Tests that measure DNA in a pregnant woman's blood work well for telling the sex of a baby after seven weeks' gestation without posing danger to the fetus, a U.S. study said Tuesday.

The meta-analysis of previous studies on the topic suggests that using cell-free fetal DNA from the mother's blood is more accurate than a urine test or sonogram and is safer than amniocentesis.

With a vital set of European Championship qualifiers to come next month, this midweek's card of friendly fixtures offers a chance for coaches across the continent to do some fine-tuning.

It may be early in the season, but there are plenty of potentially exciting games on Wednesday, in particular the visit of reigning World and European champions Spain to Italy.

Oil prices slumped more than three dollars Monday over fears of slowing energy demand in the United States after a shock credit rating downgrade for the world's biggest economy, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate light, sweet crude for delivery in September, plunged $3.01 to $83.87 a barrel.

Spain's central bank called Friday on Europe to rapidly implement a Greek bailout, blaming the snowballing eurozone sovereign debt crisis for crimping economic growth.

Spain's faltering economy slowed in the second quarter, the Bank of Spain said in a report, identifying the sovereign debt crisis as the biggest threat to the economy.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, dragged down by concerns that demand will weaken due to slowing economic growth and the Eurozone debt crisis as traders awaited data on U.S. crude inventory levels.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, slipped 39 cents to $93.40 a barrel.

European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet has a chance this week to weigh in at length on the latest Greek rescue.

Trichet is sure to face questions on the landmark second bailout of Greece in the press conference that will follow the ECB policy-setting meeting that should see interest rates stay on hold.

Fortune shone on England at the 2014 World Cup draw on Saturday as defending champions Spain and 1998 winners France were locked on a collision course in the race for the Brazil finals.

England, one of the top seeds, were drawn with Euro 2012 rivals Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland and makeweights Moldova and San Marino in Group H.

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Friday called general elections for November 20, four months early, insisting the country's battered economy was on the road to recovery.

"The course is set. So I am announcing a timetable for elections, which will be held on November 20," Zapatero told a news conference.

"Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization" (Penguin Group), by Richard Miles: For ancient Romans, "Carthage Must Be Destroyed" had to be the wave of the future if they were to become the unrivaled masters of the Mediterranean and the lands on its shores. Look at a map.

Carthage, a colony of seagoing Phoenicians from what is now Lebanon, was strategically on the Mediterranean's south coast, halfway between its Middle East homeland and the entry to the Atlantic. It was building an empire of its own, subjecting tribes in North Africa, Spain and the big islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.

Israeli defense officials have said that the latest attack on UNIFIL stems from Hizbullah's fear that the U.N. peacekeeping force will seek greater freedom to search Lebanese villages for weapons without a previous coordination with the Lebanese army.

The bombing of the UNIFIL convoy near the southern port city of Sidon on Tuesday was likely aimed at sending a message to the peacekeepers to scale back their operations against Hizbullah, The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli defense officials as saying.