Australia boasted the largest ever rise in visitor arrivals in June as fans of the British and Irish Lions invaded the country to watch a one-in-12 year rugby test series. In a boost to the economy that might make up for Australia losing the series, arrivals from the UK surged 68 percent in June to

Fifty years ago, on June 15, 1963, two French families opened Europe's first hypermarket in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris. Stocking 5,000 products over 2,500 square metres, it was three times the size of most grocery stores. Today, owned by retail giant Carrefour, it has tripled in size and offers 19,000 different products. The store's growth mirrors

A ruling by Italy's supreme court upholding a tax fraud conviction against former premier and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi has left the fate of the country's fragile ruling coalition resting in the balance. Just three months after centre-left Prime Minister Enrico Letta took office at the head of an uneasy coalition with Berlusconi's People of

As political jobs go, Greece's new reforms minister has one of the toughest: firing thousands of workers within months from a public sector that seems immune to change. But Kyriakos Mitsotakis, an ex-banker and son of a former prime minister, says his ambitions go beyond fulfilling numerical targets set under Greece's international bailout deal to

The European Central Bank left interest rates at a record low 0.5 percent on Thursday and affirmed that they will remain there for some while to come and could yet fall further. ECB President Mario Draghi hinted that policy would not be tightened until well into next year at the earliest, although the central bank

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated on Thursday that the ECB's future interest rates will remain at their present level or lower for an "extended period" of time, suggesting that will be at least into next year. He said inflation expectations remained anchored and there were some signs of tentative growth. "(Policy) thereby provides

Five supreme court judges on Thursday considered their verdict in Silvio Berlusconi's appeal against a tax fraud conviction that could end his 20-year domination of Italian politics and throw the government into turmoil if confirmed. The judges of Italy's Court of Cassation retired to consider the verdict at noon (1000 GMT/6 a.m. ET) after hearing

The US dollar is the main focus for forex traders this week with several crucial economic data releases scheduled. On Friday, the US unemployment rate will be revealed and it is predicted that the rate will drop from 7.6% to 7.5%. While this is heading in the right direction, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is

Medical authorities in Australia treated 22 passengers on Thursday for a mystery gastric illness after they became ill on a Qantas Airways Ltd flight from Chile, Qantas said. Several ambulances and medical staff met the aircraft after it touched down in Sydney. Those affected, who media said had been vomiting, were given medical treatment on