(MENAFN - AFP) Slovenia on Saturday said it was confident its newly-adopted action plan would stabilise public finances and lead to an economic recovery, a day after international ratings agency Fitch downgraded the crisis-hit country by one notch.

"The consolidation of public finances will follow the objectives that have been clearly set. We will efficiently carry out ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Tens of thousands of people joined a union-organised march in Rome Saturday, protesting against the new coalition government's austerity measures.

The metal workers union FIOM said the rally was to demand "the right to jobs, training and health care".

"We cannot wait any longer," said FIOM secretary Maurizio Landini as Italy is mired in recession.

He ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Serbian police on Saturday arrested eight people suspected of embezzling some 12 million euros ($15 million) from the country's main pharmaceutical firm Galenika.

The eight, including a former Galenika manager, are suspected of misappropriating the money through fraudulent deals while buying raw materials for medicine and through illegal sales of medicine, ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Air Algerie planes were grounded for several hours on Saturday when the national carrier's pilots staged a wildcat strike over pay, officials in the North African country said.

Air Algerie said in a statement that the strike caused delays for the airline and other carriers that lasted a few hours until normal operations resumed in the afternoon, after negotiations ...

(MENAFN - AFP) The hunt for an HIV vaccine has gobbled up $8 billion in the past decade, and the failure of the most recent efficacy trial has delivered yet another setback to 26 years of efforts.

With the next attempts expected to be years away, top researchers now say there is a "void" or a "gap" in current clinical trial efforts to test whether a vaccine may be safe ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Americans have lined up in droves across the country to buy Powerball Lottery tickets in the hopes of winning the record $600 million jackpot, the largest in the 21-year history of the game.

Millions will be glued to their TV sets when the Powerball numbers are drawn in a live event broadcast just before 11:00 pm eastern time (0300 GMT Sunday). If there ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Gays and lesbians demonstrated in Venezuela's capital Saturday to push for an end to discrimination and for civil rights such as same-sex marriage.

"In some areas of the capital, two men cannot be seen holdings hands without security ushering them out," said Cesar Sequera, who leads Diverse Venezuela, among marchers waving signs like "Say yes to inclusion."

Sequera ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Denmark won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmo early Sunday with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest.

Denmark, widely tipped to win the annual music competition, garnered 281 points at a glittering ceremony watched by millions of viewers, beating runner ups Azerbaijan (234 points) and Ukraine (214 points.)

The ...

(MENAFN - AFP) India's investigation into whether Walmart may have bribed Indian officials to gain wider access to the country's vast market has been "closed" due to lack of evidence, a report said on Saturday.

The one-man committee of retired justice Mukul Mudgal probing the matter is likely to submit a report to the government next week saying there was no "adequate" ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Morocco is ploughing ahead with a programme to boost wind energy production, particularly in the southern Tarfaya region, where Africa's largest wind farm is set to open in 2014.

The kingdom, which has no hydrocarbon reserves of its own, hopes to cover 42 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020, and has launched a plan to produce 4,000 ...