Washington  - US President Barack Obama will make his first trip to Europe later this month with stops in Britain, France, Germany and the Czech Republic, the White House said Thursday.

During the March 31 to April 5 trip, Obama will attend a conference of the world's largest economies in London before heading to the NATO summit in the French city of Strasbourg and German town of Kehl.

He will then attend an EU gathering in Prague. The Czech Republic currently hold the rotating EU presidency. Obama's maiden trip abroad as president took place last month in Canada.

Frankfurt  - European Central Bank (ECB) chief Jean-Claude Trichet ruled out on Thursday changes to the rules for joining the euro amid calls to help shield troubled Central and Eastern European economies from the global financial crisis.

"I would say that at this stage our position would be that it is extremely important that we do not change any framework," Trichet said at a press conference in Frankfurt following a meeting of the ECB's rate-setting council.

Frankfurt  - The European Central Bank (ECB) cut rates for the fifth time in six months Thursday, lowering borrowing costs to an historic low and signalling further reductions in the coming months after it slashed its growth and inflation forecasts.

Thursday's hefty 50-basis-point reduction brought the ECB's benchmark refinancing rate down to 1.5 per cent and followed an announcement in London that the Bank of England (BoE) monetary policy committee had also trimmed the cost of money by 50 basis points.

Berlin/London  - Europe's two leading central banks are expected to deliver another round of hefty 50-basis points cuts in interest rates Thursday amid signs of the deepening global recession.

Berlin - Orders for Germany's key machinery and mechanical engineering industry plunged 42 per cent in January, data released Wednesday showed, as the global recession tightened its grip on Europe's biggest economy.

Germany's Machinery and Mechanical Engineering Association (VDMA) said the fall came after a 31-per-cent slump in domestic orders and a 47-per-cent drop in foreign orders.

Tata Motors launched the Nano Europa, the European version of the Nano, on Tuesday at the Geneva Motor show before Nano's formal launch on March 23 in the domestic market.

Nano Europa supports 3-cylinder sporty aluminium MPFI engine and electric power steering, using all international safety standards and regulations. The car has been provided with advanced restraint systems, ABS, ESP, with high fuel efficiency and low CO2 emission.