San Sebastian, Spain  - Spanish poli

Madrid  - Spain could "continue being proud" of its financial system, Economy Minister Pedro Solbes said Monday, one day after the government announced its decision to bail out the savings bank Caja Castilla La Mancha (CCM).

It was the first such rescue in Spain during the global financial crisis, and made the government's constant reassurances about the solidity of the banking system ring increasingly hollow.

Rabat/Madrid - Morocco has expelled five foreigners on charges of Christian proselytizing in the Muslim country, press reports said Monday.

The five were detained on Saturday in Casablanca, where they were holding a meeting attended by several Moroccans, according to the reports.

Police seized "evangelic propaganda" materials including Arabic-language books, videos and cult objects, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Madrid - Spain could "continue being proud" of its financial system, Economy Minister Pedro Solbes said Monday, one day after the government announced its decision to bail out the savings bank Caja Castilla La Mancha (CCM).

It was the first such rescue in Spain during the global financial crisis, and made the government's constant reassurances about the solidity of the banking system ring increasingly hollow.

Madrid - Spain's EU-harmonized consumer prices fell 0.1 per cent in March, after rising 0.7 per cent in February, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Monday.

Spain thus became the first eurozone country to register negative consumer prices during the global crisis, the economic newspaper Expansion said on its website.

Madrid  - The central bank of Spain, a country whose banking system has remained largely untouched in the ongoing world financial crisis, has intervened to save regional savings institution Caja Castilla-La Mancha (CCM), the government said Sunday evening.

The Bank of Spain took control of CCM on Sunday and removed its board of directors, the government said.

Spain's Finance and Economy Minister Pedro Solbes said the savings bank had a large liquidity problem, in comments after a cabinet meeting.