Madrid - Spain's first female-dominated government was sworn in Monday, with nine female and eight male ministers promising loyalty to King Juan Carlos and to the constitution at the Zarzuela royal palace.

Copies of the constitution and of the Bible were on the table in front of which the ministers made the promise - a formula they had chosen instead of an oath - in the presence of the king and Queen Sofia.

The government was the second under Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after he took his second consecutive victory in the legislative elections a month ago.

Madrid  - A 2-2 draw down in Huelva late on Saturday leaves Barcelona practically out of the Spanish title race.

Samuel Eto'o scored two for Barca, but Argentine striker Marco Ruben struck back with two goals for Huelva.

Barca have won just four of their 16 away matches, and have picked up just two points in their last three games.

The disappointing draw leaves them with 60 points from 32 games, six points less than leaders Real Madrid, who are at home to lowly Murcia on Sunday.

Barca are just one point above third-placed Villarreal, who are away to Almeria on Sunday.

Madrid - Spanish Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, 47, was Friday reconfirmed by parliament as prime minister for a second term after winning the elections a month ago.

Zapatero was reconfirmed only with the votes of the 169 Socialist legislators in a second round of voting in the 350-member parliament, where he failed to win the absolute majority necessary for him to be elected in the first round on Wednesday.

Zapatero was the first prime minister elected in a popular vote to be reconfirmed only in the second round since Spain became a democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

Madrid  - Spanish Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, 47, was Friday reconfirmed by parliament as prime minister for a second term after winning the elections a month ago.

Zapatero was reconfirmed only with the votes of the 169 Socialist legislators in a second round of voting in the 350-member parliament, where he failed to win the absolute majority necessary for him to be elected in the first round on Wednesday.

One hundred and fifty-eight MPs voted against, while 23 abstained.

Zapatero was the first prime minister elected in a popular vote to be reconfirmed only in the second round since Spain became a democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

Granada, Spain - A Spanish court has ordered a judge to pay 100,000 euros (157,000 dollars) to a man whom she acquitted of criminal charges but forgot to release, keeping him in custody for 15 months, judicial sources said Wednesday.

The judge was also barred from exercising her profession for a year.

The 32-year-old man had been found innocent of stealing a handbag by the judge based at a court in Motril, southern Spain.

Madrid (dpa) - Spanish Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who took a second consecutive election victory a month ago, failed to be reconfirmed as prime minister by parliament in a first round of voting on Wednesday.

Zapatero's investiture was backed by 168 votes, all of them coming from his Socialist Party, in the 350-seat parliament. An absolute majority would have required at least
176 votes.

There were 158 votes against his confirmation, while 23 MPs abstained.

Madrid - Spanish Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who took a second consecutive election victory a month ago, failed to be reconfirmed as prime minister by parliament in a first round of voting on Wednesday.

Zapatero's investiture was backed by 168 votes, all of them coming from his Socialist Party, in the 350-seat parliament. An absolute majority would have required at least
176 votes.

Hundred fifty-eight MPs voted against his confirmation, while 23 abstained.

Madrid - Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who won a second consecutive term in the elections a month ago, presented his government programme on Tuesday, seeking support against the country's failing economy.

Zapatero presented his programme to parliament ahead of a vote to elect him prime minister later this week.

The global economic circumstances were less favourable than four years ago, Zapatero warned, pledging measures including talks with employers and trade unions, and a re-employment plan for the unemployed.

Santiago de Compostela - Only a year ago Rosi Brueggenwerth could hardly walk. A serious cycling accident had left her with a broken hip, a pelvic fracture and a potentially life-threatening blockage in the lung artery known as a pulmonary embolism. She now wants to rediscover her body and so she has embarked upon a spiritual as well as physical journey.

"Getting there is what keeps you going," says the slim 60-year-old Rossi as she strides along. She is blonde and still enjoys wearing make-up. She also carries a rucksack on her back weighing eight kilogrammes with a scallop dangling from it. The scallop is a symbol of the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galacia in northern Spain.

Madrid - Spanish judicial civil servants have agreed to end a two-month strike that paralyzed tens of thousands of trials, media reported Monday.

Justice Minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo and the two main trade unions, UGT and CCOO, reached an agreement Sunday to raise the salaries of the civil servants.

