Brussels - The European Commission was Wednesday expected to recommend the creation of a pan-European financial watchdog and issue guidelines on how to dispose of toxic assets held by European banks.

The call for a European-wide supervisory body is contained in a report by Jacques de Larosiere, a former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the French central bank.

De Larosiere was asked by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to provide ways of preventing a repeat of the current financial crisis at a time in which banks have become increasingly international.

Brussels  - Sherif el-Mashad, a 32-year-old Egyptian with a knack for carpentry, moved to Italy in 1997 in search of a better life.

Having obtained the necessary permits, he began working in a restaurant before setting up a small business near Lake Como.

In July 2001, two months before the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, he bought a round-trip ticket to Afghanistan, where he said he intended to spend some time doing charity work.

Unable to return home after the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, el-Mashad fled to Pakistan, where he was seized by local authorities, who allegedly collected a bounty for delivering him to US forces.

Brussels - Any European Union-based airline will be able to operate flights to Pakistan from any EU state which has an agreement with the Islamic Republic, after officials from the two sides signed a deal to that effect on Tuesday.

The agreement does not force either side to open up new routes or increase traffic. That is to remain an issue for negotiation between Pakistan and individual EU member states.

Washington, Feb 24 : Former President George W. Bush will embark next month on a series of speeches that will take him to Canada, Europe and Asia, his advisers have said.

The former president already has plans for about 10 speeches over the next year, and will do more, Politico reported.

Frankfurt - European shares slid by about 1 per cent in early trading Tuesday after renewed worries about the world banking industry and fresh recession fears drove down stock prices in New York and across Asia.

Europe's blue-chip Stoxx50 edged down by 1 per cent to 1,784 points shortly after the release of a key indictor showed business confidence in Germany slipping. This in turn helped to fuel concerns about the prospects of a protracted and deep recession.

London's FTSE index dipped by 0.62 per cent as the trading day got underway in Europe's premier stock market.

This was reflected across national bourses with Frankfurt's DAX index sinking 1.8 per cent and Paris' CAC dropping 1.4 per cent. The stock market in Zurich dropped by

Berlin  - The European Union's (EU) major economies are hoping to enlist the support of all 27 EU member states as they gear up for a battle to crackdown on tax havens.

The move follows the agreement at the weekend of the EU's seven leading economies to launch action to clamp down on tax havens as part of a push to overhaul the global financial system in the wake of the world economic crisis.