Madrid - The Spanish parliament Thursday approved a controversial plan to encourage immigrants to return home amid rising unemployment.

The offer provides for jobless immigrants to be paid their unemployment benefit in advance, if they go back to their countries and agree not to return to Spain for three years.

More than 100,000 immigrants could take up the offer, but no more than 10,000 were expected to do so.

The plan was approved while unemployment continued rising for the sixth consecutive month, surpassing 2.6 million, according to new figures released by the government.

London, Oct 1 : A mortuary in Madrid has come up with a unique idea of paying condolences to the family of a departed person while away — via text-message.

The idea, which originated with a time saving thought in mind, was designed for those who cannot go in person to the mortuary to offer their condolences.

The method works with the M30 mortuary publishing a list daily in the local newspapers of those who have died in Madrid, and advertising the automatic service, which allows condolences to be delivered to grieving families through a mobile phone.

The system is similar to that used to contact TV reality shows.

Madrid - Spanish police have detained 121 people in their biggest swoop so far against child pornography on the internet, police said Wednesday.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain  - The US judiciary is participating in the investigation on the August 20 air crash which killed 154 people in the Spanish capital Madrid, the US firm Ribbeck Law Chartered said Tuesday.

A judge in Chicago, where the plane maker Boeing has its headquarters, has set the date for the first hearing for the coming Monday, said Manuel von Ribbeck, a representative of the law firm.

Von Ribbeck spoke in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, where many of the victims were from.

Madrid - The Madrid stock mar

Madrid - A Spanish examining magistrate has asked Interpol to join the investigation into last month's crash by a Spanair aircraft at Madrid airport, El Pais daily reported Saturday.

The judge would like to discover if Spanair had violated international safety regulations, the report said.

The magistrate would like to find out what regulations the US and European aviation authorities stipulate for MD-82 aircraft, the type of Spanair craft that broke up after take-off and burst into flames on August 20 at Madrid airport.