EUROPEAN UNION

China will buy 4 to 5 billion euros of Portuguese debt in first quarter 2011 and save Europe once again in the process.

By getting rid of cash, nations around the world might be able to significantly reduce organized crime and political terrorism since those activities are heavily reliant on easy accessibility to dollars, euros, pounds sterling, yen and other paper currencies.

Cote d'Ivoire's disputed president, Laurent Gbagbo, has announced that he would be willing to engage with the rival faction of Alassane Ouattara. In a televised address, he announced that the international community had declared a war on the African nation. The incumbent president also called on the Opposition to leave Abidjan's Golf Hotel and return to their homes.

Stocks rose moderately, boosted by some M&A activity and an easing of hostilities in Korea, with the Dow Jones index reaching a 28-month high and the Nasdaq at a three-year high, albeit in light pre-holiday trading.

The euro crisis is far from over and the peripheral members of the euro zone should temporarily exit the currency bloc and get their financial houses in order, said a Pimco bond fund manager. Otherwise, current policies are ineffective in the absence of fiscal unity and will likely lead to a break-up of the euro.

European rescue funds will start raising cash on the market to help Ireland in January, starting with bonds issued by the European Financial Stability Mechanism, the European Commission said in a statement.

Consumer confidence in Germany is slipping, as people are unsure about the economic recovery in the region and their personal income, a survey said on Tuesday.

New public sector borrowing in the U.K soared to a record high of 22.3-billion pounds sterling last month, higher than analysts expected, and up from 17.4-billion pounds a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

China on Tuesday offered support to Europe's efforts to deal with the peripheral debt crisis and said Beijing will not cut down its holdings of European sovereign bonds.

The trade between China and the European Union (EU) is balanced and healthy, according to the Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming.

Billionaire investor George Soros is not happy with the way European officials are currently dealing with their peripheral debt crisis and thinks their policies will only further weaken these countries.

International observers slammed the Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, alleging that fraud and violence were widespread in Sunday's polls. They maintained that the results were 'seriously flawed' and at least six of the nine presidential candidates were arrested and reportedly beaten up by the police.

The Spanish economy is slowly recovering, but broad reforms will still be required to create jobs and improve government finances, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The European Union agreed on Monday to ban Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo and his aides, the BBC reported. The Gbagbo regime is likely to be slapped with harsh sanctions from the West. The sanction could also include freezing the personal overseas assets of the president and his men and issuing visa bans.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has expressed concerns about some of the points in the Credit Institutions Bill that is being proposed by Ireland as part of a restructuring of its banking system.

European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday euro zone countries must do more individually and collectively to combat the bloc's debt crisis, and Ireland must stick rigorously to its bailout plan.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is set to be voted in for his fourth consecutive term, exit polls suggest. Local media has reported that Lukashenko is likely to win a massive 72 per cent of the votes while his rival Andrei Sannikov is predicted to get 6.33 per cent. Opposition had already voiced allegations of election fraud by the ruling party in the country. Lukashenko is running against nine opposition candidates.

Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo's aides have called upon their followers to prepare for a battle against the opposing Alassane Ouattara faction. The country seems to be on the brink of civil war as neither of the both groups refused to stand down.

Five countries said on Saturday the EU's budget should be frozen until 2020, highlighting a new source of policy divisions that could spark a funding battle between the region's western states and their poorer peers in the east.

Britain, France, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands called on Saturday for the EU budget to be frozen until at least 2020, in a joint letter to the European Commission.

InterMune Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN) soared 144.50 percent on after a European advisory panel recommended that Esbriet, the company’s lung disease drug, be approved for sale in the European Union (EU).