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The euro has risen against the dollar after the Greek government
unveiled a new series of austerity measures.
The euro rose 0.3% to $1.3637 but was slightly lower against the pound
at 90.60 pence.
On Tuesday, the currency fell to its lowest level against the dollar
for 10 months amid continuing concerns over Greece’s debt crisis.
Persistent worries over Greece’s 300bn euro ($419bn; £259bn) debt has
weighed on the European single currency.
The pound fell against the dollar, trading at $1.505.
The Greek government approved 4.8bn euros of austerity measures, hoping
to convince financial markets that it can pay off its debts and
persuade European leaders it is doing enough.
Greece has pledged to reduce its deficit from 12.7% – more than four
times eurozone rules – to 8.7% during 2010.
The measures announced on Wednesday include raising VAT to 21% from the
current rate of 19%, and cutting civil servant bonus payments during
holidays by 30% – which has annoyed union leaders.
But the austerity measures proposed so far – such as freezing public
sector pay, raising taxes and changing the pension system – have
already provoked huge street protests.
“The fiscal measures announced by Greece today should allow the
government to ease the short-term pressure on its finances with a bond
issue and may lead to firmer support from other countries,” said Ben
May, European economist at Capital Economics.
Greece needs to sell bonds in the coming weeks. It has to raise 20bn
euros in order to pay off maturing debt in April and May.
Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou is due to visit German
Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday, in what could be a key
meeting to decide what, if any, European assistance Greece receives.
He will visit France to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy soon afterwards.

A man arrested after a shooting near playing fields in Liverpool has
been released on bail.
The shots were fired near the William Collins playing fields, Vauxhall,
on Sunday afternoon while an under-12s football match took place
nearby.
No-one was hurt in the incident, which happened near some changing
rooms, but it was thought to be a targeted attack.
The 30-year-old man, from Kirkdale, was arrested on Monday and
questioned on suspicion of affray.
He has been released on bail pending further inquiries.
Officers have appealed to anyone who may have seen a white van in the
area to contact them.
Crime scene investigators attended the scene to conduct forensic
examinations and evidence has been recovered.

An Indian naval plane has crashed at an air show in the city of
Hyderabad killing both pilots, the navy says.
Footage showed the plane flying in formation before crashing in a
densely populated area near the show ground.
A three-storey house was destroyed and other buildings damaged. There
is no word yet on any further casualties on the ground.
It is not clear what caused the crash. The Indian Aviation 2010 show
opened on Wednesday and will go on until Sunday.
The two-seater Kiran MK-II which crashed was part of a four-plane
formation.
“In the final phase, the aircraft appears to have gone out of control.
They crashed into a building and the pilots have died,” navy chief
Admiral Nirmal Verma told reporters.
The other three aircraft landed safely, the navy said.
An inquiry is being ordered to find out what caused the crash, it
added.

The Greek government plans to announce a third round of tax increases
and spending cuts to alleviate the country’s financial crisis.
Expect an increase in the VAT and the prices of petrol and diesel, and
to make a move to abolish the holiday attention generous bonuses to
staff.
PM George Papandreou over the financial crisis, a situation of war .
The Socialist government has pledged to reduce the budget deficit of
Greece by 12.7% – more than four times the limit under the rules of the
eurozone – was 8.7% in 2010.
He also tried to reduce the 300 billion euro ($ 419bn, 259bn) of debt.
He said that Greece was to avoid a nightmare bankruptcy in which not
the state be able to pay wages and pensions.
Mr. Papandreou has taken some dramatic turns of phrase to describe the
fiscal problems of Greece in recent months, but that was his alarming
so far, says the BBC’s Malcolm Brabant in Athens.
We believe that VAT will be increased by two percentage points, the
prices of petrol and diesel will be increased for the second time in a
month, and that luxury goods are subject to excise tax.
The government plans to abolish the annual paid holiday for civil
servants, says our correspondent.
Minister for Economic Louka Katseli warned that measures to assist
should be socially just.
Doing business in Greece is more likely to react negatively to tax
increases, as they see it, hold such disadvantages, consumer spending
and contribute to a new spiral, says our correspondent.

