e Yugoslavia

Ankara - The Turkish military on Friday claimed to have killed 25 Kurdish rebels and wounded several others in airstrikes last week on Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq.

Jerusalem - The ultra-Orthodox Shas party decided Friday morning not to join a coalition led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, dealing a serious blow to her efforts to form the government by early next week, Israel Radio reported.

Rome - The largest lottery prize in Italy’s history - over 100 million euros (125 million dollars) - has been won after a string of 77 weeks in a row without a winner, reports said Friday.

Paris - Anxiety about corporate earnings and the expected announcement that OPEC will cut oil production have driven French shares sharply lower on Thursday.

Frankfurt - The euro hit a three-year low Friday of below 1.26 dollars amid forecasts that a slumping European economy will force the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates again.

Beijing - The largest-ever gathering of Asian and European leaders opened on Friday to discuss how to respond to the global financial crisis and combat climate change.

Taipei - Taiwan has canceled or suspended several eating competitions after one man died from suffocation in an eating contest, a newspaper said on Friday.

Ankara - Turkey’s highest court decided not to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) owing to the government’s steps to join the European Union, according to the court’s reasonings published in Friday’s Official Gazette.

Stockholm - Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Volvo on Friday reported a 37-per-cent drop in pre-tax income for the third quarter of 2008, citing the economic downturn in key markets.

Moscow - Some 15 people were kidnapped by alleged Islamic militants in Russia’s strife-torn North Caucasus region, while at least eight police officers were injured in mine explosions, media reports said Friday.