Madrid  - Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba held the Basque separatist group ETA responsible for a car bomb attack that injured 17 people Thursday in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona.

The vehicle exploded in a car park in the grounds of the University of Navarra in Pamplona, capital of the Navarra province which borders on the separatist Basque region.

Madrid - Spain's Queen Sofia opposes gay marriage and doesn't
understand the need for gay pride parades, according to a report in the
daily El Pais about a newly published biography on the queen.

According to the report, the queen is not opposed, in principle, to
homosexuals living together or forming unions. "But you can't
characterize this as marriage," she told the newspaper.

She proposed alternate names - civil union, for example - for such pairings.

She also questioned the need for gay pride parades.

"I can understand, expect and respect that there are people with

Madrid - Major Spanish banking group BBVA reported Wednesday that it remained in the black after nine months this year despite the turbulence on international financial markets.

BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) said it achieved net income of 4.5 billion euros (5.6 billion dollar), down 5.4 per cent from earnings in the corresponding period of 
2007.

Spain's second-biggest bank noted that last year's earnings were bloated by extraordinary income. Adjusting for that factor, then this year's nine-month earnings would have been 9.1 per cent higher.

Madrid - Major Spanish banking group BBVA reported Wednesday that it remained in the black after nine months this year despite the turbulence on international financial markets.

BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) said it achieved net income of 4.5 billion euros (5.6 billion dollar), down 5.4 per cent from earnings in the corresponding period of 2007.

Spain's second-biggest bank noted that last year's earnings were bloated by extraordinary income. Adjusting for that factor, then this year's nine-month earnings would have been 9.1 per cent higher.

Madrid - Flooding triggered by heavy rainstorms has put parts of the Spanish exclave of Melilla in northern Africa under water and cut the city off from the outside, reports said Sunday.

Madrid - Bomb and arson attacks believed to be the work of the Basque separatist ETA organisation damaged two train stations in Spain's northern Basque Country early Saturday, but injured no one, security officials said.

A bomb exploded shortly after midnight at Berriz train station near Bilbao, causing considerable damage. Officials said that there had been no warning, and no one claimed immediate responsibility.

Two hours later, masked attackers fire-bombed Amorebieta station some 20 kilometres away. Both stations were deserted.

ETA usually warns in a phonecall shortly before any bomb attack. The rail line serving the two stations, run by Eusko Tren, links Berriz with the cities San Sebastian and Bilbao.