Europe News

GENEVA (AFP) - Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse would have to set aside 70 billion Swiss francs (43.5 billion euros, 68.3 billion dollars) more in company capital as Switzerland's banking watchdog moves to prevent a repeat of the subprime crisis, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday.

GENEVA (AFP) - Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse need to set aside 70 billion Swiss francs (43.5 billion euros, 68.3 billion dollars) more in capital as Switzerland's banking watchdog moves to prevent a repeat of the subprime crisis, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday.

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the Group of Eight summit to agree on a "comprehensive package of measures" to tackle the fallout from soaring food prices, according to commentary published Sunday.

LONDON - The parents of a French student savagely stabbed to death in London called Sunday for his killer or killers to turn themselves in, and urged the British people to help police solve the crime.

PARIS (AFP) - Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt said in an interview Sunday she would return to Colombia "in a few days" to write a play about her experience after being held in the jungle for six years.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - It pays to use a toilet in southern India, as residents are earning close to a dollar a month by using public urinals, a scheme launched by authorities to promote hygiene and research in rural areas.

BERLIN (AFP) - In the end it was a sneaking suspicion that the eyes had lost their iconic melancholy look that made Steiff realise that if you want top-quality teddy bears, there's no place like home.

LONDON (AFP) - The parents of Gabriel Ferez, one of the French students stabbed to death in London, appealed Sunday for the killer or killers to hand themselves in to police in a statement issued by Scotland Yard.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran indicated Saturday that it has no plans to meet a key Western demand that it stop enriching uranium, a day after Tehran sent the European Union a response to an international offer of incentives for halting enrichment.

LONDON - Lawmakers pledged Sunday to study the movements of planes and ships traveling to the remote British outpost Diego Garcia amid persistent suspicion it is used by U.S. authorities to detain or transfer terrorism suspects.

EL MEDANO, Spain - A small boat packed with at least 148 illegal immigrants from Africa landed Saturday on a beach in the Canary Islands, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

MOSCOW - Russia's lower house of parliament on Saturday passed a measure quadrupling government funding for major political parties. This will bring tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of the dominant United Russia party, but leave liberal opposition parties with nothing.

BERLIN - A man tore the head off an Adolf Hitler wax figure at Madame Tussauds' new branch in Berlin in what appeared to be a symbolic protest on the museum's opening day Saturday, police said.

MINSK, Belarus - Belarus' authoritarian president said Saturday he does not believe a bomb that tore through a concert he was attending was aimed at him.

LONDON - Collectors paid thousands of pounds (dollars) Saturday for letters from British royalty to a trusted servant, including a note from the late Queen Mother Elizabeth requesting the aide pack bottles of gin and Dubonnet for an outing, "in case it is needed."

NAZRAN, Russia - Russian officials say attacks in the restive Caucasus regions have left one policeman dead and at least five others injured.

MADRID, Spain - For years Spain's famed Prado museum had its suspicions about one of its most prized Goyas. Now the museum says it is certain the painting is not by the 18th-century master.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia - Divers pulled six bodies out of the Sava River and fought strong currents Friday to search for five other people still missing after two canoes were crushed running over a dam in southeastern Slovenia.

PARIS - France's central bank announced Friday that it has fined Societe Generale $6.3 million for "serious shortcomings" in its internal controls that led to nearly $7.8 billion in trading losses announced earlier this year.

PARIS - Arriving to a hero's welcome in France, Ingrid Betancourt said Friday that she cried a lot during her six years as a prisoner in the Colombian jungle. Today, she said, "I cry with joy."

BELGRADE, Serbia - A college basketball player from Serbia accused of severely beating a schoolmate in the United States fled the country because he does not trust the U.S. justice system, his lawyer said Friday.

ROME - Italy's government moved Friday to help combat damage to the buried ancient city of Pompeii, which has been damaged by decay and inadequate management, officials said.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The global food crisis will only worsen because of climate change, the U.N. climate chief said Friday, urging leaders of the world's richest countries meeting in Japan next week to set goals to reduce carbon emissions within the next dozen years.

MOSCOW - Dmitry Medvedev's grand debut on the world stage at the Group of Eight summit Monday promises insights into the riddle all Kremlinologists are trying to crack: Is he calling any of the shots as Russia's president — or is he merely a puppet of Vladimir Putin?

LONDON - Sir Charles Wheeler, who reported from Washington, Berlin and other capitals during a long and distinguished broadcasting career, died Friday. He was 85.

BERLIN - The U.S. Embassy in Germany returned to the site it occupied before World War II, marking the occasion Friday with a ribbon cutting by former President Bush and Ambassador William Timken.

LONDON - Britain's High Court has ruled that Pringles are not a potato snack, and thus are not subject to value-added tax.

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a tough stance against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, condemning his re-election last week as illegitimate and vowing in an interview with The Associated Press that the European Union would seek "all possible sanctions" against the country's government and leader.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy and representatives of the country's Jewish community during a stop in Paris on his September pilgrimage to the Roman Catholic shrine of Lourdes, the Vatican said Friday.