The EU summit in Brussels agreed to extend to the Czech Republic a Lisbon
Treaty opt-out clause already secured by other member states, thus enabling
President Vaclav Klaus to become the 27th and final leader to sign the Treaty if his Constitutional Court sees no objections.
The trial of the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadicz began at an international court at The Hague. He faces eleven charges, including one of genocide for the massacre of 8'000 Muslims at Srebenica in 1995.
Karadicz refused to appear before the court but the judges decided to proceed without his presence.
A car bomb attack in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, brought the country's death toll in October to over 300. Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, visited Pakistan for four days, meeting politicians, military and university students.
More than 150 people were killed and over 700 wounded by lorry-bomb attacks in central Baghdad, raising doubts about the ability of the security services to provide the necessary cover for elections in January.