Istanbul, Turkey  - European champions Spain pulled off a late 2-1 win away to Turkey on Wednesday, a result keeps intact their 31-game unbeaten run - and leaves them well set up to qualify for South Africa.

Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera hit the winning goal two minutes into injury-time, thus silencing the crowd in Galatasaray's packed Ali Sami Yen stadium.

"That was a really important goal," said Riera, "because it gives us a crucial win."

Vitoria, Spain  - The 29-year rule of Basque nationalists in the troubled northern Spanish region was coming to an end Wednesday as the region's socialists and conservatives signed a historic agreement allowing socialist leader Patxi Lopez to become regional prime minister.

The deal signed at the Basque parliament in the regional capital Vitoria sought to unite Basque society and to favour political pluralism, socialist representatives said.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain - A pair of identical twins who were separated accidentally at birth and raised apart from one another are set to receive hundreds of thousands of euros in damages, according to judicial sources on Spain's Canary Islands.

The two women were reunited at age 28 in Las Palmas, capital of Gran Canaria Island, in 2001 when a saleswoman who had met both of them noticed how similar they looked.

Madrid - Seve Ballesteros said he is fighting to win his "sixth major" in his first public interview since undergoing several operations to remove a malignant brain tumour.

"This is the most important shot of my life, I'm battling to win my sixth major," the 51-year-old golfer said in an interview published Tuesday in the Spanish Marca sports newspaper.

San Sebastian, Spain  - Spanish poli

Madrid  - Spain could "continue being proud" of its financial system, Economy Minister Pedro Solbes said Monday, one day after the government announced its decision to bail out the savings bank Caja Castilla La Mancha (CCM).

It was the first such rescue in Spain during the global financial crisis, and made the government's constant reassurances about the solidity of the banking system ring increasingly hollow.