Brussels - The European Union on Wednesday sent a further warning to the leaders of August's coup in Mauritania, indicating that the bloc could take unspecified action if democratic rule is not restored.

Such measures could include a suspension of non-humanitarian aid, officials in Brussels said.

Brussels - Warning of tough times ahead, the European Commission on Wednesday cut the EU's 2008 growth estimates for a second time in seven months - this time to 1.4 per cent.

The EU's executive arm had previously forecast a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the 27-member bloc of 2.0 per cent. The commission's February interim estimate had in turn been revised down by about half a percentage point from its November forecast.

GDP for the 15-member eurozone was similarly revised down, from 1.7 per cent to 1.3 per cent, in line with analysts' expectations.

Brussels  - The UN-EU peacekeeping mission in Chad is unable to protect many of the country's civilians due to a combination of delays, bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of coordination, according to a report published Tuesday by the international charity Oxfam.

Based on interviews with refugees living in camps, as well as regional experts and aid workers, the report found that despite the international presence, half a million people are still vulnerable to attacks and abuse.

Brussels - Advertisers have known this all along, but now it is scientifically proven: men who are exposed to naked women stop paying attention to prices.

According to a report Tuesday by Flemish broadcaster VRT, a study by the University of Leuven found an inverse relationship between testosterone levels and price awareness among males.

The "naked women" effect is particularly strong among machos, the study found.

"Machos usually tend to be tough negotiators, but adverts featuring naked women turn them into gullible sheep," said Siegfried Dewitte, a professor of economics who carried out the study.

Brussels  - Ingrid Betancourt, the Dalai Lama and Zimbabwe's opposition leader were among eight nominations Tuesday for the prestigious Sakharov Prize, a yearly award given by the European Parliament to defenders of democracy and human rights around the world.

Betancourt, a one-time Colombian presidential candidate with French citizenship who was released in July after being held hostage for six years by FARC rebels, was nominated by parliament's socialist grouping.

Brussels  - The European Commission is to take Germany to court over its failure to modify the so-called "Volkswagen Law," which has been found to break the European Union's competition rules, officials in Brussels said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the EU's internal market and services commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, said the commissioner planned to make a proposal to this effect "as soon as possible."

The EU executive had asked Germany to amend the law in the light of an October ruling by the European Court of Justice, which had found that the 48-year-old legislation breaks EU rules.