| Spain posts surplus as growth soars
Spain on Wednesday confirmed its position as one of the healthiest economies in Europe by reporting a public sector budget surplus of 1.8 per cent of gross domestic product in 2006, its highest for 30 years. Spain is one of only four eurozone countries, including Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands, with a public sector surplus. Spain's is the second biggest after Finland. Announcing the figures, Pedro Solbes, finance minister, said: "The rise is a faithful reflection of the excellent state of the Spanish economy and the labour market and the positive results of the fight against fraud." Economic growth last year reached a six-year high of 3.9 per cent, compared with average growth in the eurozone of 2.7 per cent. The government is hoping that rising euro interest rates will help cool Spain's overheated property sector without precipitating a crash.
Jailed mom vows to keep girl in Spain
A Hasbrouck Heights man asked an appeals court on Wednesday to keep his ex-wife locked up at the Bergen County Jail until she agrees to return their daughter from Spain. But a defiant Maria Jose Carrascosa said she will never "hand over" the 6-year-old girl. "I don't care what the judges say," Carrascosa said in a telephone interview from the Bergen County Jail, where she has been held since November. "I am not bringing my child back." For more than two years, Carrascosa and her ex-husband, Peter Innes, have been locked in a bitter divorce and a high-profile custody battle that has cost them more than $1 million. The dispute turned ugly in January 2005 when Carrascosa took the child, Victoria, to Spain, where courts have ordered the girl not to leave the country until she turns 18.
Ibiza Beach Party
Ibiza Beach Party is clearly inspired by Wario Ware. It's a collection of micro-games based around the infamous party island, divided between different locations. In the main Story mode you have to beat all the games in a location to unlock the next one.Instructions? There are none. For each micro-game, you get exactly three seconds to prepare, before a single word or phrase appears giving you a vague clue about what you're supposed to do. 'Catch!'. 'Dance!'. 'Explode!'. And on one memorable occasion, 'Soak girls!'. .
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