Madrid - Controversy continued in Spain on Wednesday over allegations that the former conservative government gave permission to the United States to secretly fly terrorist suspects via Spain to the prison camp in Guantanamo, Cuba.

Conservative leader Mariano Rajoy denied having known anything about such flights, while the left-leaning daily El Pais reported that a 2002 Foreign Ministry document on the flights had mysteriously disappeared.

Madrid - Troubled Spanish giants Valencia are considering selling off their most important stars - in order to reduce their massive debts.

Sports daily Marca said on Wednesday that Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester City are interested in in Euro 2008 top scorer David Villa, and that Barcelona are renewing their interest in David Silva, another member of the Euro-winning Spain team.

Other Valencia stars rumoured to be the targets for other clubs, are Spanish internationals Joaquin, Fernando Morientes, Vicente Rodriguez and Raul Albiol, plus Portuguese players Miguel, Manuel Fernandes and Hugo Viana.

Valencia are rumoured to be more than 150 million euros (253 million dollars) in debt, and could be soon filing for bankruptcy.

Barcelona  - Twenty-five people were injured early Wednesday in what was believed to have been a gas explosion in Gava near Barcelona in north-eastern Spain, a spokesman for emergency services said

Caceres, Spain - Spain is about to become one of the world's first countries to e

Madrid - Unemployment in Spain climbed in November for the eighth consecutive month, increasing by about 170,000 to nearly 3 million, the highest since February
1996, the Labour Ministry announced Tuesday.

The service and construction sectors were affected most, the ministry said.

Spain's unemployment has risen by nearly 43 per cent over the past year. European Union statistics put the jobless level at 12.8 per cent.

Madrid - What should a great club do when it is immersed in a massive injury crisis and has slipped down to fourth in its domestic league?

Answer: sign a top-class forward to revitalize the attack - and to cheer up the frustrated fans.

This is exactly what troubled Real Madrid intend to do now, by signing Klaas Jan Huntelaar from Dutch giants Ajax.

Embattled Real president Ramon Calderon hinted on Monday evening that he was about to buy "a top-class striker", and the Spanish media are sure that he was referring to Huntelaar.