ECUEIL, France, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Champagne makers will escape the harsh weather damage hitting other French wines this year thanks to an old tradition that allows them to blend new bubbly with reserves saved from past years.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Freeports springing up around the world as more investors store and trade physical assets are coming under increased scrutiny as potential black holes for dodging taxes, laundering money or financing extremists as bank secrecy erodes.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Britain should apologize for the Balfour Declaration of 1917 that endorsed the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and should recognize Palestine as a state, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization said on Thursday the European Union had failed to rein in billions of dollars in subsidies to planemaker Airbus , prompting Washington to call for an immediate halt to support to unwind damage to U.S. jobs.

DIYARBAKIR/ANKARA (Reuters) - Eight people, including children, were wounded when rockets fired from Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria hit a Turkish border town on Thursday, officials and security sources said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. general told Congress on Thursday it would be unwise to share intelligence with Russia and stressed that would not be one of the military's missions if Washington and Moscow were to ever work together against Islamist militants in Syria.

LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - European shares climbed to a two-week high on Thursday, boosted by a rally in mining stocks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and projected a less aggressive path for hikes next year and in 2018.

BERLIN (Reuters) - International airlines have requested anti-trust immunity from the United States to allow them to discuss routes to Venezuela, which is blocking ticket revenues from leaving the country, the International Air Transport Association said on Thursday.

BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Britain will resist new European Union defense proposals if it feels they undermine NATO, British officials say, in a warning to France and Germany that London will defend its military interests even as it negotiates to leave the EU bloc.