SCIENCE: Russia Space Glory Gone with Downing of Mir

When Russia's space station, the Mir, crashed into the Pacific Friday, just as predicted by scientists, the successful operation did not elicit cheers of triumph from mission control centre. For the Mir's downing symbolised the end of Russia's glory days as a power in outerspace.

POLITICS-SPAIN: Threat of Basque Civil Conflict, Warn Politicians

Civil conflict in Spain's Basque region - sparked by the terrorist group ETA and its sympathisers - is a real danger, affirm socialist and moderate Basque nationalist leaders alike, as social tensions escalate with each ETA attack.

RIGHTS-SPAIN: A Crucial Week for Immigrants

The coming week will be crucial for immigrants in Spain, because if the government does not agree to amend a law on aliens that orders mass deportations, the opposition will turn to the constitutional court in an attempt to get the law overturned.

AGRICULTURE-EUROPE: Foot-and-Mouth Reaches Continent

Foot-and-mouth disease has spread to the European continent, triggering widespread alarm, as four cases of infected livestock were announced Tuesday in France - just three weeks after the outbreak of the highly-contagious animal ailment in Great Britain.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/EXHIBITION: Science Alone Cannot Suffice to Comprehend the World

Spanish artist and educator María Novo calls into question the ability of the instruments of science to provide humanity with a grasp on the complexity of nature, in an exhibition at UNESCO headquarters in the French capital.

ENVIRONMENT-KOSOVO: Depleted Uranium Risks Minimal, Says UN

Two United Nations agencies played down the environmental and health risks posed by the depleted uranium used in missiles during the conflict that spread to Kosovo in 1999, though they caution that water supplies remain at risk.

POLITICS-FRANCE: Parties Scramble for Supermacy after Indecisive First Round Vote

Following an indecisive first round in municipal elections in France Sunday, coalitions of both the left and the right Monday began to regroup for next week's final round which they hope will reveal clear signals towards the likely outcome of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for next year.

TOURISM: Southeast Asia One of World’s Favourite Destinations

Southeast Asia is becoming one of the world's favourite tourism destinations, according to experts familiar with business talks at the five-day International Tourism Exchange (ITB) that concluded in Berlin Wednesday.

POLITICS-YUGOSLAVIA: Amnesty For 30 000 People in Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia's reformist-dominated parliament has adopted the amnesty law which pardons some 30,000 people sentenced to long prison terms during the autocratic regime of Slobodan Milosevic.

WOMEN: Life’s No Picnic for Russian Women

Each Mar. 8, International Women's Day, Russian women are showered with flowers, praise, presents and talk of equality of the sexes. But each Mar. 9 women return to their normal existence where they face serious challenges, notably discrimination and domestic violence.

SPAIN: Judge Garzon Swoops Down on ETA Youth Group

Spain's famous "human rights" judge Baltasar Garzón personally led a police operation Tuesday in the Basque Country and Navarra that ended in the arrest of 15 leaders of Haika, the youth organisation that backs the terrorist Basque separatist group ETA, and supplies it with militants.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: German Award for 2 Tourism Projects

Two projects for socially responsible tourism in Gambia and Ghana are award winners of an international contest sponsored by a German institute.

POLITICS/RIGHTS-GERMANY: Teachers Join Fight Against Far Right

A teacher slowly puts up her hand. "How do I know if a pupil who shouts Heil Hitler is doing it as a joke to provoke me, or whether he really believes in it?"

RIGHTS: EU Seeks Co-ordinated Action on Rights of War-Affected Children

The European Union (EU) is intensifying internal policy debate on how best to meet the special needs of children affected by armed conflict and forced displacement, in order to present a focused contribution to the United Nation's special session on children this autumn.

LABOUR-SPAIN: Gov’t Decrees Reform Despite Union Protests

The Spanish government imposed an employment law Friday by decree, announcing that it will favour job creation, though it was met by strong protests from labour unions, which are now threatening a general strike.

ENVIRONMENT-SPAIN: Incineration of Cattle Jeopardises Vultures

Mad cow disease and outbreaks of foot-and- mouth disease, which are sowing panic in Europe, are indirectly threatening the survival of the region's carrion-eating birds like vultures and royal eagles, most of which live in Spain, warn environmentalists.

LABOUR: NGOS Greet New Adidas PR Effort with Caution

With a recently revised 'code of conduct' on core labour standards in hand, representatives of the sports manufacturing giant Adidas met quietly with key European Union (EU) policy-makers here in an effort to show that the company respects workers rights.

POLITICS-YUGOSLAVIA: Serbia Opts For Negotiations Over War

For the first time in ten years, since the wars of disintegration of former Yugoslavia started, Serbia has not chosen war but has opted for negotiations instead.

ENVIRONMENT-ROMANIA: Romanian Environment Record Spreads Peril

In the doctor's surgery in Craiova, the waiting room is packed with adults and children. The most common complaint is vomiting. Dr Ana Roman lists also respiratory problems and illnesses of the digestive system as the most frequent cause.

POVERTY-BRITAIN: UK Moves to Fight Child Poverty

The British government has launched a new programme to fight child poverty.

ENVIRONMENT-ROMANIA: Romanian Environment Record Spreads Peril

In the doctor's surgery in Craiova, the waiting room is packed with adults and children. The most common complaint is vomiting. Dr Ana Roman lists also respiratory problems and illnesses of the digestive system as the most frequent cause.