Spain's Supreme Court conviction of internationally renowned rights judge Baltasar Garzon for abuse of power exposed a deep right-left gulf in the country on Friday.

Garzon was widely condemned by conservative newspapers, which welcomed the court's decision to bar him from the judiciary for 11 years, effectively ending his career as a judge.

Three British tourists have died after catching Legionnaires' Disease in a Spanish seaside hotel, regional authorities said Friday, as they shut the hotel to stop the deadly bug spreading.

"Analyses on the three deceased, of British nationality, aged between 73 and 78 years, found pneumonia caused by Legionnaires'," said the regional government of Valencia in a statement.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon appointed Italian Maj. Gen. Paolo Sera as the commander of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon to succeed Spain’s Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta.

“Asarta will relinquish his post on 28 January,” spokesperson for the Secretary-General Martin Nesirky said on Monday.

Dogs, cats, rabbits and even turtles, many dressed in their finest, trooped into churches across Spain on Tuesday in search of blessing on Saint Anthony's Day, for the patron saint of animals.

Pet owners lined up around the block of the Church of San Anton in central Madrid behind blue metal barriers to wait for a priest to sprinkle holy water on their animals.

Saudi Arabia has inked an $8.22 billion deal with a Spanish consortium to build a high-speed railway on the Muslim pilgrim route between Mecca and Medina, the state news agency SPA reported Saturday.

Spanish companies beat out French rivals in October for the contract to build the oil-rich kingdom's Haramain High Speed Rail Project (HHR).

Spain's economy shrank in the final quarter of 2011, battered by financial market tensions and a deteriorating global economic outlook, the Bank of Spain said Thursday.

The grim report fed widespread fears that Spain has already slumped into a recession after the economy, dragged down by a 21.5-percent jobless rate, posted zero growth in the third quarter of 2011.

Spanish lawmakers voted Tuesday to make conservative leader Mariano Rajoy the new prime minister, approving his program of sweeping budget cuts and tough economic reforms.

Facing urgent pressure to fix Spain's economy, with five million people unemployed and warnings of a fresh recession looming, Rajoy, 56, has vowed to create jobs, clean up banks and reassure investors over the country's finances.

One of 12 marble lions that stand watch in Spain's historic Moorish palace, the Alhambra, in Granada returned to its spot Monday after being restored by experts.

A miniature crane lowered the 300-kilogramme (660-pound) stone beast into place at the foot of a fountain in the Court of the Lions at the heart of the palace, one of Spain's biggest tourist attractions.

Europeans are tightening their belts and spending less on Christmas gifts this year as they struggle with incomes hit by austerity measures or fear the economy could worsen in 2012.

Mother Nature is helping retailers in many countries this year as there have been no snow storms keeping consumers home and playing havoc with deliveries.

Spain said Thursday it will ask for compensation from the EU after the European Parliament cancelled a deal allowing EU trawlers, mainly from Spain, to fish in Moroccan waters.

"I am going to ask for compensation for the damage to Spain's fishing fleet," said Spain's Farm, Environment and Fisheries Minister Rosa Aguilar, who was in Brussels for talks on fishing.