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Turin, Italy  – Italian carmaker Fiat pulled out of key talks set to take place in Berlin on Friday on the future of its German rival Opel.

Hong Kong  – A Hong Kong hotel quarantined for seven days with nearly 300 guests and staff inside after a Mexican visitor tested positive for swine flu was preparing Thursday to reopen.

Amsterdam  – Dutch bank and insurance giant ING Group suffered a net loss of 793 million euros (1.085 billion dollars) in the first three months of 2009, the bank said in its first quarter report released on Wednesday.

New York  – The Gaza resolution adopted Thursday by the UN Security Council “stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire leading to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.”

Berlin  – European inflation fell below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2 per cent target in December, data to be released Tuesday is forecast to show, raising the prospects of the ECB delivering another cut in rates at its meeting set for next week.

Belgrade: The Radicals (SRS) Secretary General Aleksandar Vucic yesterday announced protests in Belgrade over the date set for the first sitting of the new city assembly.