Spain revised its public deficit figure for 2012 higher on Wednesday to 6.98 percent of economic output from the 6.74 percent figure it posted last month, to comply with a request by the EU's statistics office regarding Madrid's calculations of tax refund claims.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government had promised the European Union that he would reduce Spain's public deficit to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 from 9.4 percent of GDP the year before.

The harsh spending cuts introduced by European governments to tackle their crippling debt problems have not only pitched the region into recession — they are also being partly blamed for outbreaks of diseases not normally seen in Europe and a spike in suicides, according to new research.

Since the crisis first struck in 2008, state-run welfare and health services across Europe have seen their budgets cut, medical treatments rationed and unpopular measures such as hospital user fees introduced.

An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale shook El Hierro island in Spain's Canaries on Monday, the strongest of hundreds of tremblors recorded in recent days in the territory which suffered an undersea volcanic eruption in 2011, Spain's National Geographical Institute said Monday.

The earthquake struck at 3:41 pm (1441 GMT) and its epicenter was in the Atlantic Ocean about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) west of the island, a spokesman for the institute said. It was measured at a depth of 16 kilometers and was preceded by another earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Russians are snapping up luxury villas surrounded by lush vegetation along Spain's rugged Mediterranean coast, drawn by a mild climate and relaxed lifestyle, proving the country's ailing economy with a much-needed boost.

Sergei Maslov, 53-year-old real estate developer, and his wife Larissa, 51, from Novosibirsk in Siberia are part of this wave of Russian investors with deep pockets who are being welcomed with open arms by Spanish officials.

Madrid mayor Ana Botella hailed the first day of the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission's four-day inspection of the city's candidacy for the 2020 Olympic Games a success.

After an introduction from Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, the committee had the opportunity to visit four of the proposed sites, including Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told IOC inspectors Monday that much of the infrastructure needed for Madrid's 2020 Olympic bid is already built, emphasizing a low-cost approach at a time of financial austerity.

Rajoy welcomed the IOC's evaluation commission at the start of its four-day inspection of Madrid, which is competing against Tokyo and Istanbul.

Hundreds of Spanish doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, many wearing white lab coats, marched in Madrid on Sunday against budget cuts and plans to partly privatize medical services.

They chanted and blew whistles as they made their way through the streets of the Spanish capital, blocking traffic, behind a large banner that read: "Healthcare is not to be sold, it is to be defended".

Eurozone finance ministers agreed early Saturday on a bailout for Cyprus, the fifth international rescue package in three years of the debt crisis.

After Greece, Ireland and Portugal each secured massive bailouts, Spain proved a special case as Madrid sought limited help only for its stricken banks, insisting that it did not need and would not seek a full debt bailout.

Spain's public debt hit a new record of 84.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2012, owing to increases both at the federal level and that of the country's 17 autonomous regions, official data released on Friday showed.

The figure, which gained 14.8 percentage points last year to total 884.4 billion euros ($1.15 trillion), was well above the European Union (EU) limit of 60 percent of GDP, but came in a bit below the government's own forecast of 85.3 percent.

Thousands of students and teachers marched in Madrid on Thursday protesting crisis budget cuts and layoffs in schools and universities.

"Our education will not pay your debt!" read a banner at the front of the march heading down one of Madrid's main avenues towards the education ministry, to the din of horns and whistles.