Madrid - The Union for the Mediterranean will not work unless sufficient funding is provided to increase the equality between the sea's two shores, Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi warned Thursday.

The project launched by French President Nicolas Sarkozy could lead to disappointment like its predecessor, the 1995 Barcelona Process did, Ghannouchi said in Madrid.

The premier was visiting Spain to discuss bilateral relations especially in the economic, energy and health cooperation sectors.

Madrid - Traditionally, Spanish football has always revolved around the country's big clubs rather than the national team.

Mighty clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Deportivo lA Coruna, Athletic Bilbao and Zaragoza have, with their strong regional identifications and European achievements, monopolized the football sentiments of Spaniards - as well as the newspaper headlines.

The national team, by contrast, has always been a poor relative, forever raising expectations because of its talented players, but usually flopping on the big stage.

Madrid - A Spanish discotheque Wednesday came under criticism for organizing a prize draw with a breast augmentation operation as the jackpot.

The draw was to be held between all the visitors who paid 20 euros (25 dollars) to enter the discotheque in the eastern city of Valencia.

Madrid - A plan to pay tribute to a Catholic saint in the Spanish parliament was cancelled Wednesday, while parliament president Jose Bono came under criticism for calling his Socialist party comrades "sons of a bitch" over the decision.

The parliamentary committee had earlier agreed to place a plaque in the parliament building in honour of Saint Maravillas de Jesus, a nun who was born in a building now belonging to the parliamentary complex in 1891.

Madrid - Controversy was raging in Spain on Wednesday over a prominent judge's decision to

Madrid- The global economic crisis could raise Spain's public sector deficit to about 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, the governor of the Spanish central bank said Wednesday.

Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez called on the government to "maintain a margin of action" in case the economy suffered "situations of major deterioration."