RIGHTS-FRANCE: Anti-GM Farmer Becomes a Hero

The arrest of farmer José Bové in a little town in southern France is beginning to do more damage to the government than to him.

RELIGION-BOSNIA: Pope’s Apology Brings New Hope

The first visit of Pope John Paul II to a predominantly Serb Orthodox part of Bosnia Herzegovina brings hope of reconciliation after he apologised for the crimes of Catholic Croats.

CORRUPTION-FRANCE: Politicians Not Keen to Clean Up

An ambitious anti-corruption plan proposed in Paris by 14 international prosecutors Thursday is unlikely to find political backing.

HEALTH-RUSSIA: ‘Disastrous’ Rise in HIV Among Youth

Medical authorities are considering new control measures following a sharp rise in the number of young people infected with HIV.

REFUGEES: France and Britain Join Forces

France and Britain have had their differences over Iraq, but they have found complete agreement on joint measures to keep Iraqi refugees out of both countries.

HEALTH-SERBIA: Drive for Blood Donation Begins

Unseen for a decade, a brightly coloured coach is back on the roads of Serbia. 'Give Blood, Save Lives', goes the slogan painted on its sides.

POLITICS: Germany Remembers its ‘French Revolution’

The world held its breath when Soviet tanks rumbled on to the streets of East Berlin 50 years ago to break up a workers rebellion. Briefly, it seemed that the communist German Democratic Republic could disintegrate into chaos and bloodshed just four years after the workers' state had been established.

DEVELOPMENT: EU Strengthens Ties with Red Cross

The humanitarian aid office of the European Union has decided to strengthen collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

ENVIRONMENT: What Global Warming, says Russian Leader

The Russian government is having second thoughts about signing the Kyoto Protocol, which intends to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming.

LABOUR-FRANCE: PM Sees Leftists as Traitors

ûThe French right-wing government is reviving old anathemas against the left in its moves to reform the welfare state, analysts say.

IRAQ: French Unofficially Say, We Told You So

Revelations that the U.S. and British governments ”sexed up” a threat from weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to justify the invasion have brought some comfort to the French.

POLITICS-SERBIA: Now a Welcome Stands in the Way

Twelve years after the bloody war of disintegration of former Yugoslavia began in Croatia, Serbs can travel freely to a country that was once a part of their own.

RIGHTS: EU Urged to Combat Child Pornography on Internet

The European Union needs to step up measures to combat child pornography on the internet, according to members of civil society groups.

FINANCE: Neighbours Resist Hungarian Hunger

Hungarian companies eager to acquire companies in southeast Europe and the Balkans face strong political opposition in some of their target markets.

DEVELOPMENT: Aid with Solidarity, not Charity, Say EU Foundations

Sustainable development and solidarity, rather than charity, are the watchwords of the European foundations that met Sunday through Tuesday in the Portuguese capital.

POLITICS-SERBIA: The Make-Believe Becomes Believable

A group of 22 well established doctors applied for jobs last month at a hospital in Northern Cyprus. They paid 400 dollars each, almost a month's wages, to apply for jobs that promised 2,000 dollars a month with free board and lodging. It turned out that the hospital does not exist.

/ARTS WEEKLY/GERMANY: Berlin Gets Chinese Touch

Nimble in his movement, and quick in his mind at the age of 86, Chinese-born Ieoh Ming Pei, one of the world's greatest architects, grins as former German chancellor Helmut Kohl clasps both Pei's hands warmly. "Fantastic!" says Kohl. "It's a wonderful building. All my hopes have been fulfilled."

/ARTS WEEKLY/BRITAIN: Terrorism, Opera, and now Cinema

John Adams' searing opera 'The Death of Klinghoffer', which examines the hijacking of the Italian cruise liner the Achille Lauro, has had a strange and turbulent history.

POLITICS: Russia and the U.S. Now Differ over Iran

After Iraq, fears of a weapons of mass destruction programme within Iran are now in the way of relations between the U.S. and Russia.

SPAIN: Gov’t Avows Legal Measures Only in Fighting ETA

The Spanish government and opposition parties agree that only legal measures should be used in combating the Basque terrorist group ETA, which carried out another attack Friday, detonating a bomb that killed two police officers in the northern community of Navarra.

HEALTH-SERBIA: Medical Waste Arises as New Threat

About a quarter of a million tonnes of medical waste poses new health risks in Serbia, health experts say.