Is this Europe’s future–an aging vampire society whose financial IVs are hitched to an ever-smaller pool of working-age taxpayers? We’ve all heard about the “demographic time bomb,” and the pensions crisis that will hit as Europe rapidly ages. But if you think this bomb won’t explode until a faraway future, think again. It already has, and the first tremors are rocking Europe today. The crippling strikes of recent weeks in France, Italy and Austria are all about pensions and retirement–the first of many battles over the distribution of tax money between young and old....

That’s an achievement but, if he wins, Obasanjo will have to tackle the deep-rooted problems that he failed to address during his first four years as president. Analysts say he must crack down on corruption, reorganize Nigeria’s top-heavy federal system and mend the Muslim-Christian divide that has caused the deaths of thousands in recent years. (Nigeria has more Christians and Muslims, almost equally divided, than any other country in Africa....

At Cedar Acres, the day begins with homemade muffles and coffee. A staff member reads the newspaper aloud and urges the seniors to talk about current events. “The favorite part of the paper is Ann Landers–it sparks a lot of interesting discussions,” says director Lois Oliver. Set in a Victorian farmhouse, the center gets visits from friendly livestock. There are pine cones to collect for craft projects, and exercise games in the yard....

Finally it appears the F3 Derby is back after an enthralling, storyline-laden contest between Newcastle and Central Coast, while the grand final rematch between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC disappointed with its dreary atmosphere and lack of excitement. This week’s blockbuster is undoubtedly the Melbourne Derby, but there should also be a keen eye on the Jets to see if they can back up their stunning 5-1 victory last week with a win against Perth, while Western Sydney and the Mariners is likely to be a free-flowing, entertaining match....

The New Zealand international made it eight goals in as many league matches as Victory dominated proceedings at AAMI Park. Jake McGing deflected Besart Berisha’s shot into his own net to break the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. But the damage was done in a nine-minute spell early in the second half, kick-started by James Donachie’s header - his first goal for the club. Rojas then took centre stage as he twice put the finishing touch on assists from Fahid Ben Khalfallah, while substitute Trent Buhagiar got the visitors’ consolation....

The religion is Roman Catholicism, the most significant in American politics, the ultimate swing vote. Catholics were the heart of the New Deal coalition. They were the Daley machine in Chicago, the Curley machine in Boston, Tammany Hall in New York. They were, and are, a curious mixture: social conservatives and economic moderates. Appalled when the Democrats went countercultural during Vietnam, they began to drift rightward, at least when it came to presidential politics....

Flowers has seen the “dance” dozens of times a day since Hughes’s latest show opened at his gallery on Feb. 14. Entitled “Whopperspective,” the exhibition encompasses many of Hughes’s finest works, some of which sell for as much as $80,000. All the paintings combine elements of realism and surrealism with the dizzying perspective that has become Hughes’s trademark. “He creates the most seamless illusions I’ve ever seen,” says New York art dealer Louis Meisel, who laments only that two-dimensional photos cannot convey the illusions of movement properly....

But hold the gripping Hollywood arrest scene. Officers poring over cold-case files have now isolated 12 unsolved murders, plus three rapes, in which the crimes and victims are similar. In each case police submitted physical evidence–typically semen taken from victims–to a state-police crime laboratory that examines DNA. But rather than pointing to a single madman, the DNA evidence has startled officers with the discovery that they must search for four different killers....

Saddam is the most immediate threat. Despite his crushing defeat two years ago, the Iraqi dictator is in such a strong position that even a barrage of million-dollar U.S. cruise missiles on June 27 did him little, if any, real harm. Most of the 23 Tomahawk missiles hit their target, the Baghdad headquarters compound of Saddam’s General Intelligence Organization, the dreaded Mukhabarat. Three missiles went astray, killing eight civilians. Americans supported the attack; in a NEWSWEEK Poll, 71 percent of the respondents said Clinton did the right thing, while only 20 percent disapproved....

The newspaper is The Standard-Times, and at issue is a new feature entitled “Drug Watch.” Five days a week, the paper aims to run photos of every person who shows up in district court in New Bedford on drug-related charges. The column has the look of a high-school yearbook for losers. “The idea was to try to do something to impress on the community how serious and widespread the scourge of drugs has become,” says editor James Ragsdale....

The fence idea is gaining support in Israel in the run-up to elections early next year. Exhausted from 26 months of fighting and devoid of hope for a peace deal, more than 70 percent of Israelis tell pollsters they want “unilateral separation.” Some experts say a fence along the old Green Line that separated Israel from the West Bank could prevent Palestinian suicide attacks like the one on a Jerusalem bus last week that killed 11 people....

No one knows this better than Citigroup chief executive Sandy Weill, the quintessential Wall Street guy who clawed his way from delivery boy to head of the nation’s biggest financial company. Timing issues help explain why Weill, 70, announced last week that he’s stepping aside, sort of. He’ll give up his CEO title to Charles Prince at the end of the year but will stay chairman until the spring of 2006....

So what’s the plan when you get punched by 11 people? There is no plan. No. 20 USC found that out the hard way as No. 1 Alabama’s latest Week 1 neutral site victim in a 52-6 blowout at AT&T Stadium on Saturday. “I think that we had a really good plan for these guys,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think the players did a really good job of executing it, but we would not have been able to execute that plan if we could not stop the run....

Clinton: Increase the top marginal rate to 36% (from 31%) for couples with taxable income over $140,000 ($115,000 for individuals) and to 39.6% for households with income over $250,000. House: Same as Clinton, retroactive to Jan. 1, 1993. Senate Finance Committee: Same marginal rates, but effective July 1, 1993, cutting the increase by half for this year. Capital-gains tax rate increases to 30.8% (from 28%) next year for households with income over $250,000....

Last week, almost unnoticed, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, put forward the usual agenda that stressed coordination on energy production and economic diversification. But in an unusual move, the group called on members to prohibit Hezbollah, Iran’s devastating occupying army in Lebanon, “from carrying out its terrorist activities and supporting terrorist militias that threaten the stability of Arab countries....

The report also found about 12 percent of infected people hospitalized and about 12 percent of people who died from the virus were fully vaccinated. CDC officials noted the number of Americans who are fully vaccinated has been increasing, so they expected to see a rise in infections among fully vaccinated people. The report concluded that infections tended to be more common and more severe in people who were unvaccinated....

Last week, Cardi went viral with an Instagram video responding to the rapid escalation of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, saying: “I ain’t gonna front … I’m a little scared.” The highlight of the clip—seen by 18.2 million people—is Cardi screeching, “Coronavirus, coronavirus, s**t is getting real.” The rapper’s response was quickly remixed into a song by DJ iMarkkeyz, who, according to his Twitter, is based in Brooklyn, New York, and a song entitled “Coronavirus Remix” was released on iTunes Monday....

The bloodshed could get worse before it gets better. By pulling out of the war zone, Israel may be inviting an escalation in the fighting that could bring it into direct confrontation with Syria, which has 35,000 troops in Lebanon and calls the shots there. Israel has vowed to quit Lebanon regardless of whether it strikes a peace deal with Syria. And in Geneva last week U.S. President Bill Clinton failed to persuade Syrian leader Hafez Assad to restart peace talks with Israel—making it almost certain that Israel will follow through on its promise....