by MONITOR
ABOUT one million people were evacuated from their homes as wildfires engulfed many parts of southern California; San Diego county was worst hit with losses estimated above $1 million.
The European Court of Justice overturned a 47-year-old German regulation that had protected the car manufacturer Volkswagen from takeovers; opponents of protectionism in Europe hailed the judgement. In Poland the pro-European Civic Platform party defeated the incumbent right-wing Law and Justice Party in a general election. In Switzerland the right-wing Swiss People's Party strengthened its parliamentary representation after an election in which it was accused of racism. The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft, made its inaugural flight from Singapore To Sydney.
Bulletin Headlines of the Week
SUNDAY/MONDAY: Beaten But Unbowed (South Africa beat England 15-6 in the final of the rugby World Cup in Paris).
TUESDAY: Girl Falls From Hotel Balcony, Mum Goes Missing ( A seven-year old British girl was in critical condition in hospital after falling at a hotel in Calas de Majorca; her mother had disappeared).
WEDNESDAY: Hunt For Sara (A widespread search had failed to find Sara Cooper, mother of the girl who fell from a hotel balcony).
THURSDAY: Body Of Missing British Mother Found (The body of Sara Cooper was found in the sea close to the hotel where her daughter had fallen from a balcony.)
FRIDAY: Mobile Phone Holds Key to Missing British Woman (Jacqueline Tennant, who worked on Majorca as a tour representative had been missing for almost three weeks).
SATURDAY: Vigil For Cooper Family (A church vigil for Sara Cooper (whose body was recovered from the sea earlier in the week, was held in the family's home village of Foxton, Cambridgeshire).