GERMANY

The Greek parliament was set to approve detailed austerity and privatization bills on Thursday to secure emergency funds and avert imminent bankruptcy, but longer-term dangers still lurk.

E.coli, the deadly bacteria behind food poisoning and responsible for deaths of many could be a commercially available biofuel in five years, a U.S scientist told government leaders.

Hewlett Packard is serving the Touchpad buyers a $50 rebate on the purchase of the new 32GB TouchPad, but only Palm smartphone users can cash in.

The intial reviews for HP's new tablet, the TouchPad, are in and the device is being released in a crowded field led by Apple's iPad 2.

PC giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) will be launching its Touchpad tablet device in United States on July 1.

Politicians and bankers are confident a French proposal for a Greek bailout can be adopted without triggering a default or a payout in credit insurance, lifting a key hurdle to a rollover of Greek debt, sources told Reuters.

While the passage of the bill gives Greece some breathing room, lowers the risks of an immediate default and will keep the country afloat, the actual implementation of the budget may be very difficult -- if not impossible.

Politicians and bankers are confident that a French proposal for a Greek bailout can be adopted without triggering a pay-out in credit insurance, lifting a key hurdle to a rollover of Greek debt, sources told Reuters.

While the passage of the bill gives Greece some breathing room, lowers the risks of an immediate default and will keep the country afloat, the actual implementation of the budget may be very difficult -- if not impossible.

The 84-year-old Pope Benedict XVI sent out his first tweet on Tuesday. It read: Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.

The Swastika, a traditional symbol of Nazi power has been outlawed in Germany.

Apple is poised to launch two new iPhones, a cheaper iPhone 4S and the all new iPhone 5 in rather quick succession, if industry buzz is to be believed. The theory suggests that Apple as a company is at an inflection point with regard to its smartphone strategy and is willing to take daring new steps in the backdrop of a surging challenge from Android OS-based devices.

Two top heavyweights battle it out.

Who said the Catholic Church was old fashioned?

Pope Benedict XVI has tweeted for the first time, announcing the launch of a Vatican news information portal.

On the final stop of a five-day visit to Europe, the Prime Minister of China Wen Jiabao has signed a huge multi-billion euro trading agreement with Germany.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health agencies are warning consumers not to eat Evergreen Produce brand alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts because they may be linked to 20 cases of salmonella poisoning.

Europe's banks may need to raise over 50 billion euros ($71.6 Billion) after regulators slapped an extra capital surcharge on big lenders to make them safer and forbid the use of debt to pad out the extra cushion.

British Prime Minister David Cameron asserted that he will push Chinese premier Wen Jiabao on the contentious issue of human rights in China, as the two nations have signed a huge trade deal valued at £1.4-billion.

The FIFA Women's World Cup has kicked-off in Germany. Check here to find out where to watch the action online.

HP is about to release their new webOS tablet known as HP TouchPad, a 9.7-inch form factor to catch up with the other tablets like Apple iPad.