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WORLD NEWSMonday 21 March 2016
Spain bus crash kills 13 Rift in Britain’s
exchange students; 34 injured
ruling Conservative
HAROLD HECKLE Party deepens
Associated Press
MADRID (AP) — A bus car- Emergency services personnel stand at the scene of a bus ac- Iain Duncan Smith leaves savings in other areas, such
rying university exchange cident crashed on the AP7 highway that links Spain with France BBC Broadcasting House after as state pensions. Duncan
students back from Spain’s along the Mediterranean coast near Freginals halfway between giving his first interview since Smith, who resigned late
largest fireworks festival Valencia and Barcelona early Sunday, March 20, 2016. resigning from his role in gov- Friday, said he decided to
crashed Sunday on a main ernment, in London, Sunday leave after the latest ben-
highway in the northeast- Associated Press March 20, 2016. efit cuts were “juxtaposed”
ern, killing at least 13 pas- with tax breaks for the bet-
sengers and injuring 34 oth- died in the crash, but Span- France, Palestine, Turkey, Associated Press ter off.
ers, officials said. ish Interior Minister Jorge Greece.” “The truth is, yes, we need
The passengers included Fernandez Diaz later con- It added that two countries DANICA KIRKA to get the deficit down, but
Spaniards and foreign firmed the death toll was — New Zealand and Fin- Associated Press we need to make sure we
nationals from around 20 13. He said 28 passengers land — were still pending LONDON (AP) — The rift widen the scope of where
countries, authorities said. received medical treat- confirmation. within Britain’s government we look to get that deficit
The bus, ment in local hospitals and The statement said autop- deepened Sunday, as a down,” he said. “Because
which was carrying 57 others received first aid at sies had been completed prominent minister who otherwise it just looks like
passengers, appeared to the crash site. on nine of the 13 dead and resigned over plans to cut we see (welfare) as a pot
have hit a guardrail of the The regional government a judge would release the benefits for the disabled of money — that it doesn’t
AP7 highway before cart- of Catalonia said in a state- bodies to families once full said the ruling party risks matter because they don’t
wheeling across the road, ment in the early evening identification was com- dividing the country if it vote for us.”
slamming through a divid- that “according to the lat- plete in all cases. doesn’t spread the pain of Duncan Smith’s resignation
er and landing on its side, est data, the ill-fated bus Poland’s Foreign Ministry economic austerity across as work and pensions sec-
said Jordi Jane, spokes- had students from Hunga- said one Polish man was all segments of society. retary laid bare escalating
man for Spain’s northeast- ry, Germany, Sweden, Nor- hospitalized after the bus Iain Duncan Smith told the tensions within the Conser-
ern Catalonia province. way, Switzerland, Czech crash and Swiss authori- BBC that Prime Minister vatives before a June 23
The students, part of the Republic, United King- ties said one young Swiss David Cameron’s govern- referendum on whether
Erasmus exchange pro- dom, Italy, Peru, Bulgaria, woman was injured, but ment has become too fo- Britain should remain part
gram, had traveled to the Poland, Ireland, Japan, had been discharged from cused on cutting welfare of the European Union.
eastern city of Valencia to Ukraine, Holland, Belgium, a hospital. for working age people Duncan Smith, a former
take part in the renowned as it seeks to balance the party leader nicknamed
Fallas fireworks festival and budget without looking for the “quiet man” of British
were returning when the politics, is a leading ad-
bus crashed, vocate of leaving the EU,
while Cameron supports
Jane said. Most were continued membership.
studying at two universities Britain’s famously vigorous
in Barcelona. press swung into action
The crash took place near Sunday, trying to explain
Freginals, halfway be- Duncan Smith’s departure
tween Valencia and Bar- and asking whether Trea-
celona. sury chief George Osborne
Initially, Jane said 14 had had gone too far with
his cost-cutting program.
