Madrid - The Spanish judiciary is increasingly becoming a playground for political interests, an association representing the legal profession was quoted as saying by the media on Wednesday.

An agreement between the two main parties on who parliament should confirm as new members of the General Council of Judicial Power (CGPJ) was described as a "shameful spectacle" and "fraud."

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy reached an agreement on the composition of the CGPJ after a two-year party struggle for the control of the organ, which appoints judges and watches over them.

Oviedo, Spain  - Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was held hostage for six years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), was Wednesday awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize, regarded as the Spanish equivalent of the Nobel.

Betancourt, who was rescued in a spectacular operation in July, was granted the award in the category of promoting understanding between peoples.

Madrid  - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Wednesday admitted that the country's economy was facing "hard and complicated" times, but stressed its resilience and capacity to cope.

The economy was "practically stagnant," Zapatero admitted on explaining economic policy to parliament, and called for a collective effort to deal with the difficulties.

The inflation, now running at 5.3 per cent, would drop under 4 per cent by the end of the year as oil prices went down and consumer confidence increased, the premier predicted.

A recent research has found a connection between contamination in womb and obesity. This study showed that exposure of pregnant women to some chemicals can adversely affect the baby. Exposure of mother to pollution increases the chances of obesity in kids even before their birth.

The study done by scientists at Barcelona’s Municipal Institute of Medical Research showed that children who are exposed to pesticide in the womb will have double risk of obesity.

In this study, the researchers measured levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in the umbilical cords of 403 children born on the Spanish island of Menorca. HCB is still found in food and environment although it is banned globally.

Madrid/Ibiza - Dancing the night away and partying and until exhaustion is what the holiday island of Ibiza is all about for many nightclub lovers.

The clubs and discos with their shows and star DJs turn the Balearic Island into Europe's party metropolis every summer.

But this year held an unpleasant surprise for clubbers: the time of neverending parties in Ibiza is over.

The island's government instructed local councils to restrict opening times and ban disco parties during the early hours.

Madrid - Spanish police have broken up a gang trading tainted shellfish on Spain's black market.

Eight suspects were arrested, one of them the owner of a popular and decorated restaurant in Santiago de Compostela.

Four fishermen have been taken into custody.

According to media reports on Tuesday, they were fishing scallops in north-west Spain's Ferrol Bay.

Since 1995, fishing has been prohibited in the area because of water contamination.