SPAIN

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Saturday suspended dialogue with Basque guerrillas ETA after a bomb wrecked a car park at Madrid’s international airport, breaking a nine-month truce. At least 19 people were injured in the attack and rescuers were still searching for two missing people.

A Spanish doctor who has just examined Fidel Castro said on Tuesday the Cuban leader was recovering and did not have cancer. ”He asks every day to return to work, but doctors advise him not to,” surgeon Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido told a news conference in Madrid after returning from Cuba.

Male models being used as ball boys at this week’s end-of-season WTA Championships need to keep their minds on the job and not be distracted by the female players, world number eight Elena Dementieva said on Monday. ”I don’t think they really know what they have to do on the court,” the Russian tennis star told reporters.

For millennia, the Mediterranean has fed its coastal peoples with abundant fish, but now it threatens to become a barren sea. Overfishing is taking a heavy toll on fish stocks, with the numbers of tuna plummeting and anchovy becoming scarce in the western Mediterranean. ”Many species are becoming increasingly rare,” says Alain Bonzon, secretary general of a commission monitoring fishing in the Mediterranean.

Spain’s Real Zaragoza face censure again after a Levante player was subjected to racist abuse from fans during their Primera Liga match on Sunday. Referee Fernando Teixeira Vitienes, in his match report, said he heard monkey chants being directed at a Levante player.

Korea missed a great chance to top Pool B when they drew 0-0 against South Africa in the Women’s World Cup field hockey tournament in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday. Korea’s forwards had their opponents’ defence under siege for most of the first half, but Jen Wilson, playing her 100th match for South Africa was inspirational as she kept running into the Korean build-up and creating errors.

For five years, Paul James hitched, trekked and drove to get away from his native West Africa. He survived the Sahara, begged on the streets of Morocco and crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber dinghy to reach what he thought was the promised land. Now in Madrid, he lives on the streets, along with thousands of other Africans in Europe whose journeys in search of new lives have ended in misery.

When Madrid banned extremely thin models from the country’s top fashion show that began this week, it was the kind of measure that European society seemed somehow to be waiting for. The decision sparked immediate controversy among fashion professionals, politicians, in the media and on internet forums.

Spain’s new attempt to expel Senegalese undocumented immigrants has suffered a setback, with Senegal refusing to receive two planes carrying a total of 100 migrants, who were set to leave the Canary Island of Fuerteventura, news reports said on Thursday. The Interior Ministry confirmed a delay for ”technical reasons”, but said the repatriations would be carried out ”immediately”.

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has accused Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson of stabbing him in the back. Van Nistelrooy left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in the summer in a £10,5-million transfer following a highly publicised rift with Ferguson.

As Europe seeks to reduce dependence on the unstable Middle East’s oil reserves, it is not only looking to continents such as Africa or Latin America, but also to its own soil to ensure supplies. Several companies are investigating the possibilities of starting or increasing oil production in Spain, an insignificant producer so far.

Up to 132 African would-be immigrants were on Thursday feared to have drowned when their boat capsized off Mauritania en route to Spain’s Canary Islands, Spanish news reports said. Eighty-four bodies were retrieved from the sea and beaches near the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott between Sunday and Wednesday.

Eighty-four African would-be immigrants drowned off Mauritania last Saturday when their boats sank attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, Spanish news reports said on Wednesday. Mauritanian fishermen and rescuers retrieved the bodies from the sea and beaches near the capital Nouakchott, according to the radio station Cadena Ser.

Ronaldo will reportedly stay with Real Madrid this season although the club aims to offload several of his teammates before the imminent transfer deadline. Ronaldo pledged his future to Madrid after talks with club president Ramon Calderon following Sunday’s 0-0 season-opening draw with Villarreal, sports daily Marca said on Tuesday.

Former England captain David Beckham has signed a two-year contract extension with Real Madrid, the president of the Spanish giants has announced. Real president Ramon Calderon told Television Espanola late on Sunday that 31-year-old Beckham has now committed himself to the club until June 2009, the Marca sports daily reported.

Over 100 fires were burning on Wednesday in Galicia, northern Spain, an official said, as police investigated claims, including from the minister of environment, that arsonists had been at work. Sixty-seven of the 110 fires were out of control, according to a local government spokesperson, who said firefighters had spent the night trying to prevent the flames from spreading.

Spanish authorities intercepted a boat carrying 66 illegal African would-be immigrants near the Canary Islands on Friday. One of the migrants had died aboard the boat, which was at sea for 11 days before it was stopped by Spanish authorities off the island of Tenerife, authorities said.

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was officially presented on Friday as a Real Madrid player following his arrival from Manchester United, saying the move meant he had fulfilled a dream. Van Nistelrooy (30) signed a three-year contract after passing a medical earlier on Friday and was then presented to the media at the Spanish club’s Bernabeu stadium.

Sweltering temperatures sweeping Europe have brought a plague of jellyfish to Spain’s eastern seashores, forcing holidaymakers to stay out of the sea, the Red Cross said on Thursday. The unwelcome visitors, which can reach the size of a dinner plate, have flourished thanks to a glut of plankton brought on by higher sea temperatures.

Real Madrid have made a new offer for Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy after Manchester United rejected a bid last week. ”The club have made a new offer and are waiting for reply from Manchester,” a Real spokesperson said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Van Nistelrooy is at the centre of a tug-of-war between Real and Bayern Munich.