Paris - The European Union is extending a loan of 6.5 billion euros (8.25 billion dollars) to Hungary to give the country added liquidity in the face of the economic crisis, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

France currently holds the EU presidency, and Lagarde chairs the council of EU finance ministers.

Washington, October 29: A court in Los Angeles has granted Britney Spears’ attorney request to remain under permanent conservatorship until the singer recovers completely.

Following the 26-year-old’s tumble down the agony road, her father Jamie Spears had taken control over her assets, estates and business affairs, reports TMZ.

With the new order, dad Spears is now set to have a long-term hold on Britney’s fortune while her mental health will be under close supervision of the experts.

Beijing - Chinese shares dropped 2.94 per cent on Wednesday despite a massive rally on Wall Street overnight.

Taipei - Taiwan's Defence Minister Chen Chao-ming Wednesday said the military opposes opening the restricted air zone to allow cross-strait flights, during the second round of Taiwan-China talks in Taipei to begin next Monday.

"The air space in Taiwan is very small, and it is absolutely impossible for us to allow cross-strait planes to fly through our R8 zone," General Chen said in a parliament session in Taipei.

The R8 zone is one of the military's five strategic flight zones off-limits to civilian aircraft. It is located near the median of the Taiwan Strait, which provides the shortest distance in flights between Taiwan and China.

Manila - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged African leaders to take "very decisive" steps to end a standoff between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called for an urgent summit to end the deadlock between Mugabe and Tsvangirai over a unity government aimed at ending Zimbabwe's political crisis.

Washington, Oct 29 : A Dutch researcher has unravelled a genetic defence mechanism that combats the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomalle—a bacterium suitable for bioweapons.

The research by Joost Wiersinga from AMC Medical Centre in Amsterdam paves the way for a vaccine against the attack by this bacterium.

It has now been found that B. Pseudomallei, can remain hidden in the human body for many years without being detected by the immune system. The bacteria can suddenly become activated and spread throughout the body, resulting in the patient dying from blood poisoning.

The researchers have now discovered which gene-protein combination makes the lethal bacteria B. pseudomallei harmless.