Banks in eurozone countries that are complying with European Union budget discipline rules will be able to access the bloc's bailout funds directly, under an agreement announced early today (29 June). In addition, a new banking supervisory body will be created under the auspices of the European Central Bank.

Under the deal, struck after late-night talks between the 17 leaders of the eurozone, Italy, Spain and other troubled countries will also be able to tap the bloc's temporary EFSF and permanent ESM rescue funds to support their government bonds on financial markets.

Rome and Madrid will be allowed to use the rescue funds to buy their government bonds and lend money directly to recapitalise banks without adding to their public deficit - a major concession by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A former protégé of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević, Socialist party leader Ivica Dačić, was tapped yesterday (28 June) to become prime minister 50 days after the election. EurActiv Serbia reports.

Negotiators for Dačić's Socialists said they agreed with the Progressive Party of President Tomislav Nikolić to form a coalition government in the next 15 days, more than two months after the 6 May election.

The new prime minister said the coalition leaders agreed that Serbia should fight corruption, contribute to regional stability and respect social justice as it moved towards EU membership.

Von den rund 300 Beschneidungen, die im vergangenen Jahr in seinem Haus durchgeführt wurden, seien mehr als ein Drittel religiös motiviert gewesen. Die Mehrheit davon sei nicht an jüdischen, sondern an muslimischen Jungen vorgenommen worden, so Graf laut "taz". Das Jüdische Krankenhaus Berlin im Stadtteil Mitte gilt als lokales Versorgungskrankenhaus in einem Viertel mit einem hohen Anteil von Menschen türkischer Herkunft.

AP - More global banks are being investigated for the alleged financial market manipulation that led to fines of $453 million against Barclays Bank, British Treasury chief George Osborne said Thursday, driving financial stocks lower.

The day before, U.S and British regulators fined Barclays for manipulating the interest rate - the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) - to its advantage between 2005 and 2009. The rate is used to price mortgages and consumer loans.

Osborne said Barclays was not the only bank to be involved in market fixing. There are investigations in several countries involving, among others, Citigroup in the U.S., Switzerland's UBS, and Britain's HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

EU leaders have forged a compromise that will end a long-running dispute over a common European patent, clearing the way for easier and less costly way of registering products.

National leaders ended their two-day summit on Friday (29 June) by agreeing to divide the functions of the European patent court between the three countries eager to host it - France, Germany and Britain. The location of the patent court was the last outstanding issue in a long-fought effort.

Switzerland has quietly developed into the global center of commodities trading. Critics say the industry's business practices in countries such as Congo and Zambia are immoral, and that it puts profits before people.

French entertainment giant Vivendi announced Thursday that CEO Jean-Bernard Levy will be stepping down over a difference of opinion about what direction the company should take. Levy joined Vivendi in 2002 and has served as CEO since 2005.

AFP - Islamist Mohamed Morsi paid tribute on Friday to Egypt's Muslims and Christians alike and symbolically swore himself in as the country's first elected civilian president before a huge crowd at Tahrir Square.

Morsi, who won a run-off election earlier this month, was received with applause by tens of thousands of people gathered in the square, birthplace of the revolt that overthrew his predecessor Hosni Mubarak last year.

He promised a "civilian state" and praised "the square of the revolution, the square of freedom," in what he called an address to "the free world, Arabs, Muslims... the Muslims of Egypt, Christians of Egypt."

UNESCO recognised on Friday the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem as a World Heritage site despite opposition from Washington and Tel-Aviv, who regard the recognition as an affirmation of Palestinian sovereignty in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

AFP - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday urged Hong Kong's restive people to embrace the motherland as he visited the financial citadel for the 15th anniversary of its return to rule by Beijing.

Hu, whose three-day visit is his last as president before a key leadership reshuffle in Beijing, will preside over the inauguration of Leung Chun-ying as the city's next chief executive on Sunday.

But while he vowed to "walk more" and "see more" in Hong Kong, the first order of business on Hu's trip was a parade in front of the massed ranks of China's secretive military garrison.

The Supreme Court's verdict is not only a victory for President Barack Obama, but for all US citizens. By approving the central clause of Obama's health care reform - the obligation to get insurance - the highest US court has effectively approved Obama's entire health care package (with one exception, which the court considered separately).

From now on, insurance companies are no longer allowed to refuse insurance because of a pre-existing illness or cancel insurance if the insured falls ill. Children remain insured with their parents until they are 26 years old. Preventative treatment will be paid, and insurers are not allowed to place yearly or lifetime financial caps on medication or treatments. This is particularly good news for those with chronic conditions.

