Frankfurt  - On the fifth day of rolling strikes in Germany's most important factories, the IG Metall trade union said it would rule next Tuesday on whether to escalate the wage battle into an all-out strike.

An Opel car plant owned by General Motors west of Frankfurt was idled on Wednesday for hours as 6,000 workers attended a rally outside the gates to support IG Metall's demand for an 8-per-cent pay hike.

Zagreb - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Wednesday welcomed the European Union's decision to name the target date for Croatia's completion of accession talks as its "international affirmation."

"That is that path, from first free elections, over referendum on independence, defence of the country and victory in the fatherland war, reconstruction and, finally, to international affirmation of Croatia," he said, referring to the period since his country split from former Yugoslavia in 1991.

New Delhi - Police in India's western state of Maharashtra on Wednesday arre

New Delhi, Nov. 5 : The Indian Government on Wednesday congratulated Barack Obama on his victory in the 2008 US Presidential Elections, and hoped that relations between the two countries would continue to improve under the new Democratic administration.

Brussels- The European Union should re-open talks on a strategic deal with Russia which it froze following Russia's invasion of Georgia as soon as possible, the bloc's executive said Wednesday.

"It is the view of the (European) Commission that the next negotiating sessions should be scheduled now," a report from the Brussels-based body on the EU's relationship with Russia said.

London - Barack Obama's "astonishing victory" in the US presidential elections wil