Madrid, April 22: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the growing trade relations between India and Spain and spoke about a wide spectrum of issues on which both the countries can benefit through mutual cooperation.

President Patil, on this occasion, addressed a joint business meet, comprising leaders of the business delegation from India and businesspersons from Spain and India.

Madrid - Twenty years after internet technology was invented, the web was hailed as being vital for human progress at the 18th annual international World Wide Web Conference on Wednesday.

The four-day congress brought together about 1,000 experts in the Spanish capital Madrid.

Tim Berners-Lee, one of the inventors of the internet, said it would still continue developing for a long time.

Madrid  - Spanish football giants Real Madrid announced on Wednesday that Arjen Robben will be out of action for between two and three weeks.

According to the club's website, the Dutch winger tore the triceps muscle in his right leg in Tuesday's dramatic 3-2 home win over Getafe.

Robben will miss Sunday's crucial game away to third-placed Sevilla as well as the home game against leaders Barcelona on May 2.

The injury-prone Robben came off the bench at half-time in the Getafe match but limped off after just 19 minutes.

Madrid - The first pro-Spanish government of Spain's Basque region is to step up the fight against the militant separatist group ETA, regional prime minister-designate Patxi Lopez vowed Wednesday.

Lopez, a Socialist, is to be sworn in on May 5 as the region's first prime minister clearly defending its unity with Spain since it was granted a broad self-government three decades ago.

Lopez will succeed moderate Basque nationalist Juan Jose Ibarretxe, whose Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) favours weaker ties to Spain.

Madrid - Spain has allowed genetic screening of embryos to prevent cancer as one of the first countries in the world, press reports said Wednesday.

Two decisions by the National Commission for Assisted Human Reproduction allowed two couples to select embryos to make sure they were free of genes predisposing them to breast or thyroid cancer.

The decision on breast cancer was seen as making a liberal interpretation of the law, which only allows screening on the conditions that the disease is hereditary, appears early and cannot be treated.

Madrid - Spain's government has approved a royal decree allowing the nation's athletes to refuse anti-doping controls in the country between 11 p. m. and 8 a. m.

The decree also applies to foreign athletes training in Spain or resident in the country, El Pais daily reported Tuesday.

The ruling is in contravention of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code which stipulates that athletes must in principle be available for doping controls 24 hours a day.