The agreement did not, however, get the firm backing of two other trade unions which intended to submit it to a vote among the judicial employees.

The strike has worsened the problems of Spain's overburdened judiciary, which is struggling with a lack of resources, according to press reports.

Madrid - Atletico Madrid remain fourth in the Spanish Liga - and on course for the Champions League - thanks to an extravagant 6-3 home over Almeria on Sunday.

Atletico now have 53 points from 31 games, five points less than third-placed Barcelona, who are at home to Getafe later on Sunday.

Teenage sensation Sergio Aguero led the rout with two goals. Portugal winger Simao Sabrosa also scored twice, whilst Antonio Lopez and Diego Forlan chipped in with a goal apiece.

Atletico are now three points above fifth-placed Racing Santander, who crashed 3-1 at home to Deportivo Coruna, for whom Xisco Jimenez scored two.

Telco Construction Equipment Company (Telcon), a leader in the construction equipment sector in India, has signed an agreement to acquire controlling stake with 60% equity of Comoplesa Lebrero SA of Spain.

Comoplesa Lebrero SA, located in Zaragoza, is a market leader in Spain with its Lebrero brand in the manufacturing, marketing and servicing of compaction equipment.

The balance 40% will be retained by the existing shareholders, who will continue to be associated with the venture.

However, no financial details were provided by both companies.

Last week, Telcon had bought over 79% stake in Serviplem SA, a global top six player in transit mixers, dry bulk tankers and pumps.

Madrid - Spain's King Juan Carlos on Friday tasked outgoing Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero with building his second consecutive government after his Socialist Party won the elections nearly four weeks ago.

Zapatero, 47, is due to present his government programme on Tuesday. His investiture as prime minister is foreseen for Wednesday.

It was thought likely that Zapatero, whose party did not win an absolute majority in the March 9 poll, would be elected with a simple majority on the second round of voting in parliament.

Zapatero does not want to go too far in making concessions to regionalist parties seeking more autonomy for the Basque region or Catalonia, whose votes could allow him to be elected on the first round.

Madrid - Criticism of Spain's judicial system was growing Friday after it came out that a terrorist had been acquitted of a killing because of a failure to locate a key witness.

Marcos Martin Ponce, a member of the far-left Anti-fascist Resistance Groups of the First of October (Grapo), was acquitted of shooting and killing a police officer in 2000 because police had been unable to locate a protected witness.

Ponce, who was serving a 11-year prison sentence for other offences, could have been sentenced to 30 more years for the killing.

The revelation followed the case of 4-year-old girl Mari Luz Cortes.

Barcelona (Spain), Feb. 13 : Confederation of Indian Industry President and Bharti Group Chairman and CEO, Sunil Mittal, today predicted that new players entering the telecom sector would not last more than three years.

Addressing the GSM Mobile Congress here, Mittal said new firms needed at least a year to build their network and at least two years to after that to attempt to survive in a highly competitive environment.

XL Telecom & Energy Ltd has announced that the Company has decided to enter into “Power Generation Sector” with initial investments in Spain, the current global destination for Grid Connected Solar Energy.

Saptashva Solar, a subsidiary of the company, will establish a series of "Solar Farms" for power generation in Spain with a 28 MW capacity target for the first year. The medium term target is to install close to 200 MW of these farms in Spain and surrounding Portugal alone, an official release said.

Washington, Oct 24 : Scientists in Spain claim to have discovered a previously unknown population of the Iberian lynx. They say the find raises hope that one of the world’s most endangered cat species is not that close to extinction.

“We are excited and amazed by this discovery,” said Luis Suarez, head of WWF’s Species Program in Spain.

“However, we are a long way from saving the Iberian lynx from imminent extinction,” Suarez said.

According to a WWF report, the new population was discovered in the previously un-surveyed estates in Castilla - La Mancha (Central Spain).

This Iberian community is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities.

Washington, September 21 : Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has said that the quality of films made in the US today has diminished a lot as compared to the ones made before the 1960s.

He said that while the standard of movies across the world had diminished due to crisis of creation, American flicks were falling in terms of quality.

"It's difficult to make a movie anywhere in Europe now. There is a general crisis of creation,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.