Leverkusen, Germany - Bernd Schneider is hungry to play again after his worst career injury and is even looking ahead at the 2010 World Cup.

The Bayer Leverkusen and Germany midfielder hopes to return to Bundesliga action before the end of the year from a back injury which has sidelined him since April.

"It's getting better. I have started working with the ball again, said Schneider, who turns 35 on November 17.

Berlin - European inflation edged down in October, data released Friday showed, as a result helping to pave the way for the European Central Bank to deliver another hefty rate cut next week.

Based on its preliminary estimate, the European Union's statistics office said annual inflation in the 15-member eurozone edged down to 3.2 per cent this month from 3.6 per cent in September. Analysts had also expected inflation to come in at 3.2 per cent in October.

The Neil Young concert that was to be held at The Forum, Los Angeles on Thursday night has been cancelled, as the 62-year old rocker-activist would rather cancel the show than cross the picket line, the striking local faction of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union of which both Young and his wife are honorary lifetime members, plans to form there during the show against The Forum’s owner, Faithful Central Bible Church, due to disputes over contracts.

Rev. Elvis Elano, a visiting Catholic priest ordained in the Phillipines, has been accused in a $25-million lawsuit of luring Judith Rodrigues-Lytwyn, a distraught divorcee into having a seven-month affair with him.  In addition, Elano who was visiting Texas and had served in Brooklyn and Queens parishes in New York, has been barred by church officials from serving in the city.
 
Initially, the woman was reluctant to name the priest nor identify the parish in which the priest had served, but later she even provided photographs of the priest that showed him shirtless and kneeling next to her bed, another that showed them both embracing each other on a Long Island beach, a third that shows him clenching a rose in his mouth.

Lahore, Oct 31 : With the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) set to review Shoaib Malik’s performance as the national team captain at the end of this year, flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi has expressed his desire to lead the side if given a chance.

He made it clear that if given a chance to captain Pakistan, he would not turn down the offer, the Daily Times reported.

However, he admitted that at present he was under tremendous pressure to retain his place in the side due to a slump in his batting form.

New Delhi - India is working on a policy for cooperation between world navies to deal with the increasing threat of piracy on the high seas, Defence Minister AK Antony said Friday.

Sea piracy has been a cause of growing concern for India with Somalian pirates holding hostage 18 Indian sailors on board a Japanese-owned merchant vessel for more than six weeks.

The International Maritime Bureau said 30 ships have been hijacked for ransom off Somalia in 2008.

"We cannot allow the situation to continue," Antony was quoted as saying by the PTI news agency after a conference of naval commanders in New Delhi. "There should be a solution to this. We must put a stop to this kind of piracy, so India is very much concerned."