A French court Friday sentenced the former mayor of a small seaside village to four years in prison for concealing flood risks that led to the death of 29 people in a brutal storm.

The court ruled that Rene Marratier was aware of the risks of flooding in La Faute-sur-Mer on the western coast but "deliberately hid" them so as not to miss out on the "cash-cow" of property development.

Swiss authorities have charged a fugitive banking analyst with data theft and their transfer to several institutions abroad, including Lebanese banks, in what is considered to be one of the biggest security breaches in the country's often-secretive banking sector.

The case of Herve Falciani, a former employee of global banking group HSBC, has been making headlines in Europe since he fled Switzerland in 2008. He has been accused of stealing information between 2006 and 2007 relating to 24,000 customers of the Swiss division of HSBC.

Spain's King Felipe VI Thursday praised the merits of unity in his first speech in Catalonia since the wealthy northwest region held a symbolic vote on independence.

"We cannot allow weakening or division as the world moves towards greater integration, reflecting the increased interdependence that defines our societies and economies," the monarch said in his speech to Catalan business leaders in Barcelona.

Google said Wednesday it will shut down Google News in Spain because of a new law that will force it to pay news outlets whose content it publishes, partially or in whole.

Google News will close in Spain on December 16 because of the law, which takes effect in January.

Spain's coastguard said Friday it had plucked 28 migrants from a ship in the Mediterranean Sea and were looking for other passengers from the vessel who may have gone missing.

"According to the people who were rescued from the ship, some of their companions were swept overboard during the crossing," the coastguard said in a Twitter message.

Some 600 African migrants charged at the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco on Tuesday and 30 managed to climb over, Spain's government said.

They were the latest in a flow of thousands of migrants trying to reach Melilla and the other Spanish north African territory of Ceuta, which together have Europe's only borders with Africa.

Police on Monday arrested three African migrants accused of attacking officers who intercepted a boat with 17 people on board, including children and pregnant women, trying to reach Spanish soil.

Civil Guard boats stopped the vessel off Melilla, a Spanish enclave in northern Morocco, Spanish government officials said in a statement.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in Catalonia Saturday that he would not allow any challenge to national unity, on his first visit to the region since its symbolic vote on independence.

"I will not allow challenges to the unity of Spain," Rajoy said in a speech to supporters of his conservative Popular Party in the region's main city of Barcelona.

Spanish Health Minister Ana Mato resigned on Wednesday after being linked to a massive corruption scandal involving an alleged kickback scheme at the heart of the Spanish prime minister's conservative Popular Party.

"I have decided to present my resignation," Mato said in a statement, adding that she was stepping down for the good of the government and the ruling Popular Party.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday called plans by the Catalan government to hold early elections as part of a push to gain independence from Spain "a step to nowhere".

Catalan president Artur Mas announced Tuesday that he wants to hold early elections in the wealthy northeastern region centered on independence which would involve a joint list of candidates from all parties that favor secession.