EUROPEAN UNION

EU member states failed to relax a travel ban on Iran's foreign minister in time for him to attend this weekend's Munich security conference, but plan further discussion on whether to let him visit the bloc in future, an EU official said Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no sign of his generals, or his U.S. allies, squeezing him out just yet.

The head of Germany's prestigious Ifo economic research institute on Friday slammed European plans to increase economic coordination, calling motions by the EU's executive arm ridiculous.

Director of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Cairo tells Nature magazine that it would perhaps be in the interest of scientific pursuit in the country if Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hany Helal continues to remain in office.

Protests of addictive pescription drugs such as oxycontin and suboxone could affect pharamceuticals shares.

Here is a collection of reaction to the latest escalation of civil unrest and violence in Egypt from around the world:

Eurozone retail sales fell unexpectedly for a second consecutive month in December last year, showing continued weakness in the household demand.

A cocoa export ban in Ivory Coast and a liquidity shortage since incumbent Laurent Gbagbo seized the central bank's local branch has left the top grower's cocoa industry in chaos, with beans piling up on farms or being smuggled out, farmers said on Wednesday.

K&L Gates has opened a new office in Brussels, Belgium, in its bid to expand its presence in Europe and has poached on two partners from McDermott Will & Emery to lead the office.

Germany and France have reached a consensus on steps to boost economic coordination within the euro zone as part of a comprehensive anti-crisis package that will also see the scope of Europe's bailout fund bolstered.

Tackling Spain's dramatic unemployment rate is a priority for the country, said Spain's Secretary of State for the Economy at an investor presentation in London on Wednesday.

Industrial producer prices in the eruozone surged 5.3 percent annually last year while the growth in the broader European Union was 5.9 percent, Eurostat data showed on Wednesday.

Britain's Imperial Tobacco Group Plc said it made a good start to the year with underlying tobacco net revenue up 5 percent and increased cigarette and fine cut tobacco volumes.

A synagogue was set on fire in Tunisia overnight and gangs rampaged through schools in the capital on Tuesday, prompting the army to fan out to calm fears of chaos after the revolt that toppled Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali.

Investors shifted focus from worrying about Middle East turmoil to concentrate on fundamentals on Tuesday, lifting global stocks against a background of improved economic data and corporate results.

Airplane maker Boeing (NYSE: BA) received billions of dollars in questionable subsidies from the U.S. government according to a study by The World Trade Organization (WTO) which was presented on Monday to officials of the U.S. and the European Union (EU).

European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to freeze the assets of Tunisia's former President Zine-al Abidine Ben Ali and his wife, an EU official said.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: NPS Pharmaceuticals, DepoMed, Xenoport, Sohu.com, and Glu Mobile. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Mattson Technology, Partner Communications, Savient Pharmaceuticals, Silicom, and CIENA.

Inflation in the eurozone rose to 2.4 percent in January from 2.2. percent in December, according to the preliminary estimates of Eurostat, European Union's official statistics agency.

German retail sales fell unexpectedly in December 2010, posting a decline for a second consecutive month, the Federal Statistics Office said on Monday.

Rivals to Central African Republic leader Francois Bozize pulled their representatives off the election body on Saturday, alleging fraud after early partial results from last weekend's poll put Bozize in the lead.