Russia has pulled the plug on a Georgian water that many regard as a perfect hangover cure in a nation known to like a tipple. Borjomi, with its relieving mix of minerals and salts, has been banned from Russian shops and restaurants - the latest victim in a trade war between the small Caucasus state and its giant neighbour

After the US and European Union envoys, it is now the turn of the Japanese ambassador here to urge political parties in Bangladesh to cooperate to ensure smooth elections and strengthen parliamentary democracy. Outgoing Japanese Ambassador Matsushiro Horiguchi in a policy speech welcomed the role of the "honest candidate movement" mooted by Prof Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen micro-credit movement, reports the Bangladesh Observer

Just a year after securing an historic third term, British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces an electoral test on Thursday that could increase pressure on him to announce a timetable for leaving the political stage. Blair's embattled Labor Party, dogged by a recent string of controversies, could suffer heavy losses in Thursday's balloting for seats on 176 local government councils across England

Hundreds of federal, state and city police officers fired tear gas and crashed through human barricades to take control of this rebellious town early today, hours after protesters severely beat several authorities and took six agents hostage. The police made it to the central plaza in front of city hall about 7 a.m. local time (1200 GMT), Mexican news media reported

Most of the recent surge in U.S. wholesale gasoline prices has been passed to consumers at the pump and motor fuel costs are close to peaking, the government's top energy forecaster said today. The national retail price for gasoline increased just half a penny in the last week to an average $2.92 a gallon, much smaller than the roughly 10-cent jump in fuel costs that occurred in each of the prior four weeks. Gasoline prices have soared almost 42 cents a gallon in the last month

It has soft lights, gleaming red and blue surfaces and a soothing video projection on the wall showing swirling underwater bubbles. Welcome not to an art hotel but to Europe's most expensive public toilet. The super-loo, which opened yesterday in Berlin, is the last word in chic public architecture and comes with a disabled lift, a unisex baby changing area and 24-hour reception. Entrance is 50 cents. There are five loos for men and five for women

The US vice-president, Dick Cheney, yesterday accused Russia of using blackmail and intimidation in its energy policy towards Europe. In one of Washington's sharpest rebukes to Moscow, Mr Cheney said it was not acceptable for Russia to use its vast gas and energy supplies to bully its neighbours. "Russia has a choice to make," Mr Cheney told Baltic leaders during a summit in Vilnius

It has taken almost 2,000 years, but those who worship the 12 gods of ancient Greece have finally triumphed. An Athens court has ordered that the adulation of Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Athena and co is to be unbanned, paving the way for a comeback of pagans on Mount Olympus. The followers, who say they "defend the genuine traditions, religion and ethos" of the ancients by adhering to a pre-Christian polytheistic culture, are poised to take their battle to the temples of Greece

The emir of Qatar, on a visit to Iran, referred to the Arab Gulf. Iran's president was quick to correct him: it's the Persian Gulf, he said. The flap about the name of the body of water that separates them reflected the deep and growing disquiet among Iran's Arab neighbors about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Arab diplomats said the emir — a U.S

North Korea heads a league table of the 10 most censored countries, according to a survey by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. All "news" in North Korea is positive, there are no independent journalists, and all radio and television receivers are locked to government-specified frequencies, the CPJ said in a report to mark World Press Freedom Day yesterday