Although President Obama has yet to detail his Russia policy, the Kremlin says it is receiving positive signals from his administration about the prospects for resetting the relationship between Moscow and Washington. But Russian civic activists are concerned Mr. Obama may pursue pragmatic policies that could advance bilateral interests, but not the principles of democracy in their country.

In May, President Obama told visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the United States and Russia have an excellent opportunity to reset the bilateral relationship on many issues. 

"…from nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation; the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan; how we approach Iran; how we approach the Middle East; commercial ties between the two countries; and, how we address the financial crisis that has put such a strain on the economies of all countries around the world."

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Pope Benedict XVI says bone fragments found in a tomb beneath the floor of Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls are probably remains of the Apostle Paul.
 
The pontiff announced Sunday that carbon dating tests run on the fragments, which were found inside a stone sarcophagus discovered beneath the floor of the basilica, confirm that they date from first or second century. 

 "This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," Benedict said, speaking Sunday at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-The-Walls. 

Christians have traditionally believed St. Paul was buried beneath the main altar of the basilica, which was built in the late fourth century. The 8-foot-long sarcophagus containing the bone fragments was discovered in 2002.



The pope's announcement came on the eve of the Feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul, a major feast day for the Roman Catholic Church. 

Paul and Peter are regarded by the faithful as the greatest early Christian missionaries.

The people of Albania are going to the polls in parliamentary elections that are seen as a key test for the Balkan country's ambition to join the European Union. Albania's incumbent Prime Minister Sali Berisha faces a tough fight in the national elections.

Western observers are closely monitoring Sunday's parliamentary elections in Albania to see whether one of Europe's poorest countries has enough democratic credentials to join the European Union. 

The ballot, which includes as front-runners for prime minister a dominant post-communist era-leader and a Socialist, is Albania's seventh parliamentary election since Communism collapsed in 1990,

But none of the previous votes met international standards amid reported fraud and other irregularities.

The campaign for Sunday's elections was marred by violence as three people, including politicians, were killed in what local media have called "politically motivated attacks".

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NATO and Russia agreed Saturday to resume military ties, ending a 10-month rift caused by Russia's war with Georgia, but they failed to bridge major differences over the conflict.
 The agreement, which clears the way for the two sides to restore cooperation on anti-piracy operations, counter-terrorism, and the war in Afghanistan, was reached at a meeting of NATO and Russian foreign ministers in Greece.

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The Czech government has collapsed after losing a non-confidence vote in parliament late Tuesday. The vote came after the center right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek was criticized for the way it handled the economic crisis and for supporting a controversial American anti-missile defense system.
The lower house of the Czech Parliament voted 101 to 96 to declare no confidence in the coalition government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, after four lawmakers broke rank with their parties and voted with the opposition. Three legislators were absent from the vote.
It is the first time a government is ousted since the country came to existence, after the breakup of the former Czechoslovakia in 1993.
The vote was seen as a major setback for Mr. Topolanek as it came just days before a planned visit by United States President Barack Obama and midway through the rotation of the Czech Republic's European Union presidency.
Prime Minister Topolanek told reporters that he could resign Thursday, after talks with European Union officials.
He says he flies to Strasbourg on Wednesday, and after the trip he will hand in his resignation to President Vaclav Klaus according to the constitution. He admits that the new situation, in his words, "can complicate the Czech government's negotiating strength in the EU." Yet, he says, he is convinced that the Czech Republic can cope with these difficulties.
Prime Minister Topolanek said he believes the president might ask him again to form a government, as his party won most votes in the 2006 elections.
However he made clear he prefers holding elections early, rather than in June 2010 as scheduled.
In a first reaction the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, said it was confident the Czech Republic could continue to "effectively preside over the European Union" despite the government losing a no-confidence vote in Prague.
Tuesday's vote of no confidence came after the opposition said the government came to late with a stimulus package of over three billion dollars to boost the ailing economy of this Eastern European nation.
The Czech Republic is among several former communist countries in Europe that suffer under the weight of the global financial crisis.
In addition the prime minister has been criticized for supporting a controversial anti-missile defense system that the United States considers building in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Washington says the system is aimed at undermining missile strikes from countries such as Iran and North Korea. Yet, the Czech opposition fears it will further destabilize Europe.

The French government has agreed for the first time to compensate people with health problems associated with decades of nuclear tests in Algeria and the South Pacific. While the move marks a watershed, victims' association are pushing for more.
After years of refusing to compensate victims affected by nearly 50 years of nuclear testing in the Sahara Desert in Algeria and in French Polynesia, France has bowed to decades of pressure to do so.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin told reporters the government would earmark about $13.5 million to compensate victims of the testing in the first year of the program.
Morin said France must be at peace with itself, through compensation and reparation payments. But he remained adamant the nuclear testing was essential for France to build a credible nuclear deterrent to help guarantee the country's vital interests.
Between 1960 to 1996, the French military carried out more than 200 nuclear tests in the atmosphere and underground in Algeria and the South Pacific. Both French soldiers and residents in the areas later fell ill from radiation exposure.
The French parliament is likely to examine the legislation to compensate the victims in the coming months. Morin said anybody who lived near the test sites and developed medical problems could be eligible for compensation. But the victims' association wants to change the draft bill so more people are eligible to apply.