World Watch

Don't Cough Near Me
Chills? Fever? Sore throat? You could be about to join millions around the world who've fallen victim to the latest variants of the influenza bug. Just hope your virus isn't the vicious "Fujian flu," which originated in China at the start of the year and caused major outbreaks between June and August in New Zealand and Australia, where at one point around 30% of school-age children were affected. It arrived in Ireland in early September and soon spread to Britain, where it has killed six children. Simultaneously it appeared in Spain, Portugal and Norway, and is now spreading across the rest of Europe.

In France, a different strain, the "H3N2" variant, combined with gastroenteritis, has laid low up to 2 million people. Eleven children have died from a severe outbreak of flu in the U.S. Health authorities in Europe say the numbers are higher than average, but not excessively. They are at a loss to explain why the

MEANWHILE IN AUSTRIA ... Hell's Bells Playing Christmas carols in shops during the festive season is tantamount to "psychological terror" for store workers, according to a study by an Austrian trade union. By the time the big day arrives, the study says, hours of listening to piped carols such as Jingle Bells and Silent Night will have made many store workers aggressive and confrontational. The union wants shops to limit the number of hours per day the music is played, and restrict it to areas where Christmas gifts are being sold. Kerstin Joensson/AP Photo The words on the snowman in the eastern Tyrol skiing resort of Steinplatte read "Snow guaranteed from end of November to end of Easter". Fears that global warming is melting away Alpine ski slopes are adding to an unusually Grinchy state of mind in Austria.

flu season has arrived so early and fear that a second wave in the traditional post-Christmas period could stretch health services to the brink. — By Kate Noble

Ebb Tide
FRANCE Floods that killed at least six people and forced 15,000 from their homes in southern France receded at the week's end. But three days of heavy rains and high winds left 250,000 people without drinking water and 37,000 without electricity. President Jacques Chirac pledged €12 million for the stricken region.

Consuming Passion
GERMANY Computer expert Armin Meiwes confessed at the opening of his murder trial to killing — and eating — a man he met via the Internet, but claimed victim Bernd-Jürgen Brandes was a willing participant. Cannibalism is not a crime in Germany, so Meiwes is charged with murder for sexual satisfaction and disturbing the peace of the dead.

Showdown Time?
ITALY Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government approved a media-reform law that critics say is tailor-made for the television mogul's business interests. The latest piece of controversial legislation would overturn a court decision forcing one of Berlusconi's three main TV channels to go to satellite, but could be rejected by President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi as unconstitutional. Antonio Maccanico, a close Ciampi adviser and former Communications Minister, told TIME that Ciampi was debating whether to sign the proposal into law.

Lucky Escape
POLAND Prime Minister Leszek Miller suffered two broken vertebrae and 14 other people were also injured when their government Mi-8 helicopter crashed 30 km south of Warsaw. Doctors said he would need to spend a week in hospital. Engine failure was blamed; the 26-year-old helicopter was one of five used by senior state officials and foreign dignitaries.

Will They or Won't They?
CYPRUS Election fever mounted in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in advance of Sunday's parliamentary polls — which many believe are the last, best hope for reunification with the Greek-Cypriot south after 29 years of separation. Leader Rauf Denktash faced a strong challenge from opposition chief Mehmet Ali Talat, whose Republican Turkish Party has vowed to bring Northern Cyprus into the E.U. along with the south in May of next year. Denktash has agreed to step down as chief negotiator in peace talks if his party loses, effectively clearing the way for reunification negotiations to begin next year.

Closing In
VENEZUELA Opposition leaders said that more than 3.6 million people signed a petition demanding a recall referendum on President Hugo Chávez — well above the 2.4 million required to trigger a vote. If the official results confirm the figures, the referendum could be held next spring.