RED FACES AT FBI AFTER SPANISH MP IDENTIFIED AS BIN LADEN

The US Federal Bureau of Investigations has egg on its face after wrongly identifying a Spanish politician as Osama bin Laden.

NOT BIN LADEN: United Left MP Gaspar Llamazares

By JAMES TWEEDIE

Hapless G-men (or women) circulated a photo of United Left (IU) MP and former leader Gaspar Llamazares, claiming it to be an up-to-date likeness of Saudi Arabian Al Qaeda chief bin Laden.

The FBI withdrew the picture after Spanish newspaper El Mundo pointed out the Glaring error.

The bureau initially claimed that the image was the result of "sophisticated digital profiling technology." But they later admitted that they had taken an image of Mr Llamazares from the internet and doctored it to resemble the elusive terrorist guru.

Mr Llamazares, who is also a senior member of IU coalition member the Communist Party of Spain, said: "In the last few days I have seen the security services involved in some very strange things, some major failures, but I would never have believed they could have affected me so directly.

"I am stupefied the FBI has used my photo - but it could have been anyone's - to compose a picture of a terrorist. It affects my honour, my own image and also the security of all us," he added.

The US ambassador to Spain gave apologised to the Spanish labour minister on behalf of the US State Department. But Mr Llamazares rejected the apology and called for an investigation into the incident.

"Apologies are not enough," he said. "I want a thorough investigation into this disgraceful case, which not only causes concern but also worry and indignation over the behaviour of the FBI."

The mystery of the Guanches

The origins and language of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands remain a mystery, writes Dr Sabina Goralski Filonov Translation by James Tweedie The guanches, the aboriginals of the Canary Islands whose origin, lost in the mists of time, still arouses intense and passionate debate and great controversy about their origins and the how the seven Canary Islands were populated – which according to some studies occurred between 10,000 and 8,000 years BC. Literally, the word ‘Guan’ means man or person and ‘Chenech’ or ‘Chinet’ is applied to the island of Tenerife, thus meaning a man or inhabitant of Tenerife – although according to Núñez de la Peña, the Spanish named them the Guanchos during the conquest of the islands. But with the passage of time, experts in the subject are questioning whether the word Guanche was used to designate the primitive inhabitants of all the islands in the pre-Hispanic period. The term ‘Guanche’ has also ceased to be applied to the distin

Los Gigantes Beach Landslide Tragedy - Three Days of Mourning for Victims

SHATTERED IDYLL: Los Guios beach in Los Gigantes in happier times. SANTIAGO del Teide council declared three days of official mourning after two women were killed in a landslide on Los Gigantes beach on November 1. by James Tweedie The local authority announced the period of mourning following an emergency council meeting on Monday November 2, called in response to the tragic deaths of 57-year old British holidaymaker Marion O’Hara and 34-year old Canarian hotel worker Maria Vanesa Arias Romera. Flags at Santiago del Teide town hall were flown at half mast for the period of mourning, and all official functions observed a minute’s silence in memory of the victims. The two women were killed when 130-foot wide stretch of the cliffs above the tiny Los Guios beach collapsed from a height of about 200 feet, burying them beneath rubble up to 15 feet deep, according to a spokesman for the Guardia Civil which was conducting the investigation into the accident. The landslide occurred about 3pm

African Teachers Against Privatisation

Teachers from across Africa urged the continental bloc to halt the privatisation of national education systems today. Unions affiliated to the Education International (EI) federation pressed the African Union (AU) to stop the spread of sordid tin-shack schools funded by the world's richest man. The EI statement, issued in the Ethiopian capital and seat of the AU Addis Ababa warned: “we are witnessing a shift away from education as a public good,” with “a reduction in education budgets and increased privatisation of education.” “This is not the Africa we want,” said EI Africa Committee Chair Christian Addai-Poku, referring to the AU's 'Agenda 2063' plan. “Quality education for the public good is an indispensable condition for the development of our continent and the realisation of the full potential of all its people.” The teaching unions criticised the rapid growth across the continent of ‘low-cost’ private schools, which they said were “notorious for empl

UNIONS UNITE FOR GENERAL STRIKE

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Tuesday June 8 2010 EXCEPTIONAL trade union unity failed to ensure a big turnout in Tenerife for Tuesday's strike against public sector pay cuts. by JAMES TWEEDIE In a rare display of non-sectarian coordination, members of more than ten trade union federations took part in the general strike across public services. They included the big national CCOO and UGT, the smaller anarchist CNT and CGT, the CSIF and ANPE, and regional federations Intersindical Canaria, FSOC, SEPCA, EA-Canarias and INSUCAN. Police and judicial unions CEP, SUP, UFP and STAJ also joined the strike, which was supported by political parties such as the United Left (IU), social movement umbrella group Assembly for Tenerife (AXT) and pro-public health service campaigners ADSPC. The dispute is over plans by the Socialist Workers Party of Spain (PSOE) government of prime minister José Luis Zapatero to cut public sector wages and pension rights in response to the economic crisis. Despite the i

Homeless dogs’ home fights for compensation

Dingo Dogs owner Phil Nelson at his since-demolished home. DOGS’ home owner Phil Nelson has vowed to take legal action following his eviction from his Dingo Dogs animal sanctuary in August. by James Tweedie Indian-born Mr Nelson, along with former girlfriend and Dingo Dogs treasurer Leigh Crouch were left homeless by the court-ordered eviction and have been sharing a small hut in the mountains near Las Chafiras with ten dogs and three cats ever since. Mr Nelson’s dispute with his former landlord began in September 2004, after he officially registered his rented hillside finca as an animal sanctuary. It was a requirement of his registration that he keep proper financial records, including receipts for payment of rent. Mr Nelson says that despite having a rental contract and paying his rent “as regular as clockwork” for years, his landlord never gave him a receipt even after he began asking for one every month in 2004. In May 2005, after his landlord had refused

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