Madrid - Thousands of Spaniards around the country Thursday staged silent rallies to protest the killing of entrepreneur Ignacio Uria by suspected members of the militant Basque separatist group ETA.

Uria, 71, was gunned down in Azpeitia in the Basque region on Wednesday.

ETA was believed to have targeted him as one of the heads of a company participating in the construction of a high-speed railway which the group opposed on ecological and political grounds.

Protesters gathered in front of city halls while parliament and regional institutions also observed a moment of silence.

Barcelona - One of the 18 people who were in a critical condition following a gas explosion in their block of flats in north- eastern Spain died on Thursday, regional health officials said.

The 60-year-old woman had burns to 85 per cent of her body.

Twenty-two of the 27 injured victims remained at hospital. They included eight children, five of whom were described as being in a very serious condition.

A gas explosion caused a three-storey building to partially collapse and sparked a fire in the low-income locality of Gava near Barcelona on Wednesday.

Madrid - The big football game in Spain this weekend sees runaway leaders Barcelona at home to rugged Valencia on Saturday.

Barca are four points above second-placed Villarreal in La Liga, with Valencia five points behind them in third place.

Valencia will make the trip to the Camp Nou - where they were thrashed 6-0 last season - without captain Carlos Marchena who was sent off in last Sunday's 3-2 defeat of Betis.

In addition, Brazilian midfielder Edu and Spain striker David Silva are injured.

"It's going to be a difficult game for us," said old Valencia warhorse Ruben Baraja.

"But we have got fairly good results there in the past few years, and I think we can do this again on Saturday."

Madrid  - A decades-old row over whether crucifixes should be displayed in public buildings in a non-confessional state has erupted again in Spain.

The recurrence of the "war of the crucifix" was seen by many analysts as partly reflecting a certain indecisiveness of the authorities caught between Spain's traditionally Catholic identity and an increasingly secular society.

Madrid  - Almani Moreira, Portuguese player for Partizan Belgrade, is in hospital in Seville after fainting on the field at the start of Wednesday's UEFA Cup clash between Sevilla and Partizan.

Moreira collapsed after just three minutes of the game, on the same Sanchez Pizjuan pitch where Sevilla youngster Antonio Puerta died of a massive heart attack in August
2007.

Moreira was stretchered off and taken by ambulance to the Virgen del Rocio hospital, where his condition is said to be stable. He will spend the night in the hospital and will undergo various tests on Thursday.

Sevilla went on to win the match 3-0, with two goals from Luis Fabiano and one from fellow Brazilian Renato.

Madrid  - Spanish Liga club Espanyol announced on Wednesday that captain Raul Tamudo would be out of action for around two months.

Tamudo, 30, has torn the femoral biceps muscle in his left leg, according to the club doctors. The injury was suffered in Sunday's 1-0 home defeat against Sporting Gijon, a result which led to coach Bartolome Marquez being replaced by Mane.

Tamudo was expected to be part of the Spain squad at Euro 2008 but missed the tournament due to a broken arm.