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Ankara - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is due to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday where he will take part in an intergovernmental summit. The topic of Turkey’s European Union accession process is expected to top the agenda.

Moscow  - Approval of a Kremlin bill to extend the presidential term from four to six years will be fast-tracked by the legislature and enacted by Friday, Russia’s parliamentary committee on constitutional legislation said Wednesday.

Washington  - Landon Donovan was elected United States Footballer of the Year for the fifth time in his career on Tuesday.

Bangkok  - To reduce carbon dioxide emissions - blamed for global warming - Asian cities of the future should grow vertically instead of horizontally, a leading transport expert said Wednesday.

Paris  - Segolene Royal, the defeated Socialist Party candidate in last year’s French presidential election, is expected to announce later Wednesday that she is a candidate to replace her former partner as party chief, French media reported.

Bangkok  - Shi Han Min, who led the Beijing’s effort to clean up its air for the 2008 Olympic Games, on Wednesday won the first Kong Ha Award for excellence in air quality management.

Paris  - French investment bank Natixis lost 975 million euros (1.23 billion dollars) in trading last month and is to issue a fourth-quarter profits warning, the business daily La Tribune reported on Wednesday.

New York  - Christopher Ciccone has little in common with his sister, ultra fit and apparently ageless pop star Madonna.

Jerusalem  - High-tech entrepreneur Nir Barkat, who billed himself as the “secular candidate” was elected mayor of Jerusalem, results from Tuesday’s municipal elections, announced early Wednesday, showed.

Brussels - When the leaders of Russia and the European Union meet in the French resort of Nice on Friday, they are more likely to talk about the current financial crisis than the crisis in their own relationship sparked by Russia’s war with Georgia, diplomats say.