The Greek government is considering organising a referendum on additional austerity measures after it failed to reach consensus with the opposition, local newspapers reported on Wednesday. Opposition leaders rejected on Tuesday belt-tightening measures aimed at averting default as lenders piled pressure on Athens for action and for reaching a broad political consensus before considering any

Guys, want to look sexy and get the girl? Don't smile too much. Look brooding or show a bit of shame instead. Women, ignore that advice. Women find happy men less sexually attractive than those with expressions that show pride or hint that they have done wrong and know it, according to Canadian researchers. The

– Ash over parts of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany  – Some disruption but no mass shutdowns of airspace  – So far no repeat of 2010 flight chaos  Two German airports halted flights on Wednesday as ash from an Icelandic volcano drifted across northern Europe, with parts of Scandinavia also facing a risk of disruption. The

France's finance minister is set to declare on Wednesday she wants to be the next head of the IMF even though big emerging economies have decried Europe's "obsolete" grip on the top job. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa sharply criticized European officials in a joint statement for suggesting the next International Monetary Fund

The euro and oil slipped on Wednesday as a rally the previous day fizzled on fears about Europe's spreading debt crisis and the potential for a further reduction of positions in risky assets. Asian stocks also fell, tracking weakness on Wall Street as firmer commodity prices were offset by lingering concerns over the economic outlook

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou sought but failed to get consensus from opposition leaders on Tuesday on a new set of austerity measures aimed at averting default. On Monday, Greece unveiled a series of privatisations, part of a goal to raise 50 billion euros by 2015 to pay down its debt mountain as Greece tries

New airspace closure rules decided after last year's Icelandic volcanic eruption have caused divisions in Europe on how to decide whether airlines can fly near the ash cloud. A bureaucratic turf war has so far prevented Europe's controllers from applying the same rules to everyone, with Germany insisting on closing skies as a precaution where

Irish budget airline Ryanair on Tuesday flew a plane through Scottish airspace regulators say has "high ash concentration" in a bid to show there was no danger from a volcanic eruption in Iceland. Ryanair operated a one-hour verification flight at 41,000 feet on Tuesday morning from Glasgow to Inverness to Aberdeen and on to Edinburgh