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Australians head for East Timor
Disgruntled ex-soldiers are fighting street battles with troops Australia is rushing troops to tackle unrest in East Timor, where troops have been in gun battles with disgruntled ex-soldiers for a third day.
Fighting has erupted in various parts of the capital Dili, and at least one soldier has been killed.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said 150 commandos would arrive on Thursday to help secure the airport.
The troops, part of an international team, are responding to a call from the East Timorese government.
Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta admitted on Wednesday that his government "could not control the situation".
Australia has experience of providing military aid to East Timor, as it led a UN-military force into the country in 1999 to end the unrest sparked when the population voted for independence from Indonesia.
Calcutta takes cue from China
By Humphrey Hawksley
BBC News, Calcutta
Communist symbols are visible everywhere in the state After seven consecutive election victories, the Indian state government in West Bengal is taking tips from China on how to improve people's lives.
The walls of the ruling party's headquarters in one of Calcutta's poorer districts are decorated with iconic portraits of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao.
From the building where policies were once drawn up to try to turn India into a one-party state, communist leaders are devising a new plan, neither looking west towards Moscow or Wall Street, but east towards Beijing.
"Chinese government has initiated new programmes," says the West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.
"They say the socialist economy should also allow different types of ownership - state ownership and private ownership and foreign investment."
Capitalism v communism
While Lenin's statue presides in a central Calcutta park, skyscrapers, flyovers and consumer billboards mark the real city landscape and its aspirations.
They are bargaining from a position of strength. We cannot compete with China
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, West Bengal Chief Minister
It is at least a generation behind China, but the idea is to woo the growing middle-class which will, in turn, give confidence to foreign investors.
"Previously what happened was that the communists had a very strong rural base so they used to keep winning in the villages," explains 25-year-old IT consultant Ruhin Chatterjee, one among millions of young middle-class voters who support the communists. "But in the cities they never won. This latest election has seen a change in that."
One of the marks of increased wealth is the creation of shopping malls with advertising hoardings for high-rise dream homes, designer labels and massage therapy.
But the truth is that they are a rarity.
About 80% of Indians still live on less than $2 a day, whereas in China that figure has dropped to less than 50%.
While mobile phones seem to abound in Calcutta, 13 Chinese have one to every one Indian.
The statistics in other areas bear out the same story - China has outpaced India in just about every level of development.
And in the crucial area of direct foreign investment, China receives almost $60bn a year compared to just $5bn for the whole of India.
"Chinese economy has an inner strength," admits Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, whose plan for development depends on attracting billions of dollars in foreign investment.
"They are bargaining from a position of strength. We cannot compete with China."
Fierce competition
The communists increased their mandate in recent elections
Central to the debate is the Chinese argument that democracy stops development.
But a straw poll in the middle-class Calcutta mall brings out a definitive response.
"China does not practice human rights," said a middle-aged woman, to which a young man next to her added, "We are not ready to sacrifice our human rights to get people out of poverty. No."
Thirty miles outside of Calcutta, in a village where 90% of the people voted for the communists, the response is the same.
"Vote," says one farmer. "Vote is best."
West Bengal has been in a 30-year experiment in running a communist administration within a democracy.
It is way behind China and has not delivered much more than any other Indian state.
Its literacy rate of just under 70% is about mid-way among all the Indian states.
If the state's ruling communists do begin to follow China as they once followed the Soviet Union, their supporters - rich or poor - would draw a line on the Chinese formula of curtailing rights in order to create wealth.
Palestinian rivals set for talks
There have been clashes between rival security forces Rival Palestinian factions are set to hold crisis talks in an attempt to heal deep political divisions.
These have led to clashes between supporters of the governing Hamas group and those loyal to the former ruling party, Fatah.
The talks will also address the effects of the financial freeze placed on the Hamas-led government by foreign donors.
The meeting comes as the Israeli PM continues a US visit in which he has called for talks with the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was ready to negotiate peace with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but stood firm on the issue of Hamas.
Soul singer is new American Idol
The show is a huge ratings hit in the US Soul singer Taylor Hicks has won the coveted title of American Idol 2006 in the hit US TV talent show.
Hicks, 29, saw off competition from finalist Katharine McPhee, 22, in a contest which attracted more than 63 million votes.
He wins a recording contract and chance for national stardom. "I'm living the American dream," he said.
The fifth series of American Idol has proved hugely popular despite claims it is not as exciting as previous runs.
It has attracted an average weekly audience of more than 28 million viewers in the US.
Over several weeks, the field of aspiring singers was whittled down to two contrasting contestants, the soul-singing Hicks against the trained McPhee, who each performed three songs in a sing-off on Tuesday.
The two then waited to hear their verdict during a star-studded finale on Wednesday which saw previous contestants and celebrities such as Prince and Meatloaf perform.
Russia and EU to discuss energy
By William Horsley
BBC European affairs correspondent
The EU hopes to persuade Mr Putin to allow access to Russian pipelines The Russian president is set to host a summit with EU leaders to discuss a new long-term partnership based on Russia's vast energy resources.
The meeting is meant to pave the way for agreement on a new framework for Russia's relations with Europe.
But it is likely to be overshadowed by claims Russia is using its resources as a tool of its foreign policy ambitions.
Recent exchanges have been marked by suspicion and claims of a drift back towards the atmosphere of the Cold War.
I simply pasted the headlines for the BBC in regards to the different hemispheres.