Madrid - Santander, Spain's leading bank, plans to take advantage of the ongoing financial crisis to take control of Sovereign Bancorp, which has suffered recent losses, according to a media report.

Negotiations for the takeover are still underway, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, quoting Santander.

According to the report, Santander wants to offer about 1.8 billion euros (2.5 billion dollars) for Sovereign Bancorp, in which the bank already has a 25 per cent stake.

Santander bought that stake three years ago, when Sovereign's shares sold for 27 dollars. Now they are worth 3.80, which means Santander has lost about 2 billion euros on the investment.

Valencia, Spain - A British woman and her daughter were killed after being carried away by flooding near Valencia in eastern Spain, officials said Friday.

The two women, aged 47 and 14, had been crossing a gully on foot in L'Olleria on Thursday evening. Their bodies were retrieved in the morning.

Rainwater inundated streets, tunnels and garages, and blocked roads and railway lines in the Valencia region. The ports of Valencia, Gandia and Sagunto were closed.

In southern Spain, stormy weather prompted the suspension of ferry links with the Moroccan port of Tangier and Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta.

Madrid - The Madrid stock market was dra

Madrid - Spain's capital Madrid will ban the "human ads" that had become one of the colourful features of the city centre, press reports said Friday.

An estimated 30 people walk around, mainly near the Puerta del Sol square, wearing placards on their chests and backs.

The placards advertise pawn shops, with the text "I buy gold," tattoo shops, and the like.

Using people as advertising supports violated their "dignity," mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon said. The ban was expected to enter into force in early 2009.

The human ads themselves, however, did not appreciate the city council's zeal to protect their dignity.

Madrid - The Spanair plane involved in a crash that killed 154 people in Madrid in August attempted to take off without opening its flaps and slats, according to the 12-page preliminary report on the accident released Thursday in Madrid by the Spanish Public Works Ministry.

The document said that the wreckage of the MD-82 showed the malfunction, but the pilots would not have known there was a problem because the alarm signal did not go off.

Madrid - The Spanair plane involved in a crash that killed 154 people in Madrid in August attempted to take off without opening its flaps and slats, according to the 12-page preliminary report on the accident released Thursday in Madrid by the Spanish Public Works Ministry.

The document said that the wreckage of the MD-82 showed the malfunction, but the pilots would not have known there was a problem because the alarm signal did not go off.