Spain

French police detain at least four pro-ETA party members

Madrid - French police Wednesday detained at least four members of Batasuna, regarded as the political wing of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, Spanish media reported.

The arrests were made in several locations in southern France. The detainees included Batasuna spokesman Xabi Larralde. Police were searching the Batasuna headquarters in Bayonne.

Batasuna was outlawed in Spain in 2003. It is, however, legal in France, where it is registered as an association, according to Spanish media.

The detentions followed those of two suspected ETA members in central France on Tuesday.

Iberia stops historic flights between Madrid and Gibraltar

Iberia stops historic flights between Madrid and Gibraltar Gibraltar  - The Spanish airline Iberia will stop the historic flights between Madrid and the British enclave of Gibraltar, sources of the airline said Tuesday.

Iberia said the route was not profitable enough. The last flight was scheduled for Sunday.

The flights were part of a 2006 agreement lifting some of the restrictions of movement and telecommunications between Spain and the enclave which Madrid has claimed for three centuries.

The agreement included the joint use of Gibraltar airport.

Drunken pilots fight five hours before flight in Spain

Drunken pilots fight five hours before flight in Spain Vigo, Spain  - A captain and co-pilot of the Spanish carrier Air Europa fought in front of their hotel in a state of drunkenness five hours before they were due to fly together, the newspaper Faro de Vigo reported Monday.

Police separated the two men, dressed in uniforms of the airline, who were beating each other up early Sunday in the north-western city of Vigo.

Air Europa suspended the pilots from service and launched an investigation into the incident.

Spain suspends operating licence of Futura Airways

Spain suspends operating licence of Futura Airways Palma de Majorca, Spain - The Spanish civil aviation authorities have suspended the operating licence of Futura International Airways after it sought bankruptcy protection, the charter carrier said Monday.

The licence could, however, be reactivated if Futura found an investor to finance its savings plan before 2009, the airline quoted the aviation authorities as saying.

Futura chairman Roman Pane earlier said the airline would reduce its staff of nearly 1,200 by half and trim its high-season fleet from 22 to about 12 aircraft.

Rains spark flooding in Spain - one killed

Madrid  - Heavy rains sparked flooding in several parts of Spain on Monday, causing traffic jams and cutting rail links, officials said.

A elderly woman was found dead underneath a car in Coslada near Madrid. It was not immediately clear whether she had been carried away by floodwater. Four people were reported injured.

Garages and basements stood under water east of the capital. Power cuts were also reported. The highway leading from Madrid to Valencia was blocked by police at several points, causing massive traffic jams.

Spanish soldier killed in suspected ETA car bomb attack

SpainSantona, Spain - A Spanish soldier was killed Monday and five others were injured when a suspected ETA car bomb exploded outside a military academy in the northern town of Santona in the Cantabria region, officials said.

The bombing was the third attack by the Basque separatist group ETA within 24 hours.

Eleven people were injured on Sunday morning by a car bomb explosion at a police station in the northern Spanish town of Ondarroa near Bilbao.

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