Madrid  - Athletic Bilbao cruised into the quarter-finals of the Spanish King's Cup on Thursday with a 2-0 home win overlocal rivals Osasuna.

The comfortable victory puts Bilbao through on a 3-1 aggregate, because they battled out a 1-1 draw in Pamplona last week.

Veteran Igor Gabilondo shot Bilbao ahead with his trusty left foot after just five minutes. In the 18th minute Osasuna defender Josetxo made it 2-0 by turning a shot from Markel Susaeta into his own goal.

Madrid  - Struggling Spanish Liga side Mallorca announced on Thursday night the return of Mateu Alemany as club president.

Alemany takes over from Joaquin Garcia, whose reign has been brief and stormy, with the club's debts mounting alarmingly.

Alemany has the support of leading shareholder Vicente Grande, who was president from 2005 to 2008. Alemany was president from 2000 to 2005, during which time the islanders won the King's Cup and played in European competitions.

Madrid - A debate was rolling in Spain on Thursday on whether an unprecedented strike planned by the country's judges was legal.

Such a way for judges to press their demands was "inadequate" and "disturbing," the prosecutors' association UPF said, while the association Judges for Democracy stressed that the law did not prohibit judges from staging a work stoppage.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government is engaged in a power struggle with the judges, who regard its plans for judicial reform as insufficient.

Madrid  - Recently, a man with his face partly covered by a cap and scarf entered room 537 at a hospital in the Spanish capital Madrid.

"Are you Leonidas Vargas?" he asked one of the two patients in the room with a South American accent. The patient pointed to the man sleeping in the other bed.

"Turn your back and keep quiet," the visitor instructed, turned towards the other patient, and shot him four times with a gun equipped with a silencer.

Madrid  - Spanish giants Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla cruised into the quarter-finals of the Spanish King's Cup on Wednesday, knocking out Atletico Madrid, Racing Santander and Deportivo Coruna respectively.

A reserve-packed Barca side came from behind to beat Atletico 2-1, with goals from Bojan Krkic and Eidur Gudjohnsen. Atletico had taken an early lead through Florent Sinama Pongolle, but never looked capable of turning the tie around.

Bilbao, Spain - A Spanish burglar called police to inform them about the crime that he was just committing, Basque regional officials said Wednesday.