Ex-German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is being treated for leukaemia at a clinic in Cologne.

The shock diagnosis came after he sought treatment for a minor sports injury. Westerwelle, 52, received the diagnosis after a knee injury he sustained while jogging on holiday in Mallorca, friend and FDP party colleague Werner Hümmrich told the Kölner Express on Saturday. Doctors found irregularities in the politician's blood during a routine preliminary screening, said Hümmrich, and gave him a concrete diagnosis on Thursday. Westerwelle is already receiving treatment at Cologne University hospital, a clinic spokesman confirmed. He is shocked, said Hümmrich, "but also prepared to take up the fight and is confident that he can conquer the cancer. He's in good physical shape and has many friends - me included - who will help him through this difficult time and give him the necessary strength." The Westerwelle Foundation made the announcement on the politician's Facebook page on Friday. Treatment is aimed at his "full recovery," wrote the foundation in statements in both English and German, without going into further details. "On behalf of Guido Westerwelle and his family we kindly ask to refrain from further inquiries." Westerwelle's successor in the post Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, currently in Turkey, expressed his support, wrote Spiegel Online. The Local-Germany

AFI Fest Honoree Sophia Loren Talks Life and Loves By Bob Verini

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - When Sophia Loren is thrown a tribute like Nov. 12's scheduled gala at AFI Fest, attendees can get an intoxicating glimpse of classic-era Euro cinema glamour, of which Loren remains one of the last living representatives. Film fans recall a half-century's worth of skillful performances in every genre. Looking both forward and back, AFI will screen a restored print of Oscar-nominated "Marriage Italian Style," as well as a new version of Jean Cocteau's "Human Voice," helmed by son Edoardo Ponti. As for the lady herself, after competitive and honorary Oscars, a record 10 David Di Donatello awards, five Golden Globes and threescore trophies and tributes, you'd think it would all be old hat by now. "Never enough. Never enough," she burbles. "I feel very important when they give me an award. I like it, I like it, I enjoy it. I feel like a star." MGM's lire kept her in the city long enough to attract producers, who featured the sprightly ingenue in a series of frothy sex farces beginning with Vittorio De Sica's "The Gold of Naples." "Comedy was fun for me because I come from Naples," she says. "All the dialects and the gestures of everyday life, I had it all inside of me, in my blood." The diva is in a reminiscent frame of mind these days, with new memoir "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life" in bookstores. "Especially for me, because I did not have an education in acting, actually. I learned to play scenes through the things that happened to me in life. So I always check inside myself. 'What can I pull out to give the best I can give, emotionally?'" There was plenty to draw upon when De Sica tapped her for the melodrama "Two Women." She's a shopkeeper escaping war-torn Rome with her adolescent daughter, only to encounter rape and death in the countryside. "I was a little scared. That was an imposing and a very difficult role for me. But De Sica sent me a telegram: 'You trust me. If I ask you to do that, it means that I think you can do it well. You'll be great.'" Loren takes pride in her cinematic legacy, citing 1977's "A Special Day" with Mastroianni as one she wishes critics and buffs would revisit. Yet real, not reel life brings her the greatest gratification. She still cooks ("What do you mean, still? I cook"), eggplant Parmigiana being a favorite. "Also pasta fagioli. If I smell beans, I get emotional, I love them so much." Above everything else, is family. "Since I was a kid, my dreams in life were always to be married in a white dress, which I didn't. To have children, which I did, two wonderful boys. And to be a grandmother, that was the greatest." Chicago Tribune and IMDb

Beautiful Art

Courtesy of Catherine Robert Dal Gabbo

Gavin MacLeod Talks About Reuniting With 'Love Boat' Cast After More Than 25 Years By Michael Rothman

"The Love Boat" went off the air in 1987, but the original cast was given a chance to reunite this week in Florida and Gavin MacLeod, who played Captain Merrill Stubing, says the opportunity was a "once in a lifetime experience." All six original members were joined by 25 guest stars to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Princess Cruises. A-listers like Florence Henderson, Loni Anderson and Charo joined the original six to celebrate the cruise line's half century anniversary. "Being together with the other five from the show, it just rejuvenates all our relationships," MacLeod, 83, told ABC News of Wednesday's reunion in Fort Lauderdale. "I saw my [show] daughter Jill [Whelan, who played Vicki Stubing on the show]. Collectively, this was fabulous. It just made us feel how blessed we are to have had that job that turned into so many years." "The Love Boat ran from 1977 to 1987 and was one of the most successful shows of all time. [Written and Executive Produced by the late Aaron Spelling.] ABC News

Good Housekeeping Oatmeal, Raisin & Walnut Cookies

Recipe in The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. Mix 1/2 cup butter mixed with margarine, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, beans from vanilla pod, 1 egg, 3/4 cup flour, 1 cup oats, 1 cup chopped walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoon. Bake 375 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about 12 minutes. I baked at 180 degrees Celsius oven for 14 minutes. You can also mix with dates, dried cherries, coconut, pecans, chocolate chips, for the cookie recipe of your choice.

World powers in Vienna ahead of Iran finale

Senior negotiators from six world powers are gathering in Vienna on Friday to kick off a flurry of final meetings before a November 24th deadline to strike a landmark nuclear deal with Iran. On Sunday and Monday US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet in Oman together with former EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Ashton, who will continue chairing the negotiations until the deadline, will chair another meeting of political directors from the P5+1 powers on Tuesday. The grand finale then starts in the Austrian capital on November 18th when the six powers and Iran begin a final round, likely including Kerry and other foreign ministers at the end. The deal being sought would see Iran scale back its nuclear activities in order to ease long-held fears it might develop atomic weapons under the guise of its civilian programme. After more than a decade of rising tensions the Islamic republic, which denies seeking the bomb, wants the lifting of painful UN and Western sanctions. In months of negotiations, progress appears to have been made on some areas but several key issues, most notably Iran's uranium enrichment capacities, remain to be resolved. The Local-Austria

Haitian President Martelly: 'I'm Trying To Re-Establish Confidence' By Samiha Shafy

Last week, Haitian President Michel Martelly visited German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He is seeking to attract investments from Germany and other European countries to Haiti. "I'm going around, trying to re-establish confidence," Martelly says. "How do we create jobs for people? We invite investors, we offer incentives, we create wealth for our people, and things start changing." In January 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, claiming more than 200,000 lives and even destroying the presidential palace. The country has struggled to rebuild. Worse yet, many donor countries have failed to meet the pledges they made to Haiti. "I don't even want to talk about that money anymore, although we do ask those who promised to help to try and keep their promises." SPIEGEL ONLINE English