Berlin  - Heads of the three parties supporting German Chancellor Angela Merkel gathered in Berlin Monday for make-or-break talks on a fresh round of stimulus for the weakening German economy.

The Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Social Union (CSU) have been wrangling for weeks with Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) over the package, with each of them eager to piggy-back long- standing party policies onto the huge surge of state spending.

Prague  - The Czech presidency of the European Union Monday welcomed promise by Russian officials to resume EU-bound natural gas deliveries via Ukraine on Tuesday morning.

Baghdad  - At least 10 people were killed and another 12 were injured on Monday in two bombings in Baghdad and a shooting in Mosul

Two policemen were killed and six other people were wounded in an explosion in downtown Baghdad, the second to hit the capital on Monday, Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported, citing police sources.

VOI said the bomb went off near Kahramana Square in central Baghdad.

It was the second bombing of the day, after a suicide bomber killed himself and four others, the news agency reported.

Taipei  - Taiwan's parliament Monday approved a revision to the anti-smoking bill that would double the health duty imposed on cigarettes, officials said.

"The parliament's move, which would raise the current health duty imposed on cigarettes to 20 Taiwan dollars (60 US cents) from 10 Taiwan dollars per pack, is aimed at discouraging smoking," said Hsiao Mei-ling, director of Bureau of Health Promotion.

With the increase expected to take effect in two weeks after promulgation by the Presidential Office, cigarettes would be sold at around 70 Taiwan dollars per pack.

Athens  - Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni on MOnday condemned air violations by Turkey and said relations between the two traditional foes had stagnated last year.

"The attempts to improve our relations with Ankara stagnated in 2008 and we will strive to improve this in the new year," Bakoyianni said following a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Athens claims that Turkish fighter jets have repeatedly been violating Greece's air space in recent weeks.

Paris - French film director and producer Claude Berri died Monday in Paris at the age of 74, French media reported.

Berri, who was admitted to hospital late Saturday after suffering a stroke, produced some of the biggest recent box office and critical hits in French cinema, including Welcome to the Sticks, The Secret of the Grain and Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.

He also produced a number of well-known international hits, such as Roman Polanski's Tess, Taking Off and Valmont by Milos Forman and Pedro Alomodovar's Everything About my Mother.

Berri's biggest successes as a director were arguably his film versions of two novels by Marcel Pagnol, Manon of the Spring and Jean de Florette.