Madrid - When a famous judge opened the first-ever judicial inquiry into the crimes of Spain's late dictator Francisco Franco in the autumn of 2008, it was as if he had unleashed an internal struggle within the national psyche.

The debate about the Franco era had been brewing already, becoming one of the hallmarks of 2008.

Judge Baltasar Garzon's attempt to look into 114,000 alleged killings in acts of repression during the 1936-39 civil war and Franco's ensuing 36-year dictatorship bitterly divided the nation, showing how difficult it still was for Spain to deal with the dictator's legacy.

Garzon finally dropped his inquiry, but the debate is far from over, and the case against Franco could end up in international courts.

Madrid- ­ Spain should increase the number of troops it sends on international peacekeeping missions, the country's defence minister told parliament Wednesday.

Current law allows no more than 3,000 Spanish troops to serve under foreign command, said Defence Minister Carme Chacon, announcing plans to propose lifting that limit when the cabinet meets December 31.

Madrid - Valencia will be without central defender Alexis for up to four months, the Spanish club announced on Tuesday night.

Madrid  - Spanish former golfer Severiano Ballesteros was released from hospital Tuesday, after two months of inpatient treatment for a brain tumour.

"Ballesteros will continue to receive outpatient treatment from the Medical Oncology and Oncological Radiotherapy services," La Paz hospital in Madrid said in a statement.

The former golfer, 51, collapsed on October 6 at the Madrid airport and was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was first operated on eight days later and has undergone surgery a total of four times.

Madrid - Real Madrid are set to dismiss coach Bernd Schuster on Tuesday

Paris/Madrid - French police have arrested the suspected new head of the military wing of the Basque terrorist organization ETA only three weeks after capturing his predecessor, the French and Spanish interior ministries announced on Monday.

Aitzol Irionda Yarza, also known as Gurbita or Asier, and two alleged accomplices were taken into custody in the Pyrenean town of Bagneres-de-Bigorre, some 50 kilometres from Cautarets, where French police arrested ETA chief Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu, alias Txeroki, on November 17.