Spain in key regional vote test

Average incomes in the Basque Country are among Spain's highest

Spaniards are voting in regional polls in the Basque Country and Galicia - the first political test since Spain slid into recession in 2008.

In the Basque Country, Spain's ruling Socialists seek to be the first non-nationalist party to form the cabinet.

The Socialists have been focusing their campaign on the economy there rather than issues of national identity.

In Galicia, the Socialists hope to remain part of the governing coalition with the Galician Nationalist Bloc.

More than four million people are eligible to elect regional parliaments in Galicia and the Basque Country. Polls opened at 0800 GMT.

Job concerns

In the Basque Country, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) has been in power since Spain returned to democracy three decades ago.

What kind of unemployment do people prefer, 8%, as we have here, or 14%, as they have in Madrid? Miren AzkarateBasque Nationalist spokeswoman

The party has sought to loosen constitutional ties with the central government in Madrid and assert the rights of Basques to decide their own political future.

However, the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is seeking to score a historic victory in the region.

With the country in recession, polls suggest that Basques are more concerned about jobs than legalistic arguments about sovereignty, the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Spain says.

The Socialists have portrayed the leader of the current Basque government, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, as out of touch with real issues.

The PNV rejects the claims, saying that the Basque economy is doing so much better that the rest of Spain.

Unemployment is lower in the region than the national average, and Basque incomes are among the highest in Spain, our correspondent says.

The outlawed parties, D3M and Askatasuna, were barred from fielding candidates earlier this month by Spain's supreme court, after prosecutors accused them of links to Eta militants.

Eta is blamed for more than 800 deaths in a 40-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland.

In Galicia, the Socialists are hoping to hold on to power in a coalition with the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG).

The polls close at 1900 GMT and the first results are expected later on Sunday.

Sebelius 'to take US health post'

Ms Sebelius' name had been floated for several Cabinet posts

US President Barack Obama has chosen Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services, White House officials say.

Reports said she had accepted and a formal announcement would be on Monday.

Ms Sebelius had earlier been tipped for several cabinet posts, but had said she wanted to focus on her work in Kansas.

She replaces Mr Obama's first choice as health secretary, former Senator Tom Daschle, who withdrew after questions were asked about his personal taxes.

Ms Sebelius' appointment has to be ratified by Congress.

Lavish birthday bash for Mugabe

The birthday cake reportedly weighed 85kg (187lb)

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been marking his 85th birthday at a lavish party paid for by supporters.

The backers raised $250,000 (

Mugabe set for lavish birthday

Mr Mugabe's supporters say thousands will rally in celebration

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is preparing to celebrate his 85th birthday at a lavish party paid for by his supporters.

They have raised $250,000 (

Ill Castro 'takes walk in Havana'

The latest of Fidel Castro emerged earlier in February

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, not seen in public for nearly three years, has been for a walk in Havana.

Mr Chavez, who visited Cuba a week ago, said in comments carried by Venezuelan state TV that Mr Castro had seemed in "very, very good" shape.

Media in Cuba have neither reported nor confirmed Mr Chavez's tale.

Mr Castro, 82, has not been seen publically since undergoing gastric surgery in July 2006.

He handed over presidential duties in 2006, and formally announced his retirement as president in February 2008, allowing his younger brother Raul to take over as head of state.

The BBC's Michael Voss, in Havana, says it is not unusual for updates on Fidel Castro's health to come from abroad.

Of course he [Fidel Castro] planned it all so there wouldn't be any record of it or anything Hugo ChavezVenezuelan president

The last photos of him to emerge were released in Chile, following a visit to Cuba by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, our correspondent says.

In those images the former Cuban leader looked stronger than before and appeared to have gained some weight, he adds.

Speaking on Friday in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, Mr Chavez said: "Fidel surprised us all.

"He went for a walk. Fidel went out and they saw him... Fidel walking through Havana, through the streets. A miracle. The people were crying.

"Of course he planned it all so there wouldn't be any record of it or anything," Mr Chavez added. "There's a photo that I've seen, and in that sense I feel humbly privileged."

There was no mention of when the walk took place.

The Venezuelan leader also said Fidel Castro this week sent him a letter in which he said he had walked "far", aiming to visit trees he planted 40 years ago in farm experiments in the early days of Cuba's revolution.

Mr Chavez said he had met Fidel Castro for three hours on 20 February and for four hours a day later.

The two men discussed the global economic crisis and the new administration of US President Barack Obama, the Venezuelan government said.

Rumours about the extent of Mr Castro's health problems were fuelled in January, when he did not appear in public for celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Cuba's revolution.

The non-appearance fuelled suspicions that his health had deteriorated badly.

Zuma dismisses new SA challenge

Jacob Zuma is considered to be the favourite to win the 22 April election

Jacob Zuma, favourite to become South Africa's next president after April's polls, says he does not consider his newest opposition a major challenge.

He told the BBC he is not worried about the threat posed by the Congress of the People (Cope).

Cope is composed of dissidents from the ruling African National Congress (ANC), led by Mr Zuma.

But Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota says that Mr Zuma is underestimating the "glaring failures" of the ANC.

Mr Lekota says his party will win about a quarter of the votes in the election and even suggested that Cope might form a coalition government with other opposition parties.

