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RELIGION

Anglican leader in Rome to talk Catholic recruitment bid

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams holds talks with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on Saturday just two weeks after the Vatican extended a hand to conservative Anglicans dismayed by steps to ordain women and openly gay clergy.

Catholic Church extends hand to Anglicans unhappy with liberal policies

SPAIN

Thousands of farmers march against falling prices in Madrid

Thousands of Spanish farmers marched through central Madrid to the Agriculture Ministry on Saturday to demand government action on the falling prices and rising costs that are threatening to ruin their livelihoods.

ROMANIA

Voters seek way out of crisis in tight presidential poll

Romanians vote on Sunday in a tight presidential contest with incumbent president Traian Basescu and his main left-wing challenger tied in opinion polls. The vote could help solve a governmental crisis that has paralysed the country for months.

ITALY

Transsexual linked to political scandal 'murdered'

A Brazilian transsexual caught up in a political scandal that prompted the resignation of Italian governor Piero Marrazzo was found burnt to death in a Rome apartment on Friday. Magistrates are treating the case as murder.

WEATHER

Body of police officer found in 'biblical' flood

Rescue services in Britain recovered the body of a policeman missing since a bridge collapsed in north-western England as helicopters helped evacuate hundreds of residents stranded by the recent flooding.

ITALY

Two Pakistanis arrested in connection with Mumbai attacks

Police in the northern Italian city of Brescia have arrested two Pakistani men who are thought to have used a money transfer service to help people in contact with the authors of the 2008 attacks in India's financial hub, local media say.

FOOTBALL

Europe rocked by massive match-fixing scandal

Around 200 European football games are under investigation over match fixing allegations, including three in the Champions League. For UEFA officials, its the largest ever match-fixing scandal.

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EUROPEAN UNION

Van Rompuy set to bring quiet diplomacy to EU top job

After weeks of backroom dealings, Belgian PM Herman Van Rompuy has been appointed the EU’s first president while Britain’s Catherine Ashton was selected the 27-nation bloc's first foreign affairs chief.

DIPLOMACY

Putin says compromise gas deal reached with Ukraine

Speaking after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko late Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the two countries had reached a compromise deal on the thorny issue of gas supply.

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP

Irish PM backs football association's demand for replay of France-Ireland match

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen backed calls by the Football Association of Ireland for football's governing body FIFA to order a replay of Wednesday's controversial World Cup qualifier between France and Ireland.

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JUSTICE

European Commission to take France to court over waste water

The European Commission announced Friday that it is taking France to court over its failure to properly treat waste water in over 60 large towns, including Avignon, Bordeaux and Lyon.

RUSSIA

Constitutional Court forbids use of the death penalty

Though a moratorium on the use of the death penalty is due to expire in January, the Constitutional Court in Russia has ruled that the punishment is contradictory to the International protocols the country has signed.

BRAZIL

Supreme court backs extradition of ex-militant Battisti

Brazil's supreme court has decided to grant the extradition of an Italian ex-militant wanted for multiple murders, Cesare Battisti. The court will decide whether or not President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will have the final say in the case.

AGRICULTURE

UN hunger summit failed for lack of leaders, say agricultural groups

The absence of leaders from the world's wealthiest states undermined the UN Hunger Summit, rendering it a "total failure" that did nothing to help resolve the current hunger crisis, a farmers' movement said on Wednesday.

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Celebrations to mark 20 years since 'Velvet Revolution'

Celebrations get underway today to mark the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that toppled the Communist regime in what was then known as Czechoslovakia. Four years later the country split into the Czech and Slovak republics.