HEALTH: AIDS Fund Falls Short of Expectations

The European donors conference to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria produced less than half the expected aid package at its meeting in Paris Wednesday.

ECONOMY-SERBIA: A New Discovery, That It Pays to Work

Many Serbs say that little has improved for them since Slobodan Milosevic fell from power almost three years ago. But some are discovering opportunities not there before.

DEVELOPMENT: Russians Come in From the Cold

It is not summer in north-eastern Siberia as most people know summer to be. The spring sunshine brought temperatures down to minus 40 centigrade at night, though they could still fall to minus 60.

CULTURE-FRANCE: Artists Stage a Strike

In a summer of strikes and protests, unionists are now bringing French culture to a halt.

SOCIETY-SERBIA: Secret Service Goes to Internet

Many things have changed in Serbia since former president Slobodan Milosevic fell from power three years ago, but no one was expecting this.

HEALTH-FRANCE: Gov’t Makes AIDS Worse for Immigrants

Immigrants of African origin report an unusually high incidence of AIDS in France, and recent government measures are only making it worse.

ENVIRONMENT: Italian Energy Runs out of Wind

Energy from wind is picking up around the world, but slowing down in Italy.

CORRUPTION: French Find an Italian Connection

It was an unfortunate coincidence for French President Jacques Chirac that his government announced a constitutional amendment to reinforce his immunity as head of state at the very time that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was being given similar protection.

RIGHTS-SLOVAKIA: Move to Cut Short Row over Abortion

The Slovak parliament has amended a controversial law to approve abortions but controversy arose immediately after a ruling coalition party asked for another vote.

HEALTH-ROMANIA: A New Chance for Children with AIDS

Fifteen-year-old Nicu Popescu (not his real name) has written a long list of gifts he wants, including new shoes and a football T- shirt. He also wants to be an airplane pilot, but who knows whether that wish can come true.

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: Kenyan Women Sue British Army over Mass Rapes

Attempts to investigate complaints that at least 650 Kenyan women were raped by British army soldiers have run into "a wall of silence," according to Amnesty International.

ENVIRONMENT-GEORGIA: Court OK’s Lawsuit Against Troubled Pipeline

A lawsuit to halt a controversial 3-billion-dollar oil pipeline in the former Soviet republic of Georgia overcame its first major hurdle, with a Georgian district court granting an environmental group the right to sue the country's government for approving the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) project.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: New Programme Launched for Roma

A long-term programme has been launched this week to integrate the Roma minority into European Society.

SOCIETY-BOSNIA: An Experiment with Ethnic Uncleansing

Arriving in this town by bus is quite an experience for someone who has not been here for many years.

DEVELOPMENT-EU: Farm Reforms Still Leave France the Winner

France opposed reforms to the EU Common Agriculture Policy most strongly because it gained the most from it. But the reforms as they stand still leave France a winner.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ITALY: The Dictatorship of the Viewer

'Dreams and Conflicts: The Dictatorship of the Viewer' is the theme of the 50th edition of the Biennale di Venezia, Europe's most prestigious international exhibition of contemporary art, which presents the works from 230 artists representing 63 countries.

POLITICS-Europe: Italy’s Ambitious Plans for 6-Month EU Presidency

The new European Constitution, economic integration, immigration and external relations will dominate Italy's six-month presidency of the European Council that it took over from Greece Tuesday.

RIGHTS-RUSSIA: Growing Old is Hard To Do

The elderly in Russia are seeing a small rise in pensions but the government is under pressure also to raise retirement age.

SOCIETY-BOSNIA: Much Too Late for a Homecoming

Every morning, Brane Jankovic and his wife Zora go out to look after the flowers in their swapped home, and then to the garden at the back to pick tomatoes, cucumbers and baby potatoes for their day's meal.

POPULATION: Roma are Europe’s Fastest Growing, Poorest Minority

Roma in Europe face poverty rates more than 10 times higher than non-Roma, says a new report by the World Bank, released one week before a Budapest conference on the continent's largest minority.

ENVIRONMENT-ITALY: Mafia Dominates Garbage Industry

An estimated 158 families in organised crime rings in Italy are piling up wealth from the trafficking of 35 million tons of garbage a year.