EUROPEAN CONFESSIONS

AP - An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway during takeoff from the Madrid airport Wednesday and caught fire, Spain's national airport authority said. Local media reported at least 20 people dead.

Reuters - A 61-year-old Japanese woman has given birth to a surrogate child, an obstetrician in central Japan said on Wednesday. She is believed to be the oldest surrogate mother yet recorded in Japan.

AP - Britain's competition watchdog said it may force airports operator BAA to sell three of its seven airports around the country — including two in London — following fierce criticism of the company for poor customer service, overcrowding and long delays.

Reuters - At least 21 people were killed when a Spanair passenger jet crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday and 40 were hurt, a source at Spanish emergency services said.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.

AFP - At least seven people were killed when a Spanish airliner crashed at Madrid's airport on Wednesday, Spanish media said.

AP - Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson AB and Swiss chip-maker STMicroelectronics NV unveiled plans Wednesday to create a 50-50 joint venture that will make a key component known as chipsets for mobile phones.

AFP - Bank of England policymakers were split three ways for a second month running when they decided to leave British interest rates at 5.00 percent in August, minutes of their latest meeting revealed Wednesday.

AFP - Global steel giant ArcelorMittal said Wednesday it had acquired an iron mine in Brazil for about 810 million dollars (550 million euros), expanding its access to the metal as prices soar.

AP - A convoy of badly needed food aid for beleaguered Georgians rumbled through a Russian checkpoint Wednesday, waved through by soldiers who themselves showed no signs of fulfilling their president's promise of a pullback within two days.

AFP - A Spanish jet skidded off the runway and crashed at Madrid airport Wednesday and billowing smoke came from the wreckage, television images showed.

AFP - Thousands of council workers in Scotland staged a 24-hour walkout Wednesday over pay causing disruption to schools, refuse collections and ferry services.

AFP - Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill believes Gareth Barry could still leave the Premier League club despite Liverpool's refusal to meet the midfielder's valuation.

AP - One of Italy's most-wanted criminals was extradited from Canada on Wednesday and locked in an Italian high-security prison, the Justice Ministry said.

AFP - French-Italian group STMicroelectronics and Sweden's Ericsson announced Wednesday a 50-50 joint venture merging their semi-conductor and mobile telephone platform activities.

AP - A gorilla at a zoo in the German city of Muenster is refusing to let go of her dead baby's body several days after it died of unknown causes.

AFP - Spain's largest bank, Santander, said Wednesday it has called a shareholders' meeting to vote on a 2.2 percent capital increase to pay for the purchase of British lender Alliance and Leicester.

Reuters - Thousands of people suspected of sharing music, films and games over the Internet will be pursued through the courts for damages, lawyers for entertainment companies said on Wednesday.

AFP - The government announced new measures to crack down on child sex offenders Wednesday, as the release of 1970s glam rocker Gary Glitter from jail in Vietnam reignited fierce debate here about paedophiles.

Reuters - The United States and Poland signed a deal on Wednesday to station elements of a U.S. missile defense shield on Polish soil, a move certain to aggravate Russia-Western tensions over Moscow's intervention in Georgia.