EUROPEAN UNION

The British government has rejected a proposed increase in the European Union (EU) Commission’s annual budget as “totally unacceptable” in the current climate of austerity cuts across Europe.

Shares of Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) touched a new life-time high of $83.99 on Tuesday. The company said it received positive opinion for Avonex Pen against multiple sclerosis from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK on Monday - reacting to a 2 year warning on the nation's pristine credit rating - said Democrats and Republicans needed to reach a deal on cutting the nation's long-term deficits ahead of the November 2012 election, cautioning against waiting for the perfect political moment to tackle the problem.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's statements on Sunday that Congress will raise the U.S. debt ceiling in the coming months are in line with separate recently-proposed long-term plans by the Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress and the White House to increase the debt by trillions of dollars in the next decade.

Gold stayed above $1480 per ounce in Asian and European trading, and then experienced a sudden spike $15 upwards to new record prices yet again at the beginning of the New York trading session. Prices take support from worries over euro zone debt and inflation in Asia after China opted to raise reserve requirements again.

The success of a far-right party in Finland’s general election may ultimately endanger the European Union’s (EU) financial bailout of Portugal.

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have gathered in Belgrade, Serbia, demanding early election, and expressing their unhappiness with low wages and official corruption..

Prices to Buy Silver and gold jumped at the start of Asian trade on Friday, hitting new 31-year and all-time Dollar records respectively, as Beijing reported a surge in China's growth and inflation rates.

Two prominent Croatian military leaders have been convicted of committing war crimes against Serbs during the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, following a trial at The Hague, Netherlands.

Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister who defected to Britain and is now attending the peace summit in Qatar, might decide not to return to the UK, European and Arab diplomats have suggested.

The European Union (EU) said it has lifted sanctions against Moussa Koussa, the most prominent member of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime to have defected.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's first speech on immigration.

Controversy has erupted in British political circles over a speech on immigration that Prime Minister David Cameron delivered today.

US Treasuries holders’ ability and willingness to buy more Treasuries or decision to sell existing holdings will determine the long-term interest rates of the US government, which in turn influences the cost of capital for the US private sector.

The US trade gap narrowed slightly less-than-expected in February, following a surge in the previous month.

The population of Muslims in Western Europe has been steadily rising in recent decades, largely due to immigration from the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.

Diego Iscaro, senior economist at IHS Global Insight , warns that the bailout will not solve Portugal’s economic woes.

Under the program, postgraduates enrolled in and qualified to complete a PhD program under a university can be employed with a partnering private enterprise during the project period.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Plc said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its orphan drug vandetanib to treat advanced cases of a thyroid cancer.

The European Union (EU) and Palestinians have condemned a plan by the Israel government to construct hundreds of homes in an area claimed by Palestinians.

A boat carrying illegal migrants from North Africa capsized near the Italian island of Lampedusa, rendering about 130 people missing, according to Italy’s coast guard officials.