ZURICH - SWISS bank UBS could escape a hefty fine from US authorities over allegations that Americans opened offshore bank accounts with the lender to evade taxes, a Swiss newspaper said on Sunday.

BERLIN - THE beleaguered challenger to German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to eliminate unemployment by 2020 in a bid to salvage his floundering campaign, a report said on Sunday.

VIENNA - BUDGET airline owner Niki Lauda portrayed Lufthansa's takeover of Austrian Airlines as a catastrophe for Austria, after it made large concessions to secure the deal, in an interview published Sunday.