e Yugoslavia

Bayreuth, Germany  - Katharina Wagner, 30, co-director of the Wagner Opera Festival in Germany, survived uninjured after the driver of her car died at high speed, aides said Friday.

Belgrade  - Serbia’s ruling coalition overcame internal strife over where to cut spending and has agreed on a 15-month, 520- million dollar standby credit with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance MInister Diana Dragutinovic said Friday.

Madrid  - The Spanish economy contracted for the first time in 15 years in the third quarter, leaving the country on the verge of recession.

Paris  - A four-day strike called by unions representing pilots for French carrier Air France was severely disrupting domestic and international flights on Friday.

Paris  - Defying predictions of a recession, the French economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2008, the government’s statistical office Insee said on Friday.

Los Angeles  - About six minutes into the game, Chicago Bulls sharpshooter Ben Gordon had seen enough, so he took matters into his own hands.

Hanoi  - Vietnamese health authorities have found the industrial chemical melamine in three brands of powdered milk imported from Australia, health officials said Friday.

Washington - Senator Hillary Clinton’s name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of State under the Barack Obama administration, US media reported late Thursday.

San Francisco/Los Angeles  - The US economy may be deep in the doldrums, but there’s one sector where enterprising entrepreneurs are still making a fortune.

Washington  - Sarah Palin is saying more than a prayer as she sheds the baggage of the 2008 presidential election and prepares for the next - convinced that God will show her the way to the White House.