BALKANS: Army Defeats its Past

The full-page ad last week surprised many Serbian readers. On sale were 15 military office blocks, warehouses and other installations in five cities at a starting price of 1.8 million dollars.

SPAIN: Immigrants Make the Economy Grow

Immigrants have been a major factor in Spain's robust economic growth, according to a new study by Caixa Catalunya, one of the country's largest banks.

RUSSIA: Church Prepares to Resist Madonna

Thousands of fans are expected to greet pop superstar Madonna when she arrives in Moscow early next month, but the Russian Orthodox Church wants Moscow city hall to ban the concert, and is asking fans to boycott it.

BALKANS: Watch Out, She’s Watching

Every other person now seems a spy of sorts. Bugging devices, secret cameras and other surveillance equipment are no longer the exclusive tools of the police; more and more, ordinary people are beginning to use such devices.

EUROPE: Local Fight to Combat Global Environmental Threats

Stockholm is cutting the edge on ecologically sustainable development by assessing new local solutions on longstanding global environmental problems.

EUROPE: Germany Wakes Up to Terror Threat

A man who attempted to bomb a German train has been caught but his accomplice is still at large, waking Germany up to the reality that terror attacks can strike at home.

SOCIETY: Not Quite the Healing Touch

In place of the promised healing touch, they have in cases brought death. And now at least a few people are beginning to demand a check on the recent proliferation of self-proclaimed healers and sorcerers.

ENVIRONMENT-PORTUGAL: Summer Heat and Forest Fire Hell

In just two weeks of the northern hemisphere's hottest month, fires raged through 36,000 hectares of forest in Portugal and 89,000 in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia. And history keeps on repeating itself every August in these two lands with similar languages, customs and geography.

SOCIETY: Guenter Grass Jolts Germany with Revelation of Nazi Past

Nobel Prize winner Guenter Grass's admission that he served in the Waffen SS, Hitler's notorious elite army, has triggered an outpouring of shock, rage and disbelief in Germany.

RIGHTS: Muslim Leaders Begin to Doubt the Plot

Many Muslims in Britain are beginning to doubt the alleged plot to blow up aircraft flying to the United States from Britain.

ITALY: Thousands of Pets Abandoned During Summer Vacation

Summer vacation is a time of great risk for many household pets in Italy. Some vacationers leave without taking care of their faithful four-footed friends. And many leave their family cat or dog on the street without a second thought.. The problem has reached national proportions.

DEATH PENALTY: Groups Fight Uzbek Extradition

Russian prosecutors confirmed earlier this month that they will begin the extradition of 13 people who authorities say were involved in a May 2005 uprising in Uzbekistan. Human Rights organisations are fighting the move, saying many in the group could face torture or execution if they are sent back.

EUROPE: Battered German-Polish Relations Take Another Hit

What was already a chilly atmosphere between Poland and Germany has become icy - and all since a new exhibition opened in Berlin.

BALKANS: A Lot to Save in Kosovo

No decisions on the future of Kosovo seem imminent despite months of talks.

ENVIRONMENT-ITALY: Eco-Friendly Valley Is Model for Europe

An example of coexistence of a healthy economy, environmental care and social well being, Varese Ligure, in the northwestern Italian valley of Vara, is perhaps Europe's cleanest and most ecologically friendly community.

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: ‘Every Muslim a Suspect’

The arrest of 19 people - all Muslims - over what the police have described as a sinister plot to blow up U.S. bound aircraft from London, has cast a shadow of suspicion over the entire Muslim community in Britain.

CULTURE: Brecht Back On Stage with ‘Threepenny Opera’

Fifty years after his death in East Berlin on Aug. 14, 1956, legendary leftist playwright Bertolt Brecht is being remembered with a rash of exhibitions, panel discussions, films, readings and performances of his famous plays in Germany, confirming his lasting international importance in the theatre world.

EUROPE: Swedish Nuclear Incident Sparks Safety Concern

While the sudden scram of a Swedish nuclear reactor Jul. 25 is yet to be thoroughly clarified, the incident has fuelled a longstanding rift between opponent voices on Swedish nuclear power safety.

SPAIN: Plankton to Provide Clean New Oil

A system for producing energy from marine algae, to replace fossil fuels and reduce pollution, has been developed by Spanish researchers and will be operational in late 2007, according to its backers.

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: Human Waste Threatens Sea Life

Human-made waste is poisoning the seas around Europe, according to a report by a French research institute.

RIGHTS: Thousands Face Expulsion From France

The French government is poised to expel about 20,000 illegal immigrants, mostly Sub-Saharan Africans, campaigners say. The French move runs contrary to the trend across Europe.