Greece on Monday agreed to sell a 10 percent stake in Hellenic Telecom (OTE) to Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG as the Mediterranean state kicks off privatisation deals to cut its debt pile. The European Union and IMF have been pressing Greece to conduct large-scale privatisations to raise funds for reducing its huge debt. Cash-strapped Greece

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn entered a plea of not guilty on Monday to charges he sexually assaulted a New York hotel maid in a case that cost him his job and a chance at the French presidency. Wearing a dark suit, Strauss-Kahn arrived at the courthouse with his wife, French television journalist Anne Sinclair,

The International Monetary Fund backed the British government's plans to reduce the budget deficit on Monday, but said that tax cuts or more quantitative easing may be needed if growth proves persistently weak. Britain's economy is likely to grow by around 1.5 percent in 2011 before rising to 2.5 percent in the medium term, the

Ju Duoqi stocks up on cabbages in the Beijing vegetable market and then transforms the humble vegetables into works of art depicting beautiful women — that sometimes leave very little to the imagination. The 38-year-old said she started using cabbages in her work five years ago when she was looking for a way to bring

Investors will have two big questions to answer in the coming week — are they chasing U.S. Treasury yields too low and can they put the Greek debt crisis on ice and move on? A schedule of central bank meetings and an apparent agreement on a new bailout plan for Greece provide the backdrop. Clarity,

Thousands of Greeks have been receiving pensions despite being long dead, the Labour Minister said on Monday, promising to crack down on social security fraud that is costing the debt-laden country millions each year. Minister Louka Katseli also said the government is investigating a suspiciously high number of people over the age of 100 and

The head of a German farm facing an inquiry over a deadly E.coli outbreak was quoted on Monday as saying he could not understand accusations that bean sprouts grown at his farm could be to blame. Klaus Verbeck, managing director of the "Gaertnerhof Bienenbuettel", told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that no fertilisers are used to

In the past few years the government has made steady progress towards improving the environment and green development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment points out in a press release to mark the International Environment Day. The Ministry reaffirms its commitment to the pursuit of a comprehensive and responsible environmental policy, as expressed