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Concerns over economic growth pushed global markets down on Wednesday, with investors watching meetings between Greek and European leaders for signs the country will get more time to meet its debt reduction targets.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Sunday the end of the economic crisis in his country was in sight and that the euro zone must not let the single currency become a source of friction between the north and south in the bloc.

Ecuador cast its dispute with Britain over asylum for WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange as a struggle against colonialism on Saturday, drawing growing support from its neighbors in the international diplomatic saga.

Finance ministry officials in Greece have calculated that the debt-stricken country's economy will recover faster and its debt be more sustainable if it is given two more years to reduce its budget deficit, a Greek newspaper reported on Saturday.

The furor over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's future entered stalemate mode Friday as he remained holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, his home for nearly two months, following an extraordinary display of brinkmanship between Britain and the South American country.

Best known for its budget flat-pack furniture, Scandinavian retailer Ikea is planning to launch a chain of budget hotels in Europe. The property division of Inter Ikea - the company that owns the Ikea intellectual property rights - is planning hotels in 100 locations across Europe. The first two hotels are expected to open in Germany in 2014. Other locations earmarked for hotels include Belgium, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Britain and Poland.

Ecuador has granted political asylum to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on Thursday, a day after the British government threatened to storm the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest the former hacker.

French police were preparing for another night of violence Tuesday after clashes struck the northern city of Amiens overnight, with rioters torching cars and a nursery school in a resurgence of urban unrest that has periodically roiled the country.

New York’s top banking regulator had charged the British bank with laundering $250 billion in tainted money for Iranian clients.

Britain is determined to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden and has made that clear to Ecuador, which is sheltering the founder of WikiLeaks inside its London embassy while it considers his asylum request, British authorities said on Tuesday.