Milan - Serie A newcomers Chievo Tuesday announced the signing of coach Domenico Di Carlo to replace Beppe Iachini after 10 league games.

Copenhagen - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday said he would "sound out" the prospects of staging a referendum on introducing the joint European currency, the euro, with other political parties.

Speaking to reporters at his weekly news conference, the premier underlined that he had no date in mind.

Rasmussen said he aimed to seek broad political backing in favour of the referendum, including the opposition Socialist People's Party that in 2000 opposed the euro.

Hamburg - Thousands of German factory workers walked off their jobs Tuesday and attended demonstrations, demanding wage rises of 8 per cent on the fourth day of nationwide labour disruption.

In the port city of Hamburg, 5,000 repair workers left a riverside shipyard and trooped through a pair of 100-year-old tunnels originally built for horse-and-buggy traffic to reach the other side of the river for one of the biggest rallies.

Beijing- Chinese and Cambodian security chiefs on Tuesday vowed to strengthen cooperate against international trafficking in drugs and people, the Chinese government said.

China's Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu held talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, saying the two sides "enjoyed increasing exchanges and pragmatic cooperation," the ministry reported on its website.

Milan - AC Milan have reacted with a mix of surprise and pride to their rise to the top of the Italian Serie A, a place they last occupied more than four years ago.

Their start to the season was a nightmare with two defeats, at home to promoted Bologna and at Genoa, but the following seven wins and one draw have now pushed them to the top on a 22-point tally from 10 games.

A lucky 1-0 win over Napoli, who were down to 10 men and hurt themselves with an own goal, allowed the Devils to leap ahead of Udinese, Napoli, and, probably msot important, champions Inter Milan.

Jakarta  - Indonesian military authorities stepped up security of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following threats to assassinate him and other senior officials if the three Bali bombers are executed, a military official said Tuesday.

"We will prepare the security as well as possible, from planning to the implementation," Armed Forces Commander General Djoko Santoso was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.