Spanish PM calls early election

29 July 2011 Last updated at 14:58 GMT PM Zapatero has presided over a series of unpopular austerity measures Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has called a general election for November, four months earlier than expected.

He said this would enable a new government to confront Spain's economic problems from January.

Hours earlier, a credit rating agency warned it might downgrade Spain's rating due to weak growth prospects.

The opposition has demanded an early vote since May, when Mr Zapatero's Socialist Party lost in local polls.

"Early elections are what the majority of the electorate wanted, so this is good news," said Mariano Rajoy, the candidate of the main opposition Popular Party.

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I want a new government to take control of the economy from 1 January next year... fresh from the balloting”

End Quote Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero It argues that a change of government is the only way to recover market confidence in the country.

Mr Zapatero will not be seeking a third term as prime minister, and opinion polls suggest his Socialist Party - led by former Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba - will lose.

Economic recovery?

The government's borrowing costs have risen in recent weeks, despite agreement on a second EU bailout package for Greece, reflecting the fact that investors still worry about the weak state of Spain's economy, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Madrid.

Mr Zapatero said he was calling an early election - now set for 20 November - in order to "project political and economic certainty" over the months to come.

"I want a new government to take control of the economy from 1 January next year... fresh from the balloting."

He made his announcement after a speech in which he stressed that the economy was on the road to recovery, citing seven consecutive quarters of growth, and a recent decline in unemployment.

But 46% of young Spaniards remain out of work - and the overall unemployment rate is twice the European average.

There is concern too over the level of debt in Spain's regions, and the health of the banking sector, our correspondent says.

The international ratings agency, Moody's, has just warned that it is putting Spanish government debt on review, for a possible downgrade from Aa2 to Aa3.

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Spain calls Iraqis on camp deaths

14 July 2011 Last updated at 18:11 GMT Relatives of the camp's 3,500 residents are pressing for an investigation A Spanish judge has summoned three Iraqi officers over a raid by Iraqi security forces on a camp housing an Iranian exile group.

The UN says 34 people were killed in the raid at Camp Ashraf, in Diyala province, in April 2011.

Judge Fernando Andreu has summoned Gen Ali Ghaidan Majid, the head of army, and two other officers to appear.

He is investigating allegations that crimes against humanity were committed during the raid on the camp.

The investigation is an enlargement of an existing probe on a separate raid which took place at the camp in July 2009, in which 11 people were killed.

Universal justice

Under Spain's universal justice doctrine, grave crimes committed in other countries can be prosecuted.

Judge Andreu said that the Geneva Convention applied to the case, as it addresses the protection of civilians in wartime and all those killed and injured in the attack were considered "protected persons" under the terms of the Convention.

According to documents released by Madrid's investigative court, a total of 377 "protected persons" were injured in the 8 April 2011 raid, 154 with bullet wounds.

More than 3,000 members of the banned opposition group, the People's Mujahideen of Iran (PMOI), have been confined by the US military at the camp since the invasion in 2003.

The group, considered a terrorist group by the US and Iran, were given permission to shelter in Iraq by former President Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 war between the two countries and they have lived at the camp ever since.

In January, the judge had said he would close the dossier into the July 2009 attack if the Iraqi authorities opened their own investigation.

Iraq responded by saying it had carried out its own legal inquiry but this was not judged sufficient by Spanish authorities.

The three Iraqi officers have been summoned to appear before the Madrid court on 3 October 2011.

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