(Reuters) - Spanish swimmer Teresa Perales is determined to eclipse Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, by surpassing the American great's haul of 28 medals as she sets her sight on competing in the Tokyo Paralympics at the age of 44.

GENEVA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The United Nations hopes countries backing the Syria peace process will agree on Thursday to salvage the ceasefire, enabling a return to peace talks within weeks, U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy said.

WARSAW (Reuters) - The Polish government's tightened hold on public media, its conflict with the highest court and recent anti-terrorism legislation have jeopardized free expression in the country, according to Europe's main rights and democracy watchdog.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's veteran finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, jumped to the defense of her conservatives' Bavarian sister party in the latest twist in a row over migrants that is damaging her re-election prospects.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is to make a renewed drive to overhaul labor laws, hoping to create millions of new jobs by making it easier to hire and fire, the labor ministry's top bureaucrat said on Thursday.

GUERNICA, Spain (Reuters) - At the back of a council building in the Spanish town of Guernica, people take photos of each other in front of an oak sapling, a direct descendent of sacred trees under whose branches village elders held assemblies in medieval times.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy will lose steam in the second half of 2016 as weaker foreign demand causes industrial output to slow, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday, another sign that Europe's biggest economy is set for a slowdown.

LONDON/BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Britain has raised concerns with Hungary over a description of areas of London, Paris and Brussels as "no-go" areas dominated by illegal immigrants who increase the risk of militant attacks.

(Reuters) - Fiji's Olympic gold medal-winning sevens coach Ben Ryan has urged rugby's governing body to clamp down on unlicensed agents who are stripping the Pacific Islands of their talent.