TOP STORIES:
EU-SUMMIT-TOP JOBS
BRUSSELS _ The European Union's 27 leaders are facing an all-nighter as a bruising battle looms over who to name as the bloc's first full-time president and new foreign policy chief. By Constant Brand. AP Photos YL107, YL110, YL106, YL109, YL108, YL105. Arrivals expected beginning 1600 GMT.
SWINE FLU-TOUGH MEASURES
LONDON _ Health experts say extraordinary measures against swine flu _ most notably quarantines imposed by China, where entire planeloads of passengers were isolated if one traveler had symptoms _ have failed to contain the disease. Despite initially declaring success, Beijing now acknowledges its swine flu outbreak is much larger than official numbers show. By Maria Cheng. AP Photos.
VATICAN-RESTORED CROSS
VATICAN CITY _ One of the gems of the Vatican's priceless religious art collection _ a 6th century reliquary containing the purported fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified _ has gotten a new look after being restored to its Byzantine-era glory, experts say. By Nicole Winfield. AP Photos.
VATICAN-ANGLICANS
ROME _ The Archbishop of Canterbury faces an awkward weekend meeting with the pope during a three-day visit scheduled before the Vatican issued an unprecedented invitation to his fellow Anglicans to convert. Archbishop Rowan Williams has sought play down the implications of the new Vatican policy, but it will certainly affect his 77 million-strong Anglican Communion, which was already on the verge of schism over women bishops and gay unions. Developing. By Nicole Winfield. AP Photos.
RUSSIA-DEATH PENALTY
ST.PETERSBURG, Russia _ Russia's Constitutional Court effectively outlaws the death penalty, saying that a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force until the nation fully bans executions. By Irina Titova. On wire.
SERBIA-PATRIARCH'S FUNERAL
BELGRADE, Serbia _ A funeral is held for Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle, who died over the weekend at the age of 95 after leading the 7-million member church through its post-Communist revival and during the bloody ethnic conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s.
FRANCE-RUSSIA-HISTORY WARS
PARIS - The head of the Russian human rights group Memorial says the Kremlin's failure to recognize Soviet-era acts of aggression is leading to "history wars" against its neighbors. By Deborah Seward. By 1600 GMT.
BRITAIN-MILITARY
LONDON _ Prime Minister Gordon Brown holds private meeting with 80 military families as the government announces more support in housing and education to troops and their relatives. Public support for the war in Afghanistan has declined as casualties rise.
BUSINESS & FINANCE:
FRANCE-BIG LOAN
PARIS _ France risks attracting the ire of its European neighbors when it unveils plans to raise tens of billions of euros in new borrowing just as its EU partners are being urged to begin reining in the stimulus packages that caused deficits and debts to skyrocket. By Business Writer Greg Keller.
OECD-WORLD ECONOMY
PARIS _ The world's rich and developed economies will grow faster next year, but recovery will remain modest, with the U.S. and Japan outpacing Europe, a Paris-based watchdog said Thursday as it raised its forecasts. By Business Writer Emma Vandore.
NETHERLANDS-EU WATCHDOG
AMSTERDAM _ Europe's competition watchdog "Steely" Neelie Kroes, known for levying multimillion dollar fines against Microsoft and Intel, appeared set to lose her job when the EU Commission reshuffles positions this week, a victim of domestic politics in her native Netherlands. But an unusual 11th hour campaign in her support is gathering steam. By Toby Sterling.
WORLD MARKETS
LONDON _ World stocks fall Thursday and Wall Street is expected to open lower amid mounting doubts about the pace of the global economic recovery and ahead of more earnings reports from U.S. retailers.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-GAS
YALTA, Ukraine _ The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine are meeting to discuss their countries' uneasy relations in the energy sphere, which Europe worries could lead to another disruption of natural gas supplies this winter. By Nataliya Vasilyeva. Moved.
SPORTS:
HAND OF SHAME
LONDON _ A fierce debate over video replays in football erupts anew after Thierry Henry manhandles a soccer ball to send France into the World Cup finals. Furious Irish say they have have been cheated out of a rare appearance at the sport's top tournament in South Africa next year and the Dublin government calls upon FIFA to have the game re-played. By 1500 GMT. By Rob Harris.
FRANCE CELEBRATES
PARIS _ A deflected goal in Ireland and a handball in France were enough to help the French reach the World Cup, but Raymond Domenech's team looks far from convincing and the coach even admitted it was "miraculous" to squeeze through. Moved. By Jerome Pugmire.
JOHN LEICESTER-191109
PARIS _ Enough is enough. Football players just can't be trusted to be honest. Thierry Henry proved that by choosing to play volleyball against Ireland, blatantly handling the ball for the goal that sent France to the World Cup. Cheating, plain and simple. More proof, if it was needed, that football needs far better on-field policing. By John Leicester. By 1500 GMT.
EUPHORIC SLOVENIA
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia _ Slovenians across the country are celebrating their football team's achievement of qualifying for the World Cup and ousting Russia. Slovenia beat Russia 1-0 Wednesday and qualified for next year's tournament in South Africa on away goals. Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek says "it is a dream coming true, a fairy tale ending from a Hollywood movie." Moved.
F1-RAIKKONEN
LONDON _ Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen confirms that he will take a one-year sabbatical from Formula One next season and said it's uncertain whether he will return in 2011. Moved.
WCUP-WHO WILL WIN?
LONDON _ While football's romantics may wish for a long-awaited first for Spain or an historic African victory on South African turf, the 2010 World Cup looks like being a sixth triumph for Brazil. By 1200GMT. By Robert Millward.
ENGLISH PREVIEW
LONDON _ Manchester City's expensively assembled squad gets another chance to show it is a serious contender for a top-four finish in the Premier League when it travels to Liverpool on Saturday. Moving shortly. By Stuard Condie.
SPANISH PREVIEW
MADRID _ Cristiano Ronaldo will likely be on the sidelines for one last Real Madrid match on when the team faces Racing Santander in the Spanish league. Ronaldo has been given the all-clear by Madrid medical staff to return to full training on Friday, but is unlikely to be available before Wednesday's Champions League match against FC Zurich. Moved.
For features, please see the AP World Features Digest.
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