Scientists have developed a gene test which predicts how well
chemotherapy will work in cancer patients.
Starting with 829 genes in breast cancer cells, the team whittled down
the possibilities to six genes which had an impact on whether a drug
worked.
They then showed that these genes could be used to predict the
effectiveness of a drug called paclitaxel in patients.
It is hoped the approach, reported in The Lancet Oncology, can be
replicated for other cancers and treatments.
The international project, including researchers from Cancer Research
UK’s London Research Institute, opens the way for breast cancer
treatment to be targeted to those who will benefit the most.
To find which genes, if missing or faulty, could prevent the drug from
working, they deleted them one by one from cancer cells in the
laboratory.
They eventually highlighted the six genes which if absent or not
working prevent paclitaxel from properly killing breast cancer cells.
More than 45,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each
year – and it is estimated that around 15% of these women will be
prescribed paclitaxel.
The researchers estimate they could potentially spare half of the
patients currently receiving this drug from treatment which would not
be effective.
Study leader, Dr Charles Swanton, head of translational cancer
therapeutics at the Institute, said one of the great challenges in
cancer medicine is determining which patients will benefit from
particular cancer drugs, which are in themselves toxic and carry severe
side effects.
“Our research shows it is now possible to rapidly pinpoint genes which
prevent cancer cells from being destroyed by anti-cancer drugs and use
these same genes to predict which patients will benefit from specific
types of treatment.”
Further studies will now be done to see if the technique can be
developed into a simple diagnostic test to be given to patients to help
inform doctors about whether or not to prescribe paclitaxel.

The mother of murdered toddler James Bulger has said killer Jon
Venables is “where he belongs behind bars”.
In her first reaction to his return to custody, Denise Fergus also said
on Twitter, “is this my [son's justice?]“.
Venables, 27, was recalled to prison last week after breaching the
terms of his release. He and Robert Thompson killed James on Merseyside
in 1993.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he could not give details of why
Venables was back in custody.
Venables’ solicitor at the time of the trial told the BBC he would be
surprised if he had contacted Thomson or returned to Merseyside.
Two-year-old James was abducted by Venables and Thompson while at the
Strand shopping centre in Bootle.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson could not give details of why Venables was
back in custody
His battered body was found by children playing on a freight railway
line more than two miles from the shopping centre, and 200 yards from
Walton Lane police station in Liverpool.
Family members said Mrs Fergus remained unaware of the nature of
Venables’ breach. The precise details were not released by the Ministry
of Justice.
Both Thompson and Venables were given new identities when they were
released. An order prohibiting the publication of details which could
reveal their whereabouts has since remained in place.
Speaking on the BBC News Channel on Wednesday morning, Home Secretary
Alan Johnson declined to reveal the reasons behind Venables’ recall to
custody.
When Jon Venables walked out of prison in 2001, it was not as a free
man. His release came because the Parole Board decided the public would
be safe if he were allowed into the community on a licence that
includes strict conditions.
A criminal’s recall to prison is triggered by one of three
circumstances. He either committed a crime, showed the signs that he
was about to, or breached specific conditions imposed. Breaches can be
technical, such as being out of the home at the exact start of a
curfew, or far more serious, such as contacting a victim’s family.
Venables will be told why he is back inside and he can seek a full oral
hearing before the Parole Board. But with public protection being the
top priority, the panel will start with the case for keeping him
inside, rather than the argument for letting him out.
“You know I cannot say anything more than confirm the fact that Jon
Venables is back in custody,” he said.
“I talked to Jack Straw earlier on today, the Justice Secretary, and of
course we understand that the public want to know more about this.
“At this stage I’m afraid I can’t say anything more. There is a
worldwide injunction on Jon Venables in relation to his new identity.
“There is also a process to be gone through. So at this stage I cannot
say anything more than you already know. Which is to confirm the fact
that he is back in custody.
“I would expect more information to be available at some stage.”
He added that it was very important that the licence conditions were
observed very closely, and if breached that Jon Venables was brought
back into custody.

The scale of the task faced by a group studying secret documents linked
to the Hillsborough tragedy has been revealed.
The Hillsborough Independent Panel is overseeing the release of
archives held by emergency services, Sheffield City Council and and
other public bodies.
On Tuesday, the panel led by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Right
Reverend James Jones, visited Sheffield to see the documents for the
first time.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died from a crush at the stadium on 15 April
1989.
The bishop said the archive of around 45,000 boxes of material was
“daunting” in its size but praised the work already done to organise
it.
He said: “The reason we’re doing this is because this is the principal
purpose of the panel, which is to oversee the maximum possible
disclosure of the documents which are contained in the Sheffield
archive.
“This today was our first opportunity of walking through the archive
and seeing the shelves of material – in all some 45,000 boxes here.
It’s a very large archive.
“This is a three-star archive which speaks of the excellence of the
service here.
“It is daunting and that’s when you realise you need a team. There’s no
one person that can do this.”
The panel gathered for the first time in Liverpool last month when it
met representatives of Hillsborough victims’ families.
It will oversee public disclosure of the documents after first letting
the victims’ families know their content.