...The reform finally puts the US, where around 50 million people currently do not have health insurance, among the world's civilised nations. And the Supreme Court has proved once again that it does not stand in the way of progress. Reason has won out over political rhetoric. As many as 26 states appealed against the health care reform - but only for party political reasons.

This is by DW's Washington correspondent. France24, in contrast chose to talk about the "divisiveness" of the bill in an article without byline.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

BBC: The Mercosur trade bloc has suspended Paraguay over the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo on 22 June. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay said Paraguay would remain outside the bloc until the next presidential election in April. But at the end of a two-day summit in Argentina they decided not to impose sanctions on Paraguay.

Honduras Culture & Politics: Yesterday was the end of three years since Honduras' duly elected president was removed from office, mere months before he was slated to step down and cede power to the winner of an already scheduled election.

MercoPress: China has offered to set up a 10 billion dollars credit line for Latin American countries to support infrastructure projects in the region. The proposal was made by China's Premier Wen Jiabao as he wrapped up his visit to the region with a conference at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean, ECLAC, main offices in Santiago de Chile.

Oh!, and don't miss Mexico On the Cusp of An Election (The Economic Backdrop)

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

Initially hailed as a solution to soaring roadside carbon dioxide emissions - which rose by 26% between 1990 and 2008 - headlines have recently turned to the damage that feedstock-based fuel crops such as biodiesel might have on the planet's climate.

This is because of indirect land use change (ILUC) that happens when arable land taken to grow fuel crops is then compensated for by clearing forests, wetlands and other natural habitats elsewhere in the world to grow the missing food.

Futuristic biofuels made from the residues of agricultural products or algae do not compete with food production and have a "crucial role" to play in mitigating carbon dioxide emissions, a new report says.

But even so, it cautions that care and more EU funding are needed to ensure that exploiting them does not have unintended consequences.

The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society said in a report published on Friday that the UK's current regulatory systems were sufficient for shale gas fracking if they were adequately enforced, but also said that closer monitoring of shale gas exploration sites should be put in place, in order to ensure their safety.

They asked for new monitoring systems for "fracking" - the fracturing of dense shale rock under intense pressure of jets of water, sand and chemicals - a process that has already resulted in two small earthquakes in the Blackpool region, from the first two shale gas wells to be drilled in the UK.

One of the wells was damaged and deformed by this seismic activity. The integrity of the well was compromised, with as yet unknown results. The drilling, undertaken by the only UK shale gas company, Cuadrilla, was halted shortly after the second earthquake.

Peter Terium takes over as CEO of RWE, Germany's second-largest energy producer, on July 1. In a SPIEGEL interview, he explained why he wants to halt nuclear power plant construction and invest in renewable energy instead.

He still regurgitates a couple of talking points, and omits to mention the Enron-style manipulation that truly caused a tight situation on 9 February.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

An official with Germany's domestic intelligence agency apparently shredded files relating to the neo-Nazi Zwickau cell after it became clear that they were responsible for a series of murders. The incident threatens to become a major scandal. Politicians are demanding an explanation from the agency head.

...The agency has reconstructed the timeline of the documents' destruction. The department head supposedly received orders on Nov. 10, 2011 to search his files for the names of the three NSU members -- Uwe Böhnhardt, Uwe Mundlos and Beate Zschäpe -- and look for possible connections to the far-right scene. Among other files, the officer looked at documents relating to Operation Rennsteig.

...The department head allegedly did not find anything of interest in his files. One day later, on Nov. 11, he informed his superiors that he had not found the names of the three suspected terrorists or other evidence in his records. At the same time, he noted that seven so-called procurement files had been archived for too long. This type of file includes all the details about the recruitment of a source, including their codename and observations about their character. The agency is generally obliged to destroy such files after a maximum period of 10 years. The department head gave orders for the files to be destroyed immediately. A day later, on Nov. 12, another employee carried out the shredding as per instructions.

It oftens feels like there are not enough hours in the day. But are there enough seconds?

The answer is no - according to the impressively named Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS).

The IERS, which is responsible for keeping track of the gap between atomic seconds and planetary time will be adding an extra so-called 'leap second' to their atomic clocks this weekend.

On Saturday night, therefore, atomic clocks will read 23 hours, 59 minutes and 60 seconds, before moving onto Greenwich Mean Time at midnight.

REUTERS - Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing a probe into his alleged involvement with a prostitution ring in France, and his wife have separated, a source said.

Anne Sinclair, a wealthy heiress who recently relaunched her media career as a news editor at the Huffington Post's French edition, and Strauss-Kahn separated about a month ago and they are living in separate residences in Paris, said the source, who is close to Strauss-Kahn.

The weekly magazine, Closer, earlier reported in its online edition that Sinclair threw Strauss-Kahn out of their home in central Paris.