Spain
Latest stories
Hemingway Leaves Indelible Mark on Pamplona

Room 217 in the Gran Hotel La Perla, swankiest hotel in northern Spain's bull-running city Pamplona, has barely changed since Ernest Hemingway last slept here.

There are a few alterations the American writer might have abhorred -- a plasma television, air conditioning, and a price of up to 1,800 euros ($2,500) a night during the San Fermin festival, which runs to July 14.

W140 Full Story
Back to Square One on Eurozone Debt Crisis

After a glimmer of hope in the Greek debt crisis, is it back to the drawing board for Eurozone leaders as they struggle to protect the single currency and its 17-nation economy?

"That's for sure ... that's why the ECB has probably always had the position that having talks about private sector involvement was not a particularly brilliant idea," UniCredit chief Eurozone economist Maro Valli told Agence France Presse.

W140 Full Story
Spain Seize 2-0 Lead Over USA in Davis Cup

World No. 6 David Ferrer defeated 10th-ranked hometown hero Andy Roddick to give Spain a 2-0 lead on Friday after the opening day of their Davis Cup quarter-final tie.

The Spaniards, seeking their third trophy in four years, moved to the brink of victory in the best-of-five matchup when Ferrer downed Roddick 7-6 (11/9), 7-5, 6-3.

W140 Full Story
Pamplona Bull Gores 'Reckless' Australian

A half-ton fighting bull skewered a "reckless" Australian thrill-seeker in the leg inflicting a grave injury Friday in Spain's San Fermin fiesta, organizers said.

The bull turned on the tourist after he taunted the beast, goring his right thigh and tossing him across the sand of the bull ring in the final stage of a daily bull-run in Pamplona, northern Spain.

W140 Full Story
Merkel Defends Reported Multi-billion-euro Saudi Tank Deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday defended her government's silence on a reported secret deal to sell hundreds of tanks to Saudi Arabia, and said she was committed to democracy in the region.

"Deliberation and decisions by the federal security council are secret for good reason," she told the daily Mittelbayerische Zeitung, referring to the panel including the chancellor and top ministers that rules on arms exports.

W140 Full Story
Priceless Medieval Spanish Pilgrim Guide Gone

A priceless 12th century guide to Spain's Way of Saint James pilgrimage, the Codex Calixtinus, has disappeared from the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, police said Thursday.

One of the Western world's first 'guidebooks', it is only shown to the public on special occasions such as Pope Benedict XVI's visit last November to the northeastern Spanish city.

W140 Full Story
SKorea's LG Touts Optimus 3D Smartphone for Gaming

LG Electronics is touting 3D smartphones as an alternative to dedicated handheld game devices.

The company launched its LG Optimus 3D phone Thursday in South Korea after beginning a global release last month covering more than 60 markets including Spain and Britain.

W140 Full Story
Britain Arrests Suspect over Spanish King Assassination Bid

Armed officers have arrested a suspected Basque separatist in Britain on Thursday in connection with an attempt to assassinate Spain's King Juan Carlos in 1997, police said.

Eneko Gogeaskoetxea Arronategui, 44, was detained by armed police in the university city of Cambridge, eastern England.

W140 Full Story
Tens of Thousands Pack Pamplona for Bull-Run

Tens of thousands of people packed Pamplona's streets Wednesday for a drunken kick-off to Spain's best-known fiesta: the nine-day San Fermin bull-running festival.

Swilling gallons of beer and sangria, Spaniards and foreigners jammed into the main Plaza del Ayuntamiento to hear the traditional shout from a City Hall balcony: "Viva San Fermin".

W140 Full Story
Spain Aims to Welcome One Million Chinese Tourists in 2020

Spain, Europe's second-most visited country after France, aims to welcome one million Chinese tourists in 2020, the government said Tuesday.

The country received 89,523 Chinese tourists in 2009, the last year for which figures are available, and Tourism Minister Miguel Sebastian said this figure should rise to 300,000 in 2012.

W140 Full Story