London - Frank Lampard became the latest player to pull out of England's friendly international against Germany this week when he was ruled out with a rib injury on Monday.
The Chelsea midfielder joined Liverpool's Steven Gerrard on the sidelines, leaving England with a relatively inexperienced midfield to face the Germans in Berlin on Wednesday.
Fulham's Jimmy Bullard and Scott Parker of West Ham United have been called up as midfield cover.
Amman - Fifty German-speaking women carrying the first name "Petra" visited the ancient city of Petra on Monday as part of a Jordanian plan to spur European interest in the rock-carved city which last year became one of the world's New Seven Wonders, according to the state-run media.
The 50 were among 1,000 women from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who responded to an advertisement on the website of the Jordanian Tourism Promotion Authority to take part in a competition entitled "Petra to Petra", the TPA Director General Nayef al-Fayez said.
London - A leading convicted member of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, who is wanted by Spain, will fight his extradition from Britain, a court in Northern Ireland was told Monday.
Ignacio de Juana Chaos, 53, appeared at the Recorder's Court in Belfast Monday after surrendering for "arrest by agreement" ahead of the proceedings.
Defence barrister Sean Devine told the court that his client did not consent to extradition request and would fight it. The arrest warrant provided by the Spanish authorities was "fundamentally flawed," said Devine.
Jerusalem - Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners in advance of a Muslim holiday next month, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when the two met in Jerusalem Monday afternoon.
The two held talks amid a collapsing truce between Israel and the Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip. The truce has been unraveling since last week, as Palestinians fire rockets at southern Israel and Israel targets militants.
Abbas said after his talks with Olmert that Gaza had figured "extensively" in the meeting. He called on the Palestinian factions in the salient to stop firing the "useless" missiles, a call he has made previously, but without success.
Reykjavik - Iceland was Monday expecting to reach a quick deal with German depositors in Kaupthing Bank, one of the North Atlantic nation's three main banking groups that recently collapsed over the global credit crunch.
Kaupthing had some 30,000 customers in Germany.
Late Sunday, Iceland said it had agreed to reimburse British and Dutch depositors of failed internet bank Icesave, operated by the collapsed Landsbanki Bank.
The compensation agreed for the British and Dutch depositors was 20,000 euros (25,300 dollars).
London - Frank Lampard became the latest player to pull out of England's friendly international against Germany this week when he was ruled out with a rib injury on Monday.
Amman - Fifty German-speaking women carrying the first name "Petra" visited the ancient city of Petra on Monday as part of a Jordanian plan to spur European interest in the rock-carved city which last year became one of the world's New Seven Wonders, according to the state-run media.
Munich - Bayern Munich's French defender Willy Sagnol is considering en
