A passenger jet slammed into the ground and caught fire while trying to land on a foggy night in northwestern Russia, killing 44 people and leaving eight survivors badly hurt, officials said on Tuesday. Authorities quickly blamed the pilot for the deadliest crash in Russia since Polish President Lech Kaczyski's plane went down in April

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she was optimistic the European Union would manage to resolve the Greek sovereign debt crisis but said Athens must press ahead with more austerity measures. Speaking in Warsaw hours before Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's cabinet faces a confidence vote in parliament, Merkel also reaffirmed Berlin's view that

Europe delays decision on Greece, presses Athens to act Expect to disburse money by mid-July, averting default Power workers strike; parliament debates austerity Euro zone finance ministers kept up intense pressure on Greece on Monday, saying it had to approve tougher austerity measures before a final decision is made on a further 12 bln euros

The European Central Bank like commercial lenders faces the risk of writing down the value of some of its assets due to the debt crisis gripping Greece and other euro zone members, Finland's finance ministry said on Monday. In a quarterly report on the prospects for Finland's economy, the ministry also said the financial crisis

Euro zone labour costs jumped in the first three months of 2011, driven mainly by higher costs in industry, European Union's statistics office data showed on Monday. Eurostat said total hourly labour costs in the 17 countries using the euro rose 2.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, up from 1.5% in the last three months

European leaders are scrambling to save Greece from a debt default that could cause global economic turmoil, but the Greeks themselves seem in denial. In a reaction that is causing frustration and anger abroad, the Greeks seem more inclined to blame others for their troubles than accepting that something is deeply wrong with their country

Europe's beaches became more polluted with bacteria from the sewage of humans or livestock last year, the European Union's environmental watchdog said on Thursday. The European Environment Agency (EEA), which monitors 22,000 bathing sites, reported a 3.5% drop in the number of swimming areas meeting the basic standards for intestinal bacteria such as E.coli and