HSBC, the largest bank in Europe, announced 24% drop in annual profit
to 7.1 billion dollars (4.7 billion) in 2009, following the
depreciation of debt.
The adjustment is 6.5 billion U.S. dollars were wiped off the profits
shape. Removes from factors underlying profits rose 56% to $ 13.3bn
HSBC (8.8).
HSBC, Lloyds and RBS, however, do not receive direct support from the
state.
The Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan Bank, declared its intention to
donate bonus to charity.
He said: I can confirm that by 2013, I want 4 million U.S. dollars to
charities worldwide, including major causes of Hong Kong and the United
Kingdom, where he resided six years until January this year. HSBC
Chairman Stephen Green, who waived his own claim for a bonus, banking
reform and the wages should be expected to raise wages to reduce the
amount of premiums paid.
He said: We have seen an unacceptable distortion of competition – the
fees take days or sustainable unrealistic sales combined, which
encourages risk, guaranteed premiums for many years no performance
criteria.
Compensation should be firmly committed to the sustainable yield should
not reward failure, he added.
However, the bank provides a range of large bonuses, including the
payment of 9 the Director of investment banking, Stuart Gulliver, the
division saw its profits jump 148%, making it a key contributor to the
basic performance of the Bank positive.

At least 25,000 jobs in the Council in England is at risk over the next
three to five years, suggests a BBC poll.
The forecast is based on responses from 49 municipalities with a total
of 256,000, equivalent to showing a decline of 10%, is based.
Services such as libraries and kindergartens are also facing cuts in
the councils of the battle of the perfect storm of recession –
declining revenues and increasing demand.
Communities, John Denham, said before the line could be required to be
awarded for the production efficiency gains.
However, according to an expert, that number could reach 100,000
layoffs, while a connection is of social discord warned.
Councils in Britain say that jobs and services must be reduced if, as
expected, reduced funding from central government.
About 70% of communities in England, the respondents expect spending
cuts of between 5% and 20%.
Roads, libraries, arts and leisure, are at increased risk of cuts.
Children’s social services, services for homeless and planning seem to
be more secure.
The Local Government Association, which represents local authorities in
England and Wales, said that the communities struggling with the
effects of the recession in over a year.
The revenue decreased dramatically at a time when more and more turn to
counseling to help them through difficult times, says President of the
Lady Margaret Eaton.
Learn more about this product on your local site from the BBC, The low
interest rates allow councils are less able, with their savings,
declining home prices and land prices have been smashed and called the
revenue has decreased entertainment centers and a wide range of other
services . ‘She said the difficult decisions that must be taken, but
the advice will do its utmost to protect front line services.
Many communities that require the collection of the BBC’s reluctance to
loss of jobs.
But eight authorities – Kirklees, Leeds, Bradford City, Sheffield,
Stoke-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Surrey – has said
that 1,000 or more jobs could be lost within five years to go.
Birmingham City Council does not respond to the survey, plans to save
69 million next year, which could mean the loss of up to 2,000 jobs.
Shropshire Council also declared its intention to more than 1,000 jobs
in the next few years removed.

A colossal red granite head of one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs
have been discovered in the southern city of Luxor, officials said.
The 3000 years old has been Head of Amenhotep III – grandfather of
Tutankhamun – were unearthed from the ruins of the mortuary temple of
Pharaoh.
Experts say it’s found the best preserved example of the king’s face
was.
The 2.5 meters (8 feet) of the head is part of a large statue, most of
which have already found some years ago.
Antiquities officials say that the statue is to be rebuilt.
On the other statues have always been something wrong – the nose or
face are affected, said Dr. Hourig Sourouzian, the European-led
expedition to Egypt on the site.
But even here, the upper part of the crown to chin, so beautifully
carved and polished, nothing broken. The head of Egyptian antiquities,
Zahi Hawass, has described as a masterpiece of high artistic quality.
Amenhotep III ruled Egypt from about 1387 to 1348 BC, and presided over
a vast empire that stretched from Nubia in the south of Syria in the
north.
Scientists using DNA and CT tests at several mummies have been
identified as the grandfather of Tutankhamun – the boy king of
incestuous marriages between Akhenaten and his sister, born the son of
Amenhotep III.
The vast funerary temple in Luxor has been largely destroyed, probably
by floods and little of the walls.