Ricardo Morales started mining Bolivia's Cerro Rico when he was 12, and he's proud of the mountain's majestic history. "It's said that the silver taken from here could have built a bridge from the peak to Spain's palace door," boasts the raspy-voiced Morales, 52, standing at the entrance to his mine some 14,000 feet above sea level. But today, after almost 500 years of non-stop extraction, the Cerro Rico's grandeur is collapsing — literally, like a ...

Only eight major nations in the world, all Catholic, do not allow divorce. They are Italy, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay. Of the eight, the one closest to ending its prohibition is the home of the church it self. Italy's Chamber of Deputies last week began full debate on a bill that would allow civil divorce for one of seven reasons. Parliamentary observers predict that the bill will pass, probably before the end of the year. Divorces ...

If there were any climate-change doubters in the wine industry, it seems they are now as rare as a 1921 Chteau d'Yquem. As the third annual World Conference on Climate Change and Wine gets underway April 13-14 in Marbella, Spain, the debate seems to be settled, and a new evolution in mentalities is taking place. "I think the majority of the wine industry has acknowledged that there is a problem called climate change — the impacts are ...

It has been four decades since Pilar Maroto lost her newborn son, but tears still fill her eyes when she speaks of him. She perfectly remembers the moments after his birth in April 1972, when she heard his first cry and then, later, the sudden, devastating news that her little boy had died. On Tuesday, she stood outside Spain's Congress of Deputies and hoped that, finally, someone in power would take seriously her insistence that her baby ...

A Spanish soldier was killed and five others were wounded on Wednesday when their patrol vehicle struck a hidden bomb in western Afghanistan, Spain's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

A Spanish judge Tuesday ordered an Argentine pilot to be kept in prison in Madrid, Spain, until a decision is made about whether he should be extradited to his home country on charges that he participated in "death flights." Former Argentine Navy Lt. Julio Alberto Poch is one of two pilots arrested recently for allegedly piloting "death flights" in which more than 1,000 prisoners were thrown alive out of planes during Argentina's "dirty war" in the 1970s and '80s, officials ...

The battle to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games appears to be heating up between Chicago, Illinois, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, two sources close to the process said Thursday. The revelation came after a day of furious behind-the-scenes lobbying of International Olympic Committee members by American first lady Michelle Obama and famed talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who both hail from Chicago. Madrid, Spain, and Tokyo, Japan, are also in the running. But the sources said Chicago and Rio ...

World-record signing Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his debut as Real Madrid kicked off the Spanish football season with a shaky 3-2 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday night. Real's new generation of "Galacticos" were preceded onto the pitch by the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, with the Jamaican sprint star dribbling a ball to the delight of a packed Bernabeu crowd. Coach Manuel Pellegrini fielded seven new signings against a team who stunned Real 2-1 on the ...

Holders Barcelona will face Inter Milan, pitting Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic against their former clubs, after the draw for the Champions League group stage was made in Monaco on Thursday. Barcelona, who beat Manchester United 2-0 in last May's final in Rome, and Inter will be joined by Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev and Rubin Kazan of Russia in Group F of the competition. Ten former champions and eight Champions League debutants go into action in the 32-team format split ...

Up to 50,000 revelers descended on the small Spanish town of Bunol near Valencia Wednesday, collectively throwing, squishing, and pummeling 100 metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes in what has grown to be the world's biggest annual food fight. The Tomatina festival began in 1945, but there is no official explanation of how it started. Theories of its origins range from a practical joke on a bad musician to the anarchic aftermath of a lorry spillage to a local food fight ...