The emergence of Cope and the corruption charges faced by Mr Zuma make the 22 April elections the most keenly contested since the end of apartheid in 1994.

However, correspondents say the ANC is almost certain to retain its majority in parliament, leading to Mr Zuma becoming the next president.

'Frustrated'

"All elections are tough, no elections are easy," Mr Zuma told the BBC's Peter Biles.

But when questioned about Cope he added: "We don't see it as a major challenge."

"You cannot say this is a big challenge when there is no policy, no major, serious policy challenges to pose as an alternative to those of the ANC."

Mosiuoa Lekota founded Cope after President Mbeki stepped down.

He is due to face renewed corruption charges in August. He repeated that he was innocent and would only step down if found guilty.

Mr Lekota, a former defence minister, formed Cope when President Thabo Mbeki stepped down last September as a result of a power struggle with Mr Zuma.

"I think he's underplaying the failures of the present government," Mr Lekota told the BBC in London.

Citing the optimism when President Nelson Mandela was first inaugurated as head of state in 1994, Mr Lekota said:

"The promises then put before the people have largely been frustrated."

Based on the results of by-elections since Cope was founded, he predicted the party would win at least 22% of the vote and win control of some provincial governments, either outright, or in coalition.

The Democratic Alliance is currently the largest opposition party in parliament but Mr Lekota clearly believes that after April's election it will take most anti-ANC votes, and become the official opposition.

Jet had repairs days before crash

The plane crashed short of the runway where it had been due to land

The Turkish Airlines plane which crashed into a field near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport had had repairs for a system malfunction two days earlier.

The Boeing 737-800 was briefly taken out of operation on Monday after the pilot reported a problem with the Master Caution Light, the airline said.

But Turkish Airlines said the problems should not be seen as a potential cause of the crash, which killed nine people.

On Thursday, investigators said engine failure might have been a factor.

Pieter van Vollenhoven, chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, told Dutch state television that the way the aircraft lost speed and "dropped almost vertically" from the sky suggested that its engines might have stalled.

Turkish Airlines has undertaken all required maintenance work on the plane in line with the directives of the manufacturer as well as national and international authorities Turkish Airlines statement Making plane crashes less deadly

Witnesses described seeing the plane appear to glide through the air, having lost all propulsion, before hitting the ground tail-first and breaking into three pieces.

Fred Sanders, a spokesman for the Dutch Safety Board, said there were a number of things that could have led to engine failure, including a mechanical fault, a lack of fuel or a bird strike.

"But there is no indication as yet that these are a possibility," he said.

An exchange between air traffic controllers and the crew recorded minutes before the crash gave no indication of any technical trouble.

On Thursday, Turkish Airlines insisted the problems on Monday with the Master Caution Light programme, which checks the aircraft is functioning correctly, should not be seen as a potential cause.

The plane was cleared to fly later in the day after technicians replaced the malfunctioning part, it said.

How the Schiphol crash happened

"Since then the aircraft undertook eight flights and encountered no problems," it added.

The airline said the plane also had its bonding jumper in its left Krueger flap - control surfaces on the leading edge of an aircraft wing - changed on 28 October and had continued flying without any difficulties. It also underwent routine general maintenance on 19 February, it added.

"Turkish Airlines has undertaken all required maintenance work on the plane in line with the directives of the manufacturer as well as national and international authorities," the statement said.

Dutch officials have taken the flight data and voice recorders to Paris, where French specialists are analysing them.

Mr Van Vollenhoven said analysis of the recorders might be completed as early as Friday, but that the Dutch Safety Board would probably not announce any preliminary findings until next week.

"We hope to have a firmer grip as soon as possible," he told NOS television, adding that the information retrieved from the recorders was of high quality and would aid reconstruction of the accident.

'Miracle'

The aircraft had been carrying 127 passengers and seven crew when it came down several hundred yards short of Schiphol airport's runway on Wednesday, about three hours after it left Istanbul's Ataturk airport.

SCHIPHOL ACCIDENTS 27 October 2005: A fire at the airport's detention centre killed 11 people and injured 15 4 April 1994: Three people were killed and 13 seriously injured when a KLM flight carrying 24 people crashed on landing 4 October 1992: An El Al Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed into an apartment block after takeoff, killing 43 people In pictures: Schiphol plane crash Turkish plane crash: witnesses

Four Americans and five Turks died, including the captain and two other members of the crew, who had wrestled with the plane's controls before becoming trapped in the wreckage.

The Turkish transport ministry said a total of 78 Turkish nationals and 56 people of other nationalities had been on board the plane.

Theo Weterings, the mayor of the Haarlemmermeer district which includes Schiphol, said on Thursday afternoon that 63 injured passengers were still in hospital receiving treatment, six in a critical condition.

"Four of them are in such a severe condition that we have not been able to communicate with them," he told a news conference.

He said the priority was to identity the victims and inform relatives.

Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim has described the low death toll as a "miracle".

"The fact that the plane landed on a soft surface and that there was no fire helped keep the number of fatalities low," he said.

Mr Yildirim also paid tribute to the efforts of Capt Hasan Tahsin Arisan, a highly experienced former Turkish air force officer.