Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average continued to rise in early trading Wednesday, again topping the 8,000 mark.

Hamburg - Bayer Leverkusen moved top of the German Bundesliga Tuesday with a 2-0 victory at Werder Bremen, while Schalke go third with a facile win at SC Karlsruhe.

Tel Aviv/Ramallah - There are not many parts of the world where George W Bush - one of the most unpopular US presidents in history - is as well liked as he was in Israel.

It remains to be seen whether his successor, either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, will be able to fill his shoes.

Outgoing Israeli premier Ehud Olmert called Bush "our closest ally and partner" and "a force of inspiration" during a visit in May. President Shimon Peres welcomed him as a "dear" and "Biblical" friend of Israel.

Youngstown, Ohio - ­ In the first few nights with temperatures below freezing, the residents of the US state of Ohio are getting ready for a long winter with American football and bowling to distract them from the dreary weather.

But every four years, the people of Ohio get to make a crucial decision before winter's onset: who will be the next president of the United States.

Washington - Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio plumber who has become a famous figure in the US election, took to the campaign trail on Tuesday for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

"Joe the plumber," as he is known, has come to represent average US workers and aspiring small business people, and become a regular mention in McCain's stump speeches since he challenged Democratic nominee Barack Obama on tax policy in early October at an Ohio rally.

The McCain campaign seized on Obama's response to Joe: "I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."