Wellington  - New Zealand has urged Spain to take action against the owners of a boat seen fishing illegally in Antarctic waters, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Friday.

He said the Spanish-owned Bigaro, which has been blacklisted under an international treaty aimed at protecting resources in the Antarctic, was photographed Tuesday by a Royal New Zealand Air Force plane on a maritime surveillance patrol in the Southern Ocean.

The Bigaro was fishing inside the management area of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has blacklisted the ship for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Antarctic, McCully said.

Madrid  - For Maria G., a 40-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant in Madrid, it is a grim Christmas ahead.

"Since my husband lost his construction job six months ago, we have only relied on my earnings," says the bakery employee and housemaid, one among hundreds of thousands of immigrants to have been hit hard by Spain's deepening economic crisis.

"We could not even dream of giving each other presents this Christmas," Maria sighs, explaining that she always sends more than half of her monthly income of about 1,000 euros (1,400 dollars) to her children and other relatives back in Latin America.

Barcelona - Hundreds of Spanish students Thursday disrupted traffic, causing traffic jams in the Barcelona region in protests at the temporary expulsion of six students.

The six had been accused of staging violent incidents against the so-called Bologna university reform.

A protest movement against the reform based on a 1999 declaration and signed by 46 European countries has spread through some half a dozen Spanish universities.

Barcelona - Albert Costa was on Thursday named as the new captain of Spain's Davis Cup team, replacing Emilo Sanchez Vicario who resigned after leading his country to the 2008 title 3-1 over Argentina last month in Mar del Plata.

Costa was favourite to take over the post and receives a one-year contract. Spain begin the defence of their Davis Cup title next year March 6-8 against Serbia in Benidorm.

"For me the nomination is a recognition of my total career," said the 33-year-old, who was part of Spain's Davis Cup winning team in 2000 and is believed to have beaten off competition from former player Alex Corretja.

Santander, Spain - The northern Spanish city of Santander on Thursday began removing a statue of General Francisco Franco, the last remaining one of the 1939-75 dictator on horseback which remained in a public place.

Under the 2007 Law of Historic Memory seeking to restore the honour of Franco's victims, tributes to the dictatorship have to be removed.

The Santander authorities said the statue would be placed in a future history museum.

The Association for the Recovery of Historic Memory (ARMH) representing Franco's victims welcomed the removal of the statue.

Madrid- The "human ads" that have become one of the colourful features of Madrid will continue strolling in the Spanish capital, press reports said Thursday.

Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon cancelled a planned ban on the ads after it sparked widespread protests.

An estimated 30 people walk around, mainly near the central Puerta del Sol square, wearing placards on their chests and backs.

The placards advertise pawn shops, with the text "I buy gold," tattoo shops, and the like.