London, Mar 7 : The survey of National Statistics department of Britain has revealed that more than a million workers from outside the European Union have acquired jobs in Britain since labour came to power.

They have grabbed nearly half of all available vacancies after being granted permits to work here.

According to the Daily Star, the study between December 1997 and 2007 shows that jobs held by foreigners soared by 1,759,000, with 1,084,000 filled by non-EU citizens.

The ratio of posts held by migrants from outside Europe to the Europeans came out to be 5:2. This means that out of
2.2 million new jobs, 49% were taken by people born outside the EU, with just 19% going to Brits.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama will hold bilateral meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy when he attends the NATO summit next month, the White House announced Thursday.

Obama will on March 31 begin his first trip to Europe since taking office, stopping in London to attend a conference of the world's largest economies, before heading to the NATO summit co-hosted by the French city of Strasbourg and German town of Kehl.

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.