BUCHAREST (Reuters) – The school priest wanted to convert Andrei to Romania’s Orthodox Christianity, because his school could not hire a teacher for religion classes for the 12-year-old Adventist.

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel closed border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to a cross-border rocket attack, but Palestinian officials said banks were able to bring in 68 million shekels ($19 million) to ease a cash shortage.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Blocking Russia from joining the World Trade Organization because of the conflict in Georgia would defy common sense and break Western promises, a Russian official said on Thursday in response to U.S. warnings.