The Irish Times reported on Friday EU finance ministers have opened tentative talks on the restructuring of Greek sovereign debt but analysts have pointed out that the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) will not be enough to take Greece through a successful debt restructuring.
Iran said it had no fresh offer to make to revive a nuclear fuel swap proposal but was ready to discuss it in talks with world powers on Friday, and Russia said ways of easing sanctions on Tehran should be addressed too.
More than one in five young Italians are neither working nor studying in school, the highest such proportion of inactive youths in the European Union, according to the country’s national statistics office, ISTAT.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said an African effort to mediate Ivory Coast's disputed poll had failed on Wednesday, blaming incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and warning of harsh sanctions or force if he did not step down.
One in five young Italians, or more than 2 million people, are not studying nor working, the highest percentage of idle youths in the European Union, the national statistics office said on Wednesday.
Germany raised its official growth forecast for 2011 from 1.8 percent projected in October last year to 2.3 percent, signaling Europe's largest economy is poised to drive global recovery this year.
China's exports of vital rare earth elements used for numerous high-tech goods slipped almost one-tenth last year but the overall value rocketed as quota cuts lifted international prices, data showed on Wednesday.
The boss of a German technology company has apparently lost his job as a result of comments attributed to him in a WikiLeaks document.
Talks to end Ivory Coast's post-election standoff remain in deadlock, with no sign Laurent Gbagbo will agree to step down as president and his rival unwilling to meet him until he does, mediators said on Tuesday.
Even as the rest of Europe remains on an edge about its economic recovery, Germany continues to post strong growth, as shown by the German investor confidence indicator on Tuesday.
Algeria bought 600,000 tonnes of wheat, traders said on Monday, snapping up grain at a time of high prices and tight supply even as neighbouring countries take measures to head off Tunisia-style unrest over food inflation.
Developing countries and economies in transition together attracted more foreign investment than developed countries in 2010 for the first time, a United Nations study showed on Monday.
International observers gave south Sudan's independence referendum their seal of approval on Monday and said a vote for secession was now virtually certain in their first official judgment on the poll.
Euro zone finance ministers called on Monday for an increase in the effective lending capacity of the currency bloc's rescue fund, but EU paymaster Germany said there was no urgency and it would be March before a firm plan was in place.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet urged Ireland and Greece to live up to commitments made in return for financial help and said a broader European safety fund should be beefed up.
Thousands of people protested against Hungary's new media law on Friday, demanding the government withdraw the legislation which has drawn fire from several EU member states.
Bloody post-election deadlock in Ivory Coast washed into the halls of West Africa's central bank on Friday, where rival presidents see control of state funds as a key to victory in a battle that has cost hundreds of lives.
Inflation risks in the euro zone could well move to the upside and the 17-country region's economic outlook has clearly improved, European Central Bank Governing Council Axel Weber said on Friday.
The Euro extended its rally on the currency markets, spiking to a 4-week high vs. the Dollar of $1.3450 before easing back. Thus, Gold priced in Euros dropped almost 5% from Monday's near-record high.
Companies will no longer be able to force staff to retire at 65, Britain's government said on Thursday in a move to boost the number of older people staying on at work as the population ages.
South African blue-chip stocks booked another 2-1/2-year closing high on Thursday, rising 0.6 percent as shares of Anglo Platinum and other resource companies continued their recent run.
The European Central Bank will face a grilling on its assessment of the euro zone debt crisis and firming price pressures in the bloc after it left interest rates on hold at 1 percent on Thursday.
