Madrid

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is set to arrive for talks in Turkey, as efforts continue to secure the safe release of dozens of Turkish nationals taken hostage by a jihadist group in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

During his visit to Ankara on June 16, Rasmussen will meet both President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on June 12 he didn't see a role for the organisation in Iraq after Islamist militants seized swathes of territory in the country and took 80 Turkish citizens hostage.

Rasmussen condemned the violence and called for immediate release of the hostages.

A team searching for the lost remains of Miguel de Cervantes has detected potential burial sites under a convent in Madrid and wants to excavate to verify whether the creator of Don Quixote lies under the centuries-old building.

Romania's tennis player Simona Halep said she feels amazing after advancing on Thursday evening to the French Open final, her first ever Grand Slam final.

Thousands of Spaniards gathered in the capital Madrid to call for a referendum on the future of the monarchy.

In total, more than 60 rallies were staged across the country, shortly after King Juan Carlos, who had ruled since 1975, announced his decision to abdicate. Demonstrators waved republican flags and shouted slogans against the monarchy.

Croatia's Ajla Tomljanovic upset third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of the French Open on Friday.
      
The defeat means that the tournament's top three seeds have been ousted inside six days, with top seed Serena Williams losing in the second round and second seed Li Na departing in the first.
      

Regional Parliament in Spain's Basque Country (Pais Vasco) approved a resolution proclaiming the province's "right to self-determination".

The symbolic text adopted Thursday was backed by 48 out of 75 Basque lawmakers.

AGERPRES correspondent Ruxandra Constantinescu reports: Romanian literature is for the third straight time present at the Madrid Book Fair with a stand organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) in the Spanish capital city.

By Charles Penty

Podemos, a new movement that grew out of street demonstrations against politicians and banks, won five seats in the European Parliament as Spanish voters lent their voice to protests against mainstream parties.