Activist: Basque separatist group ETA to disarm by April 8

Basque civil society groups will fully disarm the separatist group ETA by April 8, a French environmental activist with ties to the Basque community promised Friday.

The militants announced a permanent cease-fire in 2011, but the governments of Spain and France have so far refused to take part in its disarmament because ETA tied it to the future of its militants, both in and out of jail. The two countries have demanded that ETA lay down its weapons without conditions and disband.

Spain's Princess Cristina found not guilty in tax fraud case

In a wide-ranging tax fraud case that captivated Spain, Princess Cristina was found not guilty Friday of being an accessory to fraud but her husband was convicted and sentenced to more than six years in prison.

A panel of judges ruled that Cristina, the 51-year-old sister of King Felipe VI, will be required to pay nearly 265,000 euros (over $280,000) in fines because the court considers that she indirectly benefited from the fraud.

Spain evacuates 9,000 from massive tire fire near Madrid

Spanish officials ordered 9,000 people evacuated Friday night from a large apartment complex after a raging fire at a sprawling tire dump sent spectacular, toxic clouds of black smoke into the sky.

About 8,000 apartment dwellers had already left their homes in Sesena, a central town near Madrid, as the thick smoke poured out from the fire that started before dawn, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha announced.