Madrid - The Spanish media was full of praise on Sunday for the country's national football team after the previous day's hard-fought 1-0 defeat of Turkey.

There was agreement across Spain that not only is Vicente del Bosque's side one of the strongest on Planet Football at the moment - but also that it is the best ever national side in the 100-year history of the Spanish federation.

The statistics surrounding "La Seleccion" speak for themselves:

Madrid  - European champions Spain increased their lead at the top of World Cup qualifying Group 5 on Saturday, with a tight 1-0 defeat of Turkey in Madrid.

Spain won thanks to the first international goal of Gerard Pique - and thanks to several sharp saves from Iker Casillas, arguably the world's best goalkeeper at the moment.

Turkey dominated the first half, but the hosts improved after the interval and took control in midfield.

Madrid  - Spanish scientists have used modern technology to translate and classify a third of the 10,000 Arabic inscriptions covering the walls of the 14th-century Moorish palace-fortress of the Alhambra in Granada, press reports said Friday.

The classified inscriptions were inside the Comares Palace at the reddish citadel which is counted among Spain's most popular tourist attractions.

Contrary to popular belief, most of the inscriptions were not poems or verses of the Koran, said Juan Castillo, director of the project.

Madrid  - A controversy surrounding the planned liberalization of abortion heated up in Spain on Friday as scientists disagreed over whether scientific arguments could be used for or against the termination of pregnancy.

A group of top scientists signed a counter-manifesto in response to an anti-abortion declaration which has been signed by some 2,000 scientists and other professionals since last week, the daily El Pais reported.

Science showed that human life began at the moment of conception, the pro-life intellectuals argued.

Madrid  - Nearly 3,000 African would-be immigrants drowned or died of exposure while trying to cross over to Spain in 2008, media reports Friday quoted a southern Spanish human rights group as saying.

The association Pro Derechos Humanos Andalucia (APDHA) said in its annual report that it was aware of 581 deaths.

Since most deaths never became known, about 2,900 migrants were likely have died in 2008, the group estimated.

Madrid  - Political changes were looming Friday in Spain's troubled Basque region as it appeared increasingly certain to get its first government defending its unity with Spain.

Two mainstream Spanish parties, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialists and the conservative People's Party (PP), agreed on Thursday that a conservative would head the Basque parliament following the March 1 regional elections.

That was expected to pave the way for Basque socialist leader Patxi Lopez to become regional prime minister in May.