DEVELOPMENT-GERMANY: New Role for a Leading Aid Agency

The state-owned German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), with 67 offices around the world, has acquired a crucial role in Germany's aid policy.

POLITICS-SPAIN: ETA, Bodyguards and the Wages of Fear

Representatives from the Spanish Association of Armed Escorts, most of whose 1,500 members serve as bodyguards for people likely to be targeted by the illegal separatist organisation ETA, launched negotiations Monday with the Ministry of Labour for improved working conditions.

DEVELOPMENT: Bonn Conference to Find Solutions to Water Crisis

The German government will host, in close cooperation with the United Nations, an International Conference on Freshwater from December 3 to 7 in Bonn, with a view to finding "sustainable solutions to the water crisis" that is affecting one-third of the world's population.

HEALTH: Anthrax Scare Hits Lithuania

The biological terror in the United States has reached the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

POLITICS: Differences Emerge between U.S. and Britain over War

As an uncertain war carries on into day after day of bombing in Afghanistan, differences are beginning to emerge between the United States and Britain, its closest and so far its only military ally directly involved in the attacks.

POLITICS: Revival of Yugoslavia’s Military Industry

Macedonia has ordered weapons worth "millions of dollars" from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), marking, what analysts say, the revival of the country's military industry.

TRADE-EU: ACP Legislators Review Progress on Cotonou Agreement

Parliamentarians from the 77-member state Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union (EU) are concerned that reform not be stymied by the Sep 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

POLITICS: Interpol Assists Govt to Rid Yugoslavia of Criminals

Milan Obradovic, the new Interpol chief, has embarked on a tough programme to rid Yugoslavia of criminals who have turned the Federation into a safe haven for almost a decade.

POLITICS: EU to Finance Long-term Projects in the Balkans

The European Union (EU) has embarked on financing long-term projects in the Balkans, a region torn by conflicts for a decade.

RIGHTS: Roma ‘Gypsies’ Hope for Pan-European Assembly

Leaders of Roma organisations and communities from 13 European countries, meeting in Helsinki this week, gave the green light to a government proposal to set up their own pan-European assembly.

POLITICS-FRANCE: Chirac uses Afghan War for Electoral Purposes

French President Jacques Chirac is using the war in Afghanistan for his political and electoral purposes, say analysts.

EDUCATION-GERMANY: Islamic Values to be Taught in Schools

Germany's education officials are increasingly concerned about how best to prevent alienation of the country's three million Muslims.

HEALTH-RUSSIA: Anthrax Outbreak in U.S. has no Soviet Connections

Russia has dismissed speculations that the anthrax outbreaks in the United States could be linked to the legacy of the Soviet biological warfare programme.

//REPEATING//POLITICS: Berlin Voters Divided about the War Against Terrorism

Results of local elections in Berlin have shown that East and West Germans are divided about the war against terrorism.

POLITICS: Berlin Voters Divided about the War Against Terrorism

Results of local elections in Berlin have shown that East and West Germans are divided about the war against terrorism.

RIGHTS: UN Committee Reviews British Record at Home and Abroad

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is concerned about the great number of racism claims filed against the British police and rights problems in the British territories in general, but expressed hope that attitudes and practices could be changed through training and education in human rights law.

POLITICS-SLOVAKIA: New Laws to Tighten Flows of Money and Arms

A raft of laws -- designed to protect against weapons falling into the wrong hands and protecting against the use of Slovak financial institutions by terror groups -- have been passed in the wake of the Sep 11 bombings on New York and Washington.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/LANGUAGE-SPAIN: The Academy’s Dictionary ‘Changes Its Leaves’

The latest version of the dictionary of the 'Real Academia Española' (Spanish Royal Academy) has caused a stir due to the great number of 'americanismos' it includes, despite the fact that the tome maintains conceptual and terminological differences with the Spanish spoken in Latin America.

POLITICS-GERMANY: Neo-Nazis Condemn Western Attacks on Afghanistan

Among those in Germany criticising Western air strikes against Afghanistan which began last Sunday, the most bizarre are the neo-Nazi parties, normally known for their white supremacist views and extreme xenophobia against foreigners, including Muslims.

RIGHTS-SLOVAKIA: Anxiety over Growing Trade in Women

Trade in women through Slovakia is becoming a growing problem, Slovak police, the European Parliament and other organisations monitoring the trade say.

POLITICS: Macedonia Enters an Uneasy Handover Period

The ethnic Albanian armed uprising in western Macedonia is over, for now. The rebels have been disarmed, and the NATO transatlantic alliance's force which collected their weapons is going home.