Madrid - Spain's National Court has handed 21 members of a Basque separatist organization prison terms ranging from eight to 10 years, the court said Wednesday.

Madrid - Spanair has instructed pilots to increase checks on takeoff warning systems of MD planes after the August 20 crash at Madrid airport that killed 154 people, press reports said Wednesday.

A commission investigating the accident has found that the wing flaps of the MD-82 which crashed were not correctly deployed, according to a preliminary draft report leaked to the media. Spanair confirmed that it had received a copy of the report.

The flaps are moveable panels on the rear edge of a plane's wings that help lift it on take-off.

The take-off warning system that should have alerted the pilots about the problem did not sound, the report was quoted as saying.

Madrid - The airline Spanair did not heed the safety recommendations of McDonnell Douglas, the maker of the MD-82 jet that crashed at Madrid airport on August 20, killing 154 people, press reports said Tuesday.

Quoting a preliminary draft report by an investigating commission, the reports said the plane's wing flaps, which provide extra lift, were not extended properly for a reason that remains unclear.

The pilots ignored the problem, because the security mechanism that should have alerted them of it was not in order.

A similar problem occurred before a MD-82 crashed in Detroit in 1987, also killing 154 people.

Zaragoza, Spain - The 2008 World Expo on water and sustainable development that ended overnight has been branded a "success," recording 5.65 million visitors since June in the northern Spanish city of Zaragoza, organizers said on Monday.

Organizers had initially said they expected more than 6 million visitors to the Expo.

Visitors included 36 royals, presidents of republics or parliaments, or heads of government, as well as 89 ministers from outside Spain, said Roque Gistau, president of the Expo.

Only 4.6 per cent of the visitors, however, came from outside Spain.

Madrid - Spain's top fashion show Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week was opening for the 48th time on Monday, featuring full-bodied models for the third year running.

The weight of the models continued to arouse interest, with some experts still criticizing them as too thin.

Models participating in the Madrid Fashion Week, formerly known as the Pasarela Cibeles, must have a body mass index - calculated on a height-weight ratio - of at least
18, the limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for a person to be considered healthy.

Madrid  - The shares of top Spanish banks plunged Monday following US investment bank Lehman Brothers announcing it would file for bankruptcy protection.