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GENEVA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The H1N1 flu is moving eastwards across Europe and Asia after appearing to peak in parts of western Europe and the United States, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.

BRUSSELS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Belgians on Friday mixed pride with trepidation over Herman Van Rompuy's appointment as the first president of the European Union, fearing instability after his exit as prime minister.

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - British health officials are investigating the likely person-to-person spread of a drug-resistant strain of swine flu, the Health Protection Agency said on Friday.

ISTANBUL, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Turkey's efforts to solve regional problems such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme have enhanced its standing among its Arab neighbours, a report said on Friday.

PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Appointing a new president and a foreign affairs head was meant to put a fresh face on the European Union, but the choice of two relative unknowns leaves the familiar Franco-German alliance as the EU's dominant force.

ZAGREB, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The Croatian parliament ratified a border arbitration agreement with Slovenia on Friday, hoping to lift a major obstacle for completing Croatia's European Union accession talks next year.

GENEVA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Somalia has announced it plans to ratify a global treaty aimed at protecting children, leaving the United States as the only country outside the pact, UNICEF said on Friday.

NAIROBI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Heads of state from the East African Community (EAC) trade bloc signed a common market protocol on Friday that they hope will boost commerce between their five countries when it comes into effect in July 2010.

KINSHASA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Two days of clashes between rival ethnic groups killed 11 people in isolated northern Democratic Republic of Congo this week, the country's United Nations peacekeeping mission said on Friday.

BUCHAREST, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Romania holds a closely-fought presidential election on Sunday that could put an end to a government crisis delaying aid from the International Monetary Fund and revive momentum for political and economic reforms.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said presidential and legislative elections scheduled for January will be postponed, confirming that he has accepted advice not to hold the vote.

COLOMBO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's top general, who quit amid speculation he could run for president, pledged on Friday to fight for democracy and human rights after the end of a 25-year separatist war, suggesting he would soon announce his candidacy.

SHONGA, Nigeria, Nov 20 (Reuters) - When white Zimbabwean farmer Irvin Reid arrived in Nigeria almost five years ago, he was given a set of grid references in the remote bush and told to find water and build a new farm.

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Warnings were issued across Scotland, northern England and Wales on Thursday as officials warned that heavy downpours could cause serious flooding and forecasters said more rain was on its way.

GENEVA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Eight years after a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan, the war-ravaged state is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born, the United Nations said on Thursday.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Brazil aims to burnish its growing diplomatic stature by pushing Middle East peace next week as it welcomes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just two weeks after a visit by Israel's president.

BRUSSELS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy was on course on Thursday to become the European Union's president and Briton Catherine Ashton to become its foreign affairs chief, EU officials said.

MOSCOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday called on world powers to battle a rising tide of road accidents which he said killed the equivalent of a major city each year and drained the global economy of $500 billion.

Average UK woman wears 515 chemicals a day

GENEVA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - About 40 people have died after being inoculated against H1N1 pandemic flu, but investigations so far show the fatalities were not caused by the vaccine, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.