MOSCOW has agreed to the deployment of international monitors to oversee the transit of Russian gas to EU states via Ukraine, clearing the way for the resumption of European gas supplies, the Czech EU presidency said.

Three people were killed overnight in wildfires that ravaged southern Greece and destroyed dozens of homes.

Sizzling temperatures in Greece, Italy and Romania have brought power cuts and brush fires in a heatwave that has led to at least 38 deaths in south-east Europe in recent days.

A nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and a threat to regional security, French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy said today.

Hundreds of tourists and residents have been evacuated as a forest fire swept through resorts in northern Greece, destroying homes and cars.

The bird flu virus that has hit several countries in Asia is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, south Asia and Africa, a UN food agency warned today.

ALEX FERGUSON believes eccentric goalkeeper Fabien Barthez is back to his best.