Madrid  - For years, tourism had been one of the main engines of Spain's economy, but its role is being increasingly questioned.

Not only has Europe's economic slowdown hit the tourism industry, with the number of foreign visitors plunging by nearly 16 per cent in February.

Spain's traditional tourism model based on the sea and sun is also facing increasing competition from cheaper destinations, and global warming poses far-reaching challenges for the tourism industry.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain  - The Spanish holiday island of Tenerife suffered a massive black-out on Thursday, local media reported.

The electricity company Unelco tentatively attributed the power cut to a flash of lightning which may have hit a power plant in Las Caletillas in the east of the Canary Island in stormy weather.

The black-out affected almost the entire island of 900,000 residents, causing people to get stuck in lifts and traffic lights to go off.

Madrid  - A court in the northern Spanish city of Santander said Thursday it would seek the extradition of suspected swindler Jose Perez Diaz who has been arrested in Mexico after being on the run for 18 years.

Perez Diaz, known as Pepe el del Popular, 57, was one of Spain's most wanted fugitives, with media referring to him as an "early Madoff" - after confessed US financial fraudster Robert Madoff.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain - The Spanish holiday island of Tenerife suffered a massive black-out on Thursday, local media reported.

The electricity company Unelco tentatively attributed the power cut to a flash of lightning which hit a power plant in stormy weather.

The black-out affected almost the entire island of 900,000 residents, causing people to get stuck in lifts and traffic lights to go off.

Some radio stations and a tramway linking the capital Santa Cruz with La Laguna also stopped functioning.

Bilbao, Spain - Suspected members of the militant Basque separatist group ETA on Thursday planted explosives near a Basque entrepreneur's home, causing slight material damage but no injuries, officials said.

The entrepreneur, who lives in the Basque locality of Amorebieta, was believed to be on ETA's hit list.

Several Basque entrepreneurs' associations condemned threats by ETA to business owners who refused to pay the group "revolutionary taxes."

Madrid - Mexican police have arrested a suspected Spanish swindler, dubbed an "early Bernard Madoff," who had been on the run for 18 years, press reports said Thursday.

Jose Perez Diaz, known as Pepe el del Popular, 57, was one of Spain's most wanted fugitives.

The former bank manager is suspected of defrauding more than 300 clients of about 36 million euros (49 million dollars) while heading a branch of Banco Popular in the northern city of Santander.