Germany has rejected any suggestion that Greece should be forgiven part or all of the debt it owes to international lenders.

Russia’s financial crisis is slowly yet surely spilling into Europe.

France must step up efforts to reform its labour and tax systems to spur economic growth and create jobs, the European Commission said.

No one knows just how many people Patrick Sawyer came into contact with the day he boarded a flight in Liberia, had a stopover in Ghana, changed planes in Togo, and then arrived in Nigeria, where authorities say he died days later from Ebola, one of the deadliest diseases known to man.

European finance ministers sent floundering French president François Hollande a firm message that he must keep to his commitments to get both debt and deficit down as agreed.

The drug haul was unremarkable, but the destination raised eyebrows.

Pope Francis has created a new Finance Ministry to oversee the Vatican's economic affairs.

Thailand’s government said today that a general election will be held on February 2.

More than 1,000 anti-government protesters have stormed the Thailand army’s headquarters, the latest high-profile target in a bid to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Permanent TSB plans to start selling its €6.9 billion UK residential mortgage loans next year, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Greece’s government is to submit to Parliament a preliminary draft for the 2014 budget which is expected to show a gradual improvement in public finances.

A suicide bomber has detonated a car packed with explosives in a busy residential and financial district of Damascus, killing at least 15 people.

Bank of Cyprus savers with more than €100,000 could face losing up to 60%, Central Bank and Finance Ministry officials said today.

Restrictions on financial transactions in Cyprus could be fully lifted in a month, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides says.

Thousands of people are holding marches in more than 20 cities in Portugal to protest against government-imposed austerity measures aimed at lifting the ailing country out of recession.

The Netherlands has nationalised banking and insurance group SNS Reaal at a cost of €3.7bn - averting a threat to the Dutch financial system.

Cyprus is aiming to get a bailout of about €11.5bn from the other 16 countries that use the euro to recapitalise its troubled banks and pay its bills, officials said today.

Asian stock markets turned lower today after weak Japanese trade figures underlined that the global economy continues to struggle.

A fresh wave of anti-austerity strikes has hit Greece as its leaders struggled to agree further spending cuts for the coming two years – without which the country will lose its vital rescue loans.

Disaster-battered Japan reported its biggest annual trade deficit ever today, a contrast from decades of surpluses, as a nuclear crisis boosted expensive oil and gas imports.

Asian stock markets struggled for direction today as investors remained wary following more unsettling news from economically fragile Spain and a record trade deficit in Japan.

THE real scandal about the household charge is not its imminent implementation but, rather, the fact that successive governments failed to introduce a property tax years ago.

NIGERIA’S two main oil unions threatened to shut output in Africa’s top crude producer as a national strike entered its fourth day, mounting pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to restore fuel subsidies.

INDIA’S government will allow overseas individual investors to directly buy local equities as the country seeks to boost capital inflows and reduce volatility in the stockmarket.

Asian stock markets were mostly lower today amid worries about weak Christmas sales in the United States and Europe and a warning by Japan’s central bank about possible risks from the European debt crisis.

Japan’s exports rose for a second straight month in September, showing a recovery is under way from the tsunami disaster even as manufacturers face a strong yen and weak global economy.

Greece’s international debt inspectors are due back in Athens today to decide whether to recommend the debt-laden nation receives the vital next instalment of bail-out loans.

GREECE has “exhausted” its ability to pay more taxes to cover budget gaps, its deputy prime minister declared yesterday, adding that even he cannot pay a new emergency tax without selling property.

Greece has “exhausted” its ability to pay more taxes to cover budget gaps, its deputy prime minister declared today, adding that he himself cannot pay a new emergency tax without selling property.

GERMANY, Spain and the European Union rebuffed International Monetary Fund managing director, Christine Lagarde’s call for an “urgent,” potentially mandatory, recapitalisation of Europe’s banks.

ALLIED Irish Banks, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, has a market value bigger than UBS and Barclays, even after its third bailout by the Government.

Greece’s embattled prime minister is facing a vital confidence vote today amid escalating protests over the country’s austerity measures.

GREECE pledged to push tough new budget cuts through parliament despite mounting labour and social unrest as the new finance minister prepared to meet Athens’ international creditors.

A near month-long inspection of Greek finances by the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund has concluded “positively”, the country’s Finance Ministry said.

Credit rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Greece’s bond ratings deeper into junk status, a further blow to the struggling country which has been wrapping up negotiations for a vital fifth instalment of international bailout loans.

Gunmen stormed a house in a northern, ethnically mixed city in Iraq, killing three women who lived there, police said today.

Egypt’s central bank stepped in today to halt a steep fall in the country’s currency.

FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy urged a minister at the centre of a furore over alleged illegal political donations to step down as treasurer of his ruling UMP party, but said he had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Greek bank workers walked out on strike today in protest at the deaths of three colleagues who were trapped in a bank torched by protesters during massive demonstrations against the government’s new harsh austerity measures.

A PROTEST march by 50,000 Greeks over planned government cuts to bring burgeoning debt under control ended in violent clashes with police yesterday.

Greece’s finance minister said a detailed rescue plan from other eurozone nations would be the best way to soothe market fears that Greece could default on debt payments.

Three co-ordinated bomb blasts struck near hotels in central Baghdad killing at least 11 people today.

The US has condemned the coordinated bomb attacks in Baghdad today that have killed at least 121 people.