‘Christopher Columbus writings prove he was Spanish’

October 6th, 2009 Spain: 2 pirate suspects to be brought to MadridMADRID — A Spanish official says two men captured in connection with the hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat in the Indian Ocean will be brought to Madrid on orders from a judge. The official in the Defense Ministry says the two suspects will be transported to Madrid as soon as possible.

October 4th, 2009 Spain: hijacked fishing boat makes port in SomaliaMADRID — A hijacked trawler has been taken to port in Somalia with pirates still in charge of the vessel, the Spanish government said Sunday. The Spanish-owned fishing boat Alakrana was hijacked by pirates early Friday.

October 2nd, 2009 Pirates attack Spanish boat with 36-member crewMADRID — Pirates attacked a Spanish tuna trawler carrying a 36-member crew Friday in the Indian Ocean and contact with the vessel was lost, the ship's owner said. The vessel, Alakrana, sent out distress signals advising of a pirate attack and since then the company had not been able to communicate with Alakrana, said Echebastar Fleet, based in Spain's Basque region.

October 2nd, 2009 Spanish boat attacked by pirates in Indian OceanMADRID — Pirates attacked a Spanish tuna trawler Friday in the Indian Ocean and contact with the vessel has been lost, the ship's owner said. Echebastar Fleet, based in Spain's Basque region, said the ship Alakrana was carrying a crew of 36.

September 4th, 2009 MADRID - Spain is considering whether post-electoral security conditions in Afghanistan require an increase in the contingent that Madrid has deployed to the war-ravaged nation, Defence Minister Carme Chacon has said. Spain is waiting to find out if there will be a second round of voting to decide whether to extend the presence of the so-called electoral battalion for another month.

September 3rd, 2009 MADRID - Spanish soldiers Thursday repelled an insurgent attack in Afghanistan, killing 13 militants and injuring at least three, the defence ministry in Madrid said. There were no casualties or injuries among the Spanish troops during the six-hour battle in Sabzak in central Afghanistan.

August 28th, 2009 LONDON - A Bristol merchant going by the name of William Weston was the first Englishman to set foot in North America, seven years after Christopher Columbus. Two years earlier, the Venetian explorer Giovanni Cabotto - better known as John Cabot - had sailed from Bristol under a patent from King Henry.

August 1st, 2009 MADRID - At least 4,000 people had to abandon their homes on La Palma in the Spanish Canary Isles overnight Saturday as a forest fire swept down from the island's central highland. Authorities said military personnel from neighbouring Teneriffe were called in to deal with the flames, which were fanned by strong winds.

June 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Queen Sofia of Spain has given a lesson in cost-cutting during the recession by choosing to fly to London on the budget airline Ryanair for just 13 pounds. The Spanish royal is believed to have flown with the low-cost airline to visit her brother Constantine, the former King of Greece, who is recovering from heart surgery at a London hospital.

May 26th, 2009 LONDON - A Sikh group from Slough has written to Queen Elizabeth requesting her to return property and items belonging to the family of Punjab's last king Ranjit Singh. The Telegraph quoted Jagdeesh Singh, from the Sikh Community Action Network, as saying: "We have written to the Queen asking for access rights and the eventual return of items such as historic copies of the Sikh national sacred writings, together with swords and weapons of the Sikh gurus." According to Singh, letters, diaries and writings of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the Sikh ruler exiled to Britain in the 19th century, are also part of the collection, some of which is housed at Windsor Castle.

May 11th, 2009 LONDON - Taking a swipe at Scarlett Johannson, model-actress Megan Fox has said she doesn't need to prove she's intelligent. The 'Transformers' star resents the assumption that sexy stars are unintelligent, but insists that unlike Johansson she wouldn't go on talk shows to prove how smart she really is, reported contactmusic.com.

May 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama, it seems, still needs to work on improving his Spanish, as he used the wrong word at the opening of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at the White House. As he welcomed guests to observe the Mexican holiday, the US president called the event "Cinco de Cuatro" prompting giggles from the crowd before he corrected himself.

March 22nd, 2009 LONDON - A 25-year-old Spanish man who was born a woman is pregnant with twins. Ruben Noe Coronado interrupted the process of changing genders to preserve the female reproductive organs and give birth.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - A Spanish historian has claimed that Christopher Columbus, who opened up the American continents to Europe, was actually called Pedro Scotto, and his family originally hailed from Scotland. According to a report in Telegraph, this claim, made by Alfonso Ensenat de Villalonga, has disputed conventionally accepted narratives on the explorer's origins - that he was the son of a weaver in Genoa, Italy, or that he was from Catalonia or Galicia in Spain.

March 7th, 2009 LONDON - Actress Charlize Theron has been inspired to take Spanish lessons after learning to curse in the language on the sets of her new film 'The Burning Plain'. The 33-year-old worked with Mexican director Guillermo Arriaga on the film and the moviemaker helped improve her Spanish skills by teaching her a string of swear words, contactmusic.com reports.