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Unnatural Disaster
THE PHILLIPINES: The Philippines is accustomed to cleaning up after the destruction caused by the dozen or more monsoons that take swipes at the archipelago each summer and autumn. But the island of Luzon is unlikely to recover swiftly from the havoc of last week, when two storms slammed into the coastal areas of Quezon province north of Manila, because the disaster was only partly natural — and largely the work of man. Normally, the roots of trees that cover the interior Sierra Madre mountains would absorb the rain. But four decades of logging — much of it illegal — has steadily denuded the island's mountains

MEANWHILE IN BELGIUM … A Room to Remember Tom Hanks faced the prospect of being bedless in Bastogne when he announced late plans to visit the town next week for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. With all hotels booked, the local tourist office launched an appeal, eventually finding the Saving Private Ryan star a house to rent. Who says the transatlantic alliance is dead?

of trees, so they no longer function as shield or sponge. Instead, they have become powerful delivery systems of floodwater and mud. When Typhoon Winnie hit the coast last Monday, said one resident: "I saw this house being swept away in its entirety, and cars, vans and jeeps were all washed away." By the time Typhoon Nanmadol, which hit land late Thursday, had moved away from the coast, at least 640 people were confirmed dead and nearly 400 were missing. Rescue efforts were made almost impossible by blocked roads, washed-out bridges and the storms that succeeded Winnie. Soldiers slogged through mud to deliver body bags and lime to cover decomposing corpses awaiting burial. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has suspended all logging and promised severe punishment for lawbreakers, in the face of yet another reminder of how hazardous it is to fool around with Mother Nature. — By Anthony Spaeth; Reported by Nelly Sindayen

Early Poll
PORTUGAL Socialist President Jorge Sampaio announced he will dissolve Parliament and call early elections. He said he no longer had confidence in the four-month-old administration of Social Democrat Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes, who assumed power in July when former PM José Manuel Barroso left to head the European Commission. The poll is expected in February.

ETA Strikes Again
SPAIN Authorities attributed five coordinated bomb blasts at petrol stations in Madrid, which injured two policemen, to Basque terrorist group ETA. The attacks suggest that the group remains active despite high-profile arrests and seizures of arms caches this fall. Earlier, former PM José María Aznar testified to the commission investigating the March 11 bombings in the capital. He denied misleading the public by initially blaming ETA for those bombings and maintained that it could have played a role in the attacks, later linked to al-Qaeda.

Green Light
FRANCE By a margin of nearly 3-to-2, Socialist Party members voted "yes" to the new E.U. Constitution in a party referendum ahead of a national vote next year. Both the left and right have now lined up in favor of the treaty, making French approval likely and boosting its chances Europe-wide. All 25 E.U. nations must endorse the text by the end of 2006.

Military Might
BOSNIA The E.U.'s defense force, EUFOR, took over NATO's peacekeeping duties at a formal handover ceremony in Sarajevo. It is EUFOR's biggest mission since its formation last year.

More Fraud?
ROMANIA The government denied allegations of fraud in the Nov. 28 presidential and parliamentary elections. The ruling Social Democratic Party won the most votes, but not an outright majority. Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and the center-right Justice and Truth Alliance's Traian Basescu face a runoff vote for President on Dec. 12.

Neighborhood Dispute
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Kigali denied reports that its troops entered eastern DRC to track down Hutu rebels involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, despite earlier threats to do so. Heightened tensions have raised fears of a renewed war between the two countries.