Spain

With the school year winding down, Tufts University administrators met recently with students planning to study abroad, outlining what they should do before they leave and what to expect when they arrive. Above all, they stressed the risks - and ways to minimize them. But with an audience of young adults eager to see the world and seize adventure, it was hard to know whether the warnings truly hit home. "I think the message gets through," said Sheila Bayne, who directs the university's study-abroad program.

Spain's troubled bank, Bankia, has asked the Spanish government for (EURO)19 billion ($23.8 billion) in financial support just as a leading credit rating agency downgraded it to junk status. Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, the bank's president, said late Friday that the bailout would "reinforced the solvency, liquidity and solidity of the bank. " The request came as Standard & Poor's downgraded Bankia and four other Spanish banks to junk status because of uncertainty over restructuring and recapitalization plans.

The Royal Palace says Queen Sofia has canceled a visit to London at the request of the government because of fresh disagreements over the disputed British colony of Gibraltar on Spain's southern tip. A spokesman said Thursday the decision was made because the government felt it inappropriate for the queen to take part in Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee events given the circumstances. He spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with palace policy. Spain last week complained to Britain over an upcoming visit to Gibraltar by Britain's Prince Edward.

Yields on U.S. government bonds slipped Friday as traders turned their attention to Spain's debt troubles. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged lower Friday as reports emerged that a Spanish bank, which has already received bailout money, needed even more help. Bankia, the country's largest property lender, asked for nearly $24 billion in support. Like others in Europe, Spain's government has been struggling with its finances. But the Spanish government is also trying to shore up its troubled banks, which have suffered deep losses from loans made during the country's real...

General information Currency: 1 euro = $1.28 Bicycles: Welcome everywhere in Spain, in hotels, and on ferries, buses, planes, and trains. How to get there US Airways, Air France, and Delta run one-stop service from Boston to Madrid for between $780 and $900. One-way flight, Madrid-San Sebastian, $172; overnight train, Madrid-San Sebastian, $115; one-way flight, Santiago de Compostela-Madrid, $48 on Air Europa, $79 Spainair; $150 Iberia. Where to stay San Sebastin Hotel Pellizar Zubiaurre PS DE #70 011-34-943-281-211 Rooms about $45. Friendly hotel a...

Q. When did you begin collecting recipes? A. In 1957 there was the Suez War. President Gamal Abdel Nasser decided the Jews would have to leave. We left and thousands of people left at the time. And one thing everyone was asking each other for was recipes. Because they thought we’d never see each other again. At least we’d have recipes to remember. And that’s when I started collecting. Q. How did you research “The Food of Spain’’? A. I spent five years researching this book.

Stephen White, a junior at Northeastern University, recently wrapped up an internship through the school’s co-op program at DNA Architectos, an architectural office in Barcelona. In high school he had lived for a time in Salamanca, a small town near Seville. He chose to return to Spain for “the total experience,’’ namely the culture, food, new friends, and the opportunity to improve his Spanish and gain a new perspective on architecture. Read about his travels at

WHO: Omar Muneeruddin, 19, of Lynnfield (now attending New York University) WHERE: Spain They hosted Felix Alonso Gonzalez for three weeks, sharing customs and cuisine from America and India, the Muneeruddin's homeland.

FOXBOROUGH — The United States national team might be ready for the Gold Cup. But the US was not prepared to face Spain in an exhibition yesterday. The Spaniards took a 4-0 victory before 64,121 at Gillette Stadium, coasting to a three-goal lead in the first half. Spain seemed to be going at half-speed, treating the match as a high-profile training session, helped by the fact the US rested several starters in the opening half, including Landon Donovan, who missed the game because of an illness.

