Serbia

At night, when the lawns are empty and the lamps along the walking paths are the only source of light, Topcider Park on the outskirts of Belgrade is a perfect meeting place for spies. It was here in 1992, as the former Yugoslavia was erupting in ethnic violence, that a wary CIA agent made his way toward the park's gazebo and shook hands with a Serbian intelligence officer. Jovica Stanisic had a cold gaze and a sinister reputation.

A Serbian union official who chopped off his finger and ate it in a protest over wages that in some cases have not been paid in years said Monday that he did it to show how desperate he and other workers were. "We, the workers, have nothing to eat. We had to seek some sort of alternative food and I gave them an example," Zoran Bulatovic said.

World champion Spain defeated Greece, 82-64, on Saturday at Katowice, Poland, to advance to the European basketball championship final against Serbia. The win gives Spain, a six-time tournament runner-up, another shot at its first European title today. Serbia beat Slovenia, 96-92, in overtime behind 32 points from Milos Teodosic . Spain held Greece without a point for the first four minutes of the second quarter to open a 34-24 lead that Greece couldn't get below seven points.