Hamburg  - Large colourful and flashy. Sunglass fashion this summer is definitely conspicuous.

"Colourful frames are hot and as well as frames with way-out patterns, such as spider webs, peace signs or skulls," said Gabriele Gerling of Germany's central association of opticians in Dusseldorf. Retro is the number one catchword. However, the styles are not reverting to fashion trends just from the 1950s and 1960s. This year everything from the 1930s to the 1970s is represented.

Helsinki  - Finland, home to several world champion rallies and Formula One racing drivers, is currently studying changes to its system for learner drivers.

A possible change could include adjusting some of the basic training according to gender.

Esko Keskinen, a traffic psychologist with the Finnish Vehicle Administration (AKE), indicated the needs in a recent interview with the Aamulehti newspaper, but said each beginner driver would need to discuss specific needs with their teacher.

Berlin - Stress is almost guaranteed when flying with a baby. But many parents find the hunt for a child safety seat, acceptable to international airlines and in compliance with various government guidelines, even more stressful.

Making the wrong choice can mean reserving a seat, buying or renting a safety seat and then learning just before takeoff that the seat does not pass muster. But not making the effort could mean foregoing basic safety precautions, some experts say.

Sydney  - In a verdict that showed Australians that all are equal before the law, former Supreme Court judge Marcus Einfeld was jailed for two years for trying to lie his way out of paying a speeding ticket.

But that wasn't their only lesson.

The conviction also showed that even the country's brightest and best-educated can be undone by underestimating the power of modern technology.

Washington  - The US economic crisis is affecting not only Americans, but is having an increasingly bitter effect on their pets as well.

An ever-greater number of US citizens can no longer care for their animals because they have lost their jobs or their houses. As many as 1 million dogs and cats are in danger of losing their homes, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Animal shelters in some southern states are already full.

Gary Weitzman points to a cage with three young shepherd puppies.

Buenos Aires  - A girl who wants to be a "Barbie" has to start practicing early in life and in Buenos Aires she can.

The world now has its first store there. Little girls can immerse themselves in the dream world of the long-legged doll. Behind the store's inconspicuous facade lies a full 650 square metres of retail space where girls can discover all that goes on in the life of a proper doll.

They also can be transformed into a Barbie.