The Vatican bank is taking a "zero tolerance" approach to suspect transactions, says its new chief executive Ernst von Freyberg, as it fights hard to shatter a culture of silence and shed its murky image.

The 54-year-old German lawyer, who took over at the helm of the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) in February, said in an interview with Agence France Presse that he is giving it his all to disperse the clouds hanging over the bank.

Pilots for national carrier EgyptAir began a sit-in on Thursday to demand better pay and working conditions, disrupting flights out of Cairo, an airport official said.

The strike has caused the cancellation of nine flights with more disruption expected, the official told Agence France Presse.

Greek unions plan a 24-hour general strike Thursday, amid a storm of protest over the government's decision to shut down public broadcaster ERT as part of sweeping cost-cutting measures.

The socialist and moderate leftist parties supporting the coalition government called the decision "unacceptable" as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras refused to back down.

EU trade ministers will try Friday to resolve deep differences with France on whether its prized "cultural exception" should be included in free trade talks with a United States which believes there should be no exceptions at all.

Negotiations with Washington already promise to be difficult but France insists that culture and its special status within the EU is a no-go area and has threatened to block agreement rather than accept a carefully worded compromise minimizing possible damage.

Airbus's new A350 plane is due to take off on its much-anticipated maiden flight Friday, a milestone for an aircraft the firm hopes will help close the gap with rival Boeing in the lucrative long-haul market.

Weather permitting, the next-generation plane will lift off from the southwestern city of Toulouse at 0800GMT with six people on board -- a British and a French test pilot, a flight engineer and three other engineers at the back.

Austrian construction firm Porr announced on Wednesday it was to sign a 1.89-billion-euro ($2.