Canary Islands - A boat carrying 229 African would-be immigrants landed on the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife overnight, rescuers said Tuesday.

It was the largest number of Africans to arrive on a single vessel so far, officials told the national radio station RNE.

The migrants, who were all male, included 25 minors. They were in relatively good health, although six were treated for hypothermia.

A rescue plane spotted the 30-metre-long boat at about 100 kilometres off the Canary Islands, and a rescue vessel towed it to the port of Los Cristianos.

Madrid - The Madrid stock mar

Ceuta, Spain - Rainstorms wreaked havoc Monday in Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta, forcing the closure of schools, disrupting maritime traffic and damaging the border fence separating the autonomous city from surrounding Morocco, officials said. 

Police patrols were increased on the border to prevent the entry of undocumented immigrants, who have long used Ceuta as a gateway to Europe, climbing over the 
8-kilometre-long fence topped by barbed wire. 

Madrid - A Spanish examining magistrate has asked Interpol to join the investigation into last month's crash by a Spanair aircraft at Madrid airport, El Pais daily reported Saturday.

The judge would like to discover if Spanair had violated international safety regulations, the report said.

The magistrate would like to find out what regulations the US and European aviation authorities stipulate for MD-82 aircraft, the type of Spanair craft that broke up after take-off and burst into flames on August 20 at Madrid airport.

Malaga/Madrid - Two loud explosion-like sounds scared residents and holidaymakers of Spain's southern coast around Malaga on Friday, the Defence Ministry said.

Madrid- Moroccan homosexuals may get rights within 50 years if the increase of Islamism does not prevent it, their representative Samir Bargachi said Thursday in the Spanish capital Madrid.

The Moroccan homosexuals' association Kif-Kif was participating in an international congress on the rights of homosexuals in Muslim countries.

Kif-Kif had some 3,000 members in France, Canada, Spain and Morocco, said Bargachi, who is the president of the association.