DEVELOPMENT-EU: New Signs of Hope Arise

Leading civil society groups are cautiously optimistic that development will rise among EU priorities.

ECONOMY: Poor New Europeans

Government reforms and cuts in social benefits have been blamed for fuelling poverty in Slovakia after an EU study showed more than a fifth of Slovaks living in poverty.

ECONOMY-BALKANS: Private Eyes Watch over Market

Privatisation has brought in "private armies" to protect Serbian businesses facing growing threats.

TOURISM: Southern Europe Loses Its Edge

Tempting and affordable offers of vacations in "paradise" settings in developing countries are causing serious harm to the powerful tourism industries of southern Europe.

ECONOMY-BALKANS: Tourism Brings New Hope

Countries across the Balkans are boosting tourism to build recovery from communism or the wars that broke former Yugoslavia.

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: ‘Terrifying’ Judgment over Suspected Terrorists

After years of condemning torture in other countries, Britian could now be approving it as official policy.

DEVELOPMENT: New EU Aid Chief to Target 0.7 Percent

One of the first tasks of new EU development commissioner Louis Michel will be to persuade member states to contribute 0.7 percent of GNI to external aid.

ENVIRONMENT: Moon Throws New Light on Olympics

The British team arrived in Athens some days back for the Olympics, like so many others. But only with the British team has the arrival been related to travelling to the moon.

ENVIRONMENT: In the Heat, Nobody Thinks of the Warming

-The scorching sun of Athens would suggest this might be more the place to think global warming than Salt Lake City where the winter Olympics of 2002 were held. It has turned out to be just the other way round.

LABOUR: Migrant Workers Could End Up Losers

A group of non-white labourers is busy planting shrubs by the side of the main Olympics stadium in Athens. The Greek contractor overseeing them is a man in a hurry.

RIGHTS: EU Accused of Violating Commitments on Refugees

A proposed European Union (EU) directive imposing tighter restrictions on granting political asylum is causing major concern to refugee councils across the 15 nations that comprised the EU until the bloc's May 1 expansion to 25 countries.

ENVIRONMENT-ITALY: Recycling Is an Art

A kitchen counter and cabinets made from 70 kilos of newspaper, a plastic overcoat, and a lamp made from paper are some examples of Italian eco-designs, which combine environmental protection and sustainable economics.

RIGHTS: Not a Good Time to Look Un-European in Athens

The guns are not pointing at visitors, they do not need to. The men carrying them have visitors to the new Olympics stadium in their sight all the way.

ENVIRONMENT: Colourful Olympics Forgets Green

You do not have to be green by inclination to notice some simple environmental truths in Greece.

TRADE: WTO Talks Overshadow Labour Concerns

International trade negotiators are ignoring the plight of millions of workers, according to leading trade union groups.

POLITICS-BOSNIA: Bridge Reconnects But Does Not Reconcile

The Old Bridge of Mostar began a new life Friday night at a spectacular opening ceremony intended as the symbolic start of a process of reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

ENVIRONMENT-EU: New Measures in Fight Against Illegal Logging

Environmental groups have slammed a proposal by the European Union to combat the growing problem of illegal logging in developing countries.

SOCIETY: Hungry, Homeless, and European

Elena and Dumitru Janka once lived in their own apartment in one of the many multi- storied housing blocks in Constanta, about 200 km east of capital Bucharest. For most of the last five years the couple, now in their early thirties, have been living in a tin-roofed shack on the beach.

TRADE: EU Welcomes WTO Proposal as Positive Step

The European Union says a proposed deal to rescue global trade talks is a "step in the right direction."

HEALTH: Look Before Buying ‘Organic’, Whatever That Means

Eating healthy is coming to mean buying organic. Or "bio", "pure", "natural". But what do these words say about the produce they sit on?

FRANCE: Defence of Media Takes On a New Meaning

French entrepreneur Serge Dassault was known until recently for selling military equipment, particularly aircraft. But since late June he has become the most powerful newspaper publisher in France, and is now trying to extend his influence into television.