When: Today, 4:30 p.m. Where: Gillette Stadium. TV: ESPN. Formations: US (4-4-2); Spain (4-3-3). Goalkeepers: US — Tim Howard; Spain — Iker Casillas. Coaches: US — Bob Bradley; Spain — Vicente Del Bosque. Referee: Roberto Silvera (Uruguay). Keys to game : US — Close down middle of the field; counterattack with Clint Dempsey. Spain: Midfield possession. Out: US — M Benny Feilhaber (ankle)

Another flare-up in Europe's debt crisis knocked U.S. markets lower Friday. This time, it was more trouble at a major Spanish bank. Stock indexes were waffling between small gains and losses until news broke in the afternoon that Bankia, a hobbled Spanish lender, asked that country's government for $23.8 billion in support. Earlier in the day, Standard & Poor's cut the bank's credit rating to junk status because of deepening uncertainty over its restructuring plans. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped as much as 108 points, then recovered slightly to end down 74.92 points...

Florida Gov. Rick Scott decided not to ignore the elephant in the room. Scott met this week in Madrid with Spanish King Juan Carlos. Scott repeatedly asked about the monarch's recent and controversial elephant hunt in Botswana. The 74-year-old king injured his public standing by going on the expensive hunt while the rest of Spain faces a major financial crisis. He also injured his hip. In videos of the encounter, Scott joked he'd ridden elephants but never tried to shoot them.

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. chief executive Harvey Berger said he's confident Italy and Spain will reimburse the drugmaker's new cancer medicine and he plans to sell it there amid Europe's debt crisis. Ariad plans to seek regulatory approval of the drug, called ponatinib, later this year for a cancer of the white blood cells known as chronic myeloid leukemia. The first phase of the commercial program will include the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, though not Greece, Berger said.

THE STRIKE: Teachers and students across Spain walked out Tuesday. Union officials said 80 percent of teachers took part in the strike, while the national education ministry put the figure at 19 percent. THE GRIPE: Austerity measures being taken to heal Spain's public finances have meant fewer teachers in classrooms, more students per class, fewer extra-curricular activities and higher tuition at universities. THE DRAMA: In protest, students and teachers build makeshift tombs at university campuses to symbolize what they claim will be the death of the country's...

Spain's National Court said Tuesday it had dropped its investigation into the country's top banker — Banco Santander chairman Emilio Botin — and 11 of his relatives over possible income and wealth tax evasion. The case focused on tax returns filed between 2005 and 2009 on accounts the family held in Switzerland's HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). The court said the probe showed the Botin family had normalized its tax situation before the investigation was opened last year.

Teachers and students from every level of Spain's education system went on strike Tuesday to protest wide-ranging government spending cuts, erecting makeshift tombs at university campuses to symbolize what they claim will be the death of the country's schooling system. Union officials said on average 80 percent of the country's teachers took part. All but three of Spain's 17 regions participated in the stoppage, the biggest in a series of strikes so far this year that had until now been scattered around the country.

BEIJING - LeBron James simply knocked aside overmatched Angola players like a schoolyard bully, going wherever he wanted on the basketball court. Now come the teams that can push back. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, James dominated the game with his size and strength on both ends, and the US men's team wrapped up the easy portion of its Group B schedule with a 97-76 victory last night. Tomorrow, the Americans (2-0) face Greece, the team that stunned them two years ago in the semifinals of the world championship.

Bankia, the nationalized Spanish bank which had to reassure savers last week to fend off a reported run on its deposits, needs to strengthen its capital defenses by as much as (EURO)7.5 billion ($9.56 billion), the country's economy minister said Monday. The minister, Luis de Guindos, said Bankia needed to find around (EURO)7 billion to (EURO)7.5 billion to meet the Spanish government's new provisioning requirements designed to strengthen the country's banking industry against further economic shocks.

Nicolas Colsaerts handled fierce winds to top Graeme McDowell and capture the World Match Play Championship on Sunday, boosting his chances of making Europe's Ryder Cup team. Colsaerts won a slow final 1 up in southern Spain for his second European Tour title and earn a winner's check of $900,000. McDowell, the 2010 U.S Open champion, bounced back after falling 1 down three times on the front nine, but was frustrated on the long closing stretch with his iron play letting him down.