UK foreign minister William Hague has said EU countries are considering calling a global summit on how to bring down Syrian leader Bashar Assad despite a blockage in the UN.

Greek talks on a vital €130 billion bail-out have gone into overtime as its government struggles to secure the backing of political parties for more spending cuts.

China has banned its airlines from taking part in Europe's Emissions Trading System, which forces all airlines flying in and out of Europe from 1 January this year to buy pollution permits.

The European Commission has stepped into the growing row over the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement, Acta, as leading MEPs refuse to fast-track parliamentary approval due to bad faith in talks.

Germany has ruled out any extra contribution from national governments or the European Central Bank to the second Greek bail-out - as requested by the Greek government. Meanwhile, sources close to the negotiations speak of a €15bn funding gap.