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Sydney - Australian couples who were heavy users of a chocolate-flavoured body paint were urged Wednesday to change brands after Boxer Lovers Body Pen Set was found to contain the poisonous chemical melamine linked to the deaths of four children in China.

Johannesburg - The number of deaths from a new Lassa-type virus has risen to four in South Africa, doctors confirmed to state radio Wednesday.

Damascus - A Syrian court reduced the sentences for twelve political activists on Wednesday who had been handed six-year jail terms for “publishing false news and threatening Syria’s national morale.”

Frankfurt - Volkswagen AG shares dropped sharply Wednesday after the key shareholder in Europe’s biggest carmaker said it was moving to try to stabilize VW’s stock, which soared earlier this week.

Paris - The European Union is extending a loan of 6.5 billion euros (8.25 billion dollars) to Hungary to give the country added liquidity in the face of the economic crisis, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

Yangon - A team of retired Brazilian footballer left Yangon Wednesday after raising 10,000 dollars for victims of Cyclone Nargis via charity games in the country, the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) said.

Washington - Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio plumber who has become a famous figure in the US election, took to the campaign trail on Tuesday for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.