Paris  - As the two largest developing nations, India and China should take part in helping resolve the current finance crisis, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in remarks published Tuesday in the French daily Le Figaro.

"The prime responsibility (for resolving the crisis) is that of the developed nations. But India and China should take part in the solution," Singh said.

The Indian prime minister, who was to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy later on Tuesday, said that India may take part in the international summit on the finance crisis proposed by Sarkozy.

Brussels - The European Commission on Tuesday urged United States lawmakers to assume their responsibilities and swiftly approve a massive rescue plan amid global financial turmoil.

"The turmoil that we are facing has originated in the US, and has become a global problem," said commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger.

London - Forecasts of a static economy in Britain were confirmed Tuesday when figures showed that there was no growth in output in the second quarter of 2008.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed economic output remained the same as in the first quarter, when growth was put at 0.3 per cent.

Year-on-year, output was revised up to 1.5 per cent from a previous estimate of 1.4 per cent.

The quarterly figures were the worst for 16 years.

Karachi - Pakistan's main Karachi bourse on Tuesday remained unscathed despite Wall Street reverberations across Asia, thanks to restrictions imposed on the market for the last two months due to the unstable domestic political and economic conditions.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index on Tuesday was flat on historically low volume, with trading in just 175,000 shares.

Stock market officials last week imposed fresh curbs, including banning short-selling in all shares, amid prolonged economic woes and Moody's downgrading of the country's credit rating.

Madrid - The Madrid stock mar

Brussels - Inflation in the 15-member euro area fell to 3.6 per cent in
September, dropping for the second month in a row, according to
Eurostat's preliminary estimates Tuesday.

The European Statistical Institute does not offer a detailed breakdown
of the inflation figure in its flash estimates, which have been shown
to be reliable despite being based on early price information.

Euro area inflation had fallen to 3.8 per cent in August, thanks in part to an easing off of food and oil prices.