Spain

Spain waste no time in taking 2-1 delayed Davis lead

Spain waste no time in taking 2-1 delayed Davis lead Benidorm, Spain  - Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer made up for lost time on Saturday with crushing wins in a delayed Davis Cup World Group tie before Serbia prevented a sweep with a face-saving doubles victory.

Nadal returned to action at a tie postponed by 24 hours due to high winds at the Mediterranean resort, hammering Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-1, 6-0, 6-2.

Teammate David Ferrer followed on in a revenge rerun of last weekend's Dubai final as he made it 2-0 to the defending champion by beating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 7-6
(7-4).

Spain adopts measures against soaring unemployment

Spain adopts measures against soaring unemploymentMadrid - The Spanish government Friday approved a package of urgent measures to maintain employment and to protect the jobless after unemployment reached the record level of nearly 3.5 million people.

The measures included financial benefits for companies employing jobless people, and allowing those entitled to unemployment benefits to touch them faster.

Trade unions and employers' organizations criticized the measures as insufficient.

Two Spanish mayors resign over widening corruption scandal

Two Spanish mayors resign over widening corruption scandalMadrid - A corruption scandal affecting Spain's main opposition conservative People's Party (PP) deepened Friday as two mayors resigned over the allegations.

Investigating judge Baltasar Garzon had previously presented new charges against PP politicians including Valencia regional Prime Minister Francisco Camps.

PP representatives governing regions or municipalities are suspected of accepting millions of euros in bribes from companies in exchange for contracts and illegal building permits.

Spanish federation insists on cup final being played in Valencia

Spanish football federationMadrid - The Spanish football federation on Friday confirmed that the King's Cup final will be played in Valencia's Estadio Mestalla and not moved to a bigger ground.

The federation said in a statement that that Mestalla was chosen for the May 13 fina at the request of Valencia, as part of the celebration of the club's 90th anniversary.

Both finalists, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, had been considering asking the federation to change the venue to a bigger stadium - such as Real Madrid's Estadio Bernabeu - in order to satisfy the demand for tickets from their fans.

Dutch request Spanish extradition of diamond robbery suspect

Amsterdam/Madrid - Dutch authorities have requested the extradition of a Colombian national from Madrid to the Netherlands, Dutch media reported on Friday.

Spanish police detained the 26-year-old in Madrid after he was suspected of robbing a jewellery shop at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in August.

The man allegedly belongs to an international ring robbing banks and jewellery shops.

Last August six men and three women, all believed to be South Americans, seized booty worth 117,000 euros at Gassan Diamonds in Amsterdam.

They were believed to have flown in from Paris and committed the robbery during a 90-minute stopover before flying on to Istanbul.

Spain-Serbia clash postponed after winds damage stadium

Spain-Serbia clash postponed after winds damage stadium Benidorm, Spain  - The first day of play between title- holders Spain and Serbia was put off Friday after strong winds damaged the stadium, officials at the International Tennis Federation confirmed.

Powerful gusts had "blown off some of the rows of the stands" and impacted the stability of the stadium, said Soren Frienel of the ITF. Officials were hoping that play could begin Saturday in the eastern Spanish Mediterranean resort town of Benidorm.

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