included eight members of Firefighters Without Frontiers and 10 members of the non-governmental organization Intervencion, Ayuda y Emergencias. The specialists will bring seven sniffer dogs.

The first 72 hours were crucial for saving lives, the firefighters' representative Enrique Fernandez said.

The Spanish government and Red Cross were also planning to send aid to Haiti through the Dominican Republic and Panama.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/303504,spain-to-coordinate-eu-aid-to-haiti.html.

King of Spain calls for unity in Christmas speech

MADRID, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, called for unity in his Christmas message to the Spanish citizens broadcast on Christmas Eve.

All Spaniard should redouble their efforts to surpass the tensions, achieve economic growth, and create employment as soon as possible, and those efforts should be made through agreements between political, economic and social forces to allow maximum solidarity and to carry out necessary reforms, said the Spanish king.

Juan Carlos also urged Spanish citizens to coordinate efforts at the maximum level to reinforce the internal cohesion and exterior projection, because the security, progress and welfare of the Spaniards largely depend on efficient protection and promotions of their interests in the world.

The King also referred to the fact that Spain will take over the European presidency for the fourth time from Jan. 1 as the Lisbon Treaty takes effect.

"It is of vital importance to obtain a more united and dynamic Europe in the world," he said.