German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday it was important not to promise a further writedown on Greece's debt at the moment as this would reduce the country's incentive to reform, a day after indicating a haircut was possible in the future. Last Tuesday Euro zone finance ministers and the IMF approved a package of
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A bomb went off at the offices of a Greek ultra-right group near Athens early on Tuesday causing damage but no casualties, a police source said. The explosion occurred at the local offices of the Golden Dawn party in the Athens suburb of Aspropyrgos. "It was a powerful blast that caused a lot of damage,"
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Asian shares slipped on Tuesday after a plunge in U.S. manufacturing activity hit Wall Street stocks and the dollar, while the euro hovered near a six-week high on optimism over Greece's plan to buy back debt. Declines in Asian stock markets suggested caution setting in after gains in recent weeks, with investors reluctant to chase
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is hopeful NATO allies will agree this week on stationing Patriot missiles in Turkey to defend against possible Syrian attacks, senior U.S. officials said. She also reiterated a warning against any attempt by the Syrian government to use its chemical weapons stockpile against the rebels, calling this was a
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Philippine President Benigno Aquino told people on Monday to take storm warnings seriously as authorities evacuated thousands of residents of coastal and mountain regions hours before the biggest typhoon this year was due to hit. Typhoon Bopha, with winds of 175 kph (108 mph) and gusts of up to 210 kph (130 mph), is expected
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HSBC said its strategy and planning boss John Flint is to take over as head of retail banking and wealth management (RBWM) next year to replace veteran banker Paul Thurston, who is retiring. Europe's biggest bank said Flint will become chief executive on Jan. 1 of RBWM, one of the bank's four global businesses. Previously
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Credit Suisse boss Brady Dougan has outmanoeuvred an internal rival with his recent revamp of the Swiss bank and management shake-up but is still on borrowed time, senior banking sources say. Dougan might have played his last hand with an overhaul that strengthens the investment bank where the American made his career before taking over
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It's official. Pope Benedict's handle on Twitter will be @pontifex. The Vatican said on Monday that the pope will start tweeting on December 12, the feast of the Madonna of Guadalupe. "The handle is a good one. It means 'pope' and it also means 'bridge builder'," said Greg Burke, senior media advisor to the Vatican.
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Syrian government forces bombed rebel positions in the frontier town of Ras al-Ain on Monday, killing at least 12 people according to opposition activists, and prompting Turkey to scramble fighter jets along the border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six of those killed by the air raids on the town's Mahatta neighbourhood were
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The euro zone is in the recovery room now the danger of a Greek default has been averted for a couple of years, but it is not yet safe from a Japanese-style "lost decade". The currency area's escape route hinges more on the pace of expansion in the United States and China, lifting the world
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