Madrid - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was Wednesday awarded a Spanish prize for his fight against terrorism amid protests by his critics.

Uribe described his security policy against guerrilla movements as "the road to peace and freedom" on receiving the award, granted by the city of Cadiz, in presence of Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia at the Colombian embassy in Madrid.

Madrid - Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon on Wednesday announced a new judicial investigation of those responsible for torture at the US prison camp in Guantanamo, Cuba.

The National Court judge based the case on complaints filed by Hamed Abderrahman Ahmed, known as the Spanish Taliban, and three others who claimed to have been tortured at Guantanamo.

Barcelona - The Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta has won the Mies van der Rohe architecture award for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, the Mies van der Rohe Foundation announced Wednesday in Barcelona.

The jury described the opera as "more than just a building."

"It is first an urban space... a catalyst of all the energies of the city and emblematic of the regeneration of its urban tissue," jury chairman Francis Rambert said.

Madrid - Spain went deeper into a recession in the first quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 1.8 per cent compared to the last quarter of 2008, the Bank of Spain said Wednesday.

The economy contracted 2.9 per cent over 12 months in its steepest decline since the 1970s.

A recession caused partly by the collapse of a property boom is being aggravated by the persistence of the international slowdown, the effects of which have not been offset by falling inflation and interest rates, the bank said.

Barcelona (Spain), Apr. 29 : Chelsea football club coach Guus Hiddink has hailed his team for successfully forcing a draw against Spanish football champions Barcelona at their Nou Camp home ground, saying "My heroes bleed for me."

The Blues became the first side this season to stop Barcelona scoring at home as this Champions League semi-final.