Cautious calm in Lebanon after Israeli soldier killed Jun 30, 2005, 12:29 GMT Kfar Chouba, Lebanon - Tension remained high Thursday in border areas after one Israeli soldier was killed and four others wounded in exchanges of fire between the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and Israel near the disputed area of Shebaa in southern Lebanon. ....more

Britain faces uphill battle in E.U. hot seat Jun 30, 2005, 12:22 GMT Brussels (dpa) - Britains turn as president of the European Union as of July 1 comes in the midst of the blocs worst crisis in recent history. ....more

Newspaper of Germany's Slavic minority seeks young readers Jun 30, 2005, 11:09 GMT Bautzen, Germany - With a circulation of less than 2,000, the newspaper of Germany's Slav minority is one of Europe's smallest dailies, but carries on thanks to funding from the state-backed Foundation for the Sorbian Nation. ....more

Homeless St. Petersburg kids get a break as circus acts Jun 30, 2005, 11:05 GMT St. Petersburg - Thirteen-year-old Yegor can handle juggler's balls, Indian clubs and unicycles better than a visa application form. "Do I have to print everything?" he grumbles. ....more

Hillary is gamblers' favourite for 2008 U.S. election Jun 29, 2005, 23:23 GMT Washington - Americans won't pick their next president for more than three years, but at least one betting website already has a favourite: former U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton. ....more

Fears for free press after Zambian editor questioned Jun 29, 2005, 22:21 GMT Lusaka - The editor of Zambia's independent daily The Post was called in for questioning by police Wednesday over his hard hitting editorials that have left government officials fuming and heightened concern for free speech in the landlocked southern African country. ....more

Howard tugs Australia to the Right Jun 29, 2005, 2:50 GMT Sydney - Prime Minister John Howard has become the colossus of Australian politics. ....more

Southern Israel hopes to cash in on Gaza withdrawal Jun 28, 2005, 19:44 GMT Kibbutz Re'im, Southern Israel - As Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip nears, residents of the southern Eshkol region are determined to use the historic event to put themselves on the map and make some cash along the way. ....more

Gysi and Lafontaine spearhead new leftist alliance Jun 28, 2005, 19:44 GMT Berlin - After a brain tumour operation and a lengthy spell away from politics, Gregor Gysi, 57, long the most charismatic figure in the far-leftist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), is again making headlines in Germany. ....more

Gaza withdrawal leads to a war - of colours Jun 28, 2005, 14:43 GMT Tel Aviv - Israel is far removed from the Ukraine, and has no connection with the Netherlands Royal House - but orange has become a prominent colour on the country's streets. ....more

Baghdad and Washington despair one year after handover Jun 27, 2005, 15:12 GMT Cairo - A year after power was formally handed over by the U.S.-led invading forces to an Iraqi government there is rising despair among the politicians of the transitional government in Baghdad and in Washington. ....more

U.S. evangelical Christians strong as Billy Graham eases out Jun 27, 2005, 10:41 GMT New York - Followers prayed, swayed and sang as Billy Graham, the patriarch of the U.S. evangelical Christian movement, held what is likely to be his last mass rally on American soil after six decades of preaching that spanned the globe. ....more

Centennial of famous mutiny on Russian warship Potemkin Jun 27, 2005, 10:34 GMT Hamburg - Some ships live on in our minds as legends: the Titanic, Wilhelm Gustloff, Andrea Doria, and Potemkin. ....more

Australians fall out with jailed Bali drug smuggler Jun 27, 2005, 9:50 GMT Sydney - The sad fact is that the next time Schapelle Corby will be stirring the emotions of Australians is a date well into the future, when she walks free from an Indonesian prison into what is likely to be a very small gaggle of well-wishers. ....more

Schroeder in Washington - Is it 'goodbye' or 'welcome back'? Jun 26, 2005, 15:17 GMT Berlin/Washington - The gesture has been noted. ....more

Spain wonders about 2012 Olympics after ETA attack Jun 26, 2005, 15:17 GMT Madrid - Spain was left wondering on Sunday whether their Olympic dreams for 2012 went up in the smoke from a car bomb attack by the Basque separatists of ETA. ....more

Gulf Arabs learn to serve instead of give orders Jun 26, 2005, 7:39 GMT Muscat - Oil has transformed the people of the Gulf from Bedouin nomads, fishermen, shepherds and pearl divers into millionaires waited on by low-paid expatriate workers. ....more

Shopping spree by Chinese companies raising alarm in U.S. Jun 25, 2005, 13:16 GMT New York - Chinese companies are on a foreign shopping spree. The 18.5 billion dollar (15.3 billion euro) bid by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Ltd. for the U.S. oil company Unocal has tongues wagging both in Washington and on Wall Street. ....more

The plight of education in Southern Sudan Jun 25, 2005, 12:02 GMT Yambio, Sudan - The headquarters of the regional administration in Yambio, in the middle of Southern Sudan, is one of the few stone buildings in the area. ....more

Young generation of German designers shock and surprise Jun 25, 2005, 12:02 GMT Berlin - Young fashion designers, beavering away in courtyard premises in Berlin, are grabbing attention across Europe with brash new trends and winning well-heeled clientele in the process. ....more

Schroeder seen in U.S. as politically weakened ahead of trip Jun 25, 2005, 12:02 GMT Washington - U.S. conservatives are being blunt, as usual, in pointing out that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will visit the United States next week a politically weakened critic of the war in Iraq. ....more

As data thefts grow, experts warn of chaos Jun 25, 2005, 12:02 GMT San Francisco - Earlier this month Donald Cuppe from Tucson, Arizona, got a call from his bank to tell him that his credit card number had been stolen. ....more

Bush goes on offensive as support for Iraq policy erodes Jun 25, 2005, 1:29 GMT Washington - When his Iraq policy is under attack, President George W. Bush invites an Iraqi leader to the White House and lets him talk about progress and democracy in the violence-torn country. ....more

Whaling moratorium as bitterly divisive as ever Jun 24, 2005, 17:04 GMT Seoul/Ulsan - Whaling remains bitterly divisive, the 57th Annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) held this week in the South Korean town of Ulsan showed. ....more