With 10 weeks to go until the German elections, a new poll give a glimpse as to what Germans may decide on election day. Right now, all bets are on current Chancellor Angela Merkel keeping her job. 

As Germany gears up for nationwide elections on September 27, the latest poll released by Emnid reveals that 80 percent of German citizens expect conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to remain in office for a second term.

"We have not measured such a high approval rating for an incumbent chancellor in decades," the head of Emnid, Klaus-Peter Schoeppner told the Bild newspaper's Sunday edition. "Especially unheard of is the high expectation of losing among SPD supporters."

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Symbolbild Koalition SPD CDU neu!!

Those surveyed give Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier only a 13 percent chance of beating Merkel and becoming chancellor. And among SPD supporters, 53 percent do not want to see the party work with the CDU and the CSU coalition.

The expression "smoke like a Turk" seems destined for the rubbish bin of history after Turkey introduced Sunday some of the toughest anti-smoking legislation in Europe. 

Smoking has been banned from all closed public areas, bars, cafes and restaurants, and even extends to patrons sitting outside cafes. Anyone caught puffing away in a non-smoking area faces an on-the-spot 45-euro fine, while cafe owners face penalties of up to 2,500 euros.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avid anti-smoker, has instructed the country's governors to rigorously enforce the ban. He has even called for officials who fail to do so to be punished. The new law is being seen as the final nail in the coffin for one of the country's most ancient traditions.

Turkey has one of the highest rates of smoking in the world, and the legislation is expected to cause troubles for cafes, bars and restaurants in cities like Istanbul, where the hospitality industry is bracing for a hit to profits.

Officials in southern Austria have declared the city of Graz a disaster zone after torrential rains caused flooding. 

Officials told citizens to keep children and animals inside as temperatures dropped to 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) and the snow line came down to 1,500 meters (4,900 feet).

Heavy rains in recent days had saturated the ground and streams burst their banks flooding streets and cellars in the southern city of 250,000.

European Union justice and home affairs ministers met in Stockholm this week to kick-start a plan to coordinate their approaches to asylum seekers and create an EU-wide application process. 

Southern European countries on the border between the EU and the developing world have seen a surge of asylum seekers in recent years, and have complained that they must bear a heavier burden than northern EU states.

Some countries have taken drastic measures to deal with these rising numbers, such as turning boats of people back to Africa without checking if some of the passengers are legitimate asylum seekers. These measures have in turn been heavily criticized by other EU countries.

Russian rights group Memorial has suspended operations in Chechnya following the murder of prominent activist Natalya Estemirova, which the group's head has blamed on pro-Kremlin Chechen leader Ramzon Kadyrov.

AFP - Russian rights group Memorial suspended operations in Chechnya on Saturday following the murder this week of prominent activist Natalya Estemirova.
   
"This murder has shown that working in Chechnya is fatally dangerous and we cannot risk the lives of our colleagues even if they are ready to carry on their work," said Memorial's Alexander Cherkasov.
   
"We are suspending the activities of our office in Chechnya," he added, without saying for how long.

The Lisbon EU reform treaty received a significant boost last night when the Irish Green party backed a "yes" vote in the republic's second referendum to be held this autumn.

At a special delegates' conference in Dublin yesterday, the junior coalition partner in the Irish government narrowly supported a yes vote in the forthcoming plebiscite. A total of 214 delegates (66%) supported the motion calling for a yes vote, with 107 voting no (33%). The motion making a yes vote official Green policy was then passed by the required two-thirds majority.

One of the reasons for the Green leadership's win was that many of the Green eurosceptics have already left the party. A "no" vote would have been a serious setback for Green ministers in the coalition and created renewed clamour for the party to pull out of government with Fianna Fáil.

The Irish minister of the environment and Green leader John Gormley admitted that the party was going through "a very trying and difficult period" since its electoral setbacks last month and the country's continuing economic crisis.

Airlines offer guidance to check-in staff to help them prevent customers boarding flights if they appear to have the virus

Passengers with swine flu will be stopped from boarding flights, two major airlines confirmed today, as the Department of Health warned tourists who contract the illness abroad not to travel home until their symptoms have gone.

Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said they had provided check-in staff and cabin crew with guidance on how to act if they believe a passenger is unwell. Medical advice would be taken to assess the condition of passengers exhibiting symptoms, including having a headache, sore throat, runny nose, and aching muscles.

Virgin Atlantic said those suffering from the condition would be prevented from flying until they could provide a fit-to-fly certificate from their doctor or a hospital.