EU economic sentiment falls

Business and consumer confidence plunged in the 15 countries using the euro in July, hitting the lowest level in more than five years, the European Commission said Wednesday.

The European economy is slowing as soaring fuel and food prices slam the brakes on growth, and amid tight borrowing conditions triggered by the global credit crisis and a slowdown in major trading partners, Britain and the United States.

The EU figures add pressure on the European Central Bank to hold off from further interest rate increases. In an effort to cool record-high inflation, it raised its key borrowing rate from 4 percent to 4.25 percent in June.

Central banks …

Directions

Distance: 3 miles

Time: 2 hours

Start: Widcombe Hill (GR 763639)

Maps: OS Landranger 172 or OS Explorer 155

Terrain: Steep hillsides

Contact: via vilewalks@yahoo.co.uk

Getting there: 1/2 mile up Widcombe Hill, park on the roadsidewhere unrestricted parking can be found, 100 yards below ProspectRoad.

1. Continue up Widcombe Hill, passing Prospect Road and on foranother 100 yards to a driveway on the right leading to Rainbow WoodHouse. Immediately past this driveway, turn right onto an enclosedfootpath - carrying a Bath Skyline waymark - and follow this pathuphill for 300 yards to a gate and junction by a property on theleft. …

Bush Calls on Democrats to Work With Him

WASHINGTON - President Bush, facing a Democratic-controlled Congress for the first time, is urging lawmakers to work with his administration and warning that "political statements" in the form of legislation would result in a stalemate.

"Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the complex problems that many don't expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in the partisan environment of today's Washington," Bush wrote in a guest column for The Wall Street Journal posted on the newspaper's Web site Tuesday night.

"To do that, however, we can't play politics as usual," he said. "Democrats will control the House and Senate, and therefore we share the …

`Slumdog' rules Oscars with 8 prizes, best picture

"Slumdog Millionaire" took the best-picture Academy Award and seven other Oscars, including director for Danny Boyle, whose ghetto-to-glory story paralleled the film's unlikely rise to Hollywood's summit.

The other top winners at Sunday's awards ceremony: Britain's Kate Winslet, best actress for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader"; Sean Penn, best actor for the title role of "Milk"; Australia's Heath Ledger, supporting actor for "The Dark Knight"; and Spain's Penelope Cruz, supporting actress for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

A story of hope amid squalor in Mumbai, India, "Slumdog Millionaire" …

Queen Elizabeth set to become great-grandmother

Buckingham Palace says Peter Phillips and his wife, Autumn, are expecting their first child in December, a baby who will be Queen Elizabeth II's first great-grandchild.

A statement issued Friday by the palace said "the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, as well as Autumn's family, have been informed and are delighted with the news."

Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, is …

You'll Never See eggs the Same Way Again

Adding just one egg to your daily diet could help reduce your risk of age-related macular degeneration, a condition that attacks the retina and causes various degrees of vision loss, including blindness. New research from the University of Massachusetts published in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that eggs boost your …

US dollar higher against the Japanese yen

The U.S. dollar was trading at 108.74 yen at 8:50 a.m. Monday …