Moenchengladbach - Bundesliga club Borussia Moenchengladbach will travel to Israel in December and play against the club coached by their former star Lothar Matthaeus, it was announced on Friday.

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI met Friday with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and expressed hope for the safeguard of Lebanon's "peculiar identity", the Vatican said.

Talks between Benedict and Suleiman, the Maronite Christian president of the majority Muslim nation, lasted for 25 minutes with St Peter's Square closed off to the public amid tight security.

Benedict conveyed his "appreciation for the efforts" made by Lebanese leaders to restore their Middle East nation along "the rails of a normal political dialectic," the Vatican said in a statement.

Suleiman took office in May following intense wrangling between Lebanon's political and religious factions.

Amman - Most Arab stock markets rebounded in the last two days of the week curtailing losses they incurred earlier.

But analysts said Friday regional bourses would remain "cautious" pending developments on world markets after the US Fed's decision to slash interest rates by 50 basis points.

"I believe Arab stock markets will continue to assume vigilance because investors are still lacking in appetite for risk and alert to what takes place on leading world markets," Wajdi Makhamreh, Chief Operating Officer of the Amman-based Sanabel International Holding, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Vienna - Two Austrians held by kidnappers in Mali since February have been freed, the Austrian foreign ministry announced Friday.

Belgrade - The violent disintegration of Yugoslavia - the fragmentation, corruption and shadowy political interests - have spawned a ruthlessly efficient, unbiased and deadly network of organized crime spanning the entire Balkans, experts warn.

A Croatian criminal may kill as a favour to Serbian partner. He may then pass the tab to a Montenegrin "businessman" he owes. And so on - all under the umbrella of trafficking drugs, people, weapons and money laundering. And under the noses of secret services also in the know.

"It's all intertwined. Organized crime is unhampered by borders that block police from different countries," said Hajrudin Merdanovic, a retired Croatian policeman.

New Delhi, Oct 31 : U. N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his appreciation for the commitment of India and Pakistan regarding the recently initiated cross-border trade.

Addressing a news conference here, Ban Ki-moon said, “I am encouraged by the commitment of the leaders of both the countries towards this direction. The recent opening of trade between India and Pakistan was encouraging as a result of summit meeting between the two countries. I hope these exchanges and dialogues as a part of composite dialogues initiated by India will continue to appear good results."

He also expressed his concern over the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan.