Madrid - When Txeroki, the suspected military leader of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, was captured in France on Monday, Spanish politicians hailed the arrest as yet another step towards the unavoidable defeat of separatist violence.

Yet while ETA has been seriously weakened by constant police crackdowns, it has always found new leaders and rebuilt its infrastructure, analysts pointed out.

Wolfsburg, Germany - Volkswagen reported a drop in sales in October but predicted it would sell more cars in 2008 than it did last year.

Europe's largest automaker said it delivered 502,600 vehicles last month, a drop of 5.1 per cent from a year ago. Sales in the first 10 months of 2008 were up 2.8 per cent to
5.29 million.

VW said increased sales in emerging economies like China and Brazil helped offset a slump in demand in western Europe.

New York - US banking giant Citigroup said Monday in New York that it was cutting some 50,000 jobs from its international workforce after suffering massive losses as a result of the global financial crisis.

The bank was planning to cut costs by 20 per cent, it said Monday.

Warsaw - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was going to Kuwait and Qatar Monday for three days of talks on gas contracts and lessening Poland's reliance on Russian supplies.

Tusk would meet with Gulf leaders for talks on economic cooperation, energy, and the chemical and petrochemical industry, his chancellery said.

Taipei- Taiwan's former vice president Lien Chan Monday headed to Peru for the November 22 leaders' summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, becoming the highest-ranking envoy from the island to attend the annual event.

Leading a 13-member delegation of foreign and economic affairs experts and officials, Lien was to stop at New York for three days before flying to Lima on November 20.

Jerusalem - Israel plans to release some 250 Palestinian militants from Israeli pr