The mother of Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales started a hunger strike Monday in a church in southern Spain in defence of her son, who is under fire for kissing a player during the Women's World Cup awards ceremony.

More than three years after a botched fresco restoration by an octogenarian painter became a major tourist attraction for a northern Spanish town, local officials are looking to inject new life into the phenomenon by opening a centre that celebrates the fresco.

Madrid city hall apologized Monday to parents for exposing their children to a violent puppet show, but says jailing the puppeteers for allegedly praising terrorism was disproportionate.