European policymakers have been advised to prepare for ”sudden change” in North Korea amid growing speculation among diplomats and observers that Kim Jong-il is losing his grip on power. A European Union delegation to Pyongyang recommended a review of the union’s policy towards the peninsula, including proposals for closer engagement with North Korea.

Mars, the red planet, may not after all be the dead planet. New research today by European scientists suggests that volcanoes on Mars last erupted only two million years ago and could erupt again. Last week, Nature‘s United States rival Science named the confirmation of water on Mars as the scientific breakthrough of 2004.

He doesn’t do undercover. And he does not easily melt into the background. But when an industry thinks it is about to become the latest target of the filmmaker Michael Moore, precautions have to be taken. At least six large pharmaceutical firms have warned their workforces to be on the lookout for ”a scruffy guy in a baseball cap”.

It has been a contradictory year, pulling us between the heights of optimism and the depths of despair. At home, 2004 started as a year of celebration. Ten years of freedom was a beacon that cast a glittering light on the achievement of a normal society. The world beyond proved a darker place.

The European Union has grown to 25 diverse states, with five more waiting in the wings and at least another 14 sniffing around the periphery. Should Turkey be allowed to join the European Union? That decision has divided Europeans. But where does Europe end? James Meek finds that cases can be made for many other countries, from Tunisia to Iraq.

Striker Miguel Angel ”Mista” Ferrer scored twice on Wednesday to earn Valencia a 3-0 victory over a nine-man Espanyol and lift the defending champions into second place in the Spanish league. In another 17th-round game, Sevilla’s Brazilian forward Julio Baptista scored in the 19th minute to beat Real Madrid 1-0.

West Indies’ tour of Australia looks set to go ahead next month after the national cricket board and players association accepted the binding decision of an arbiter in their contract dispute on Wednesday. Justice Adrian Saunders ruled on whether individual players are allowed to hold endorsement deals in conflict with the cricket board’s official sponsor.

The -million broadcasting deal that has secured the financial future of southern-hemisphere rugby for the next five years has been welcomed by New Zealand players, but they question the workload that goes with it. ”Like any deal, it has pros and cons,” players’ association chief executive Rob Nichol said on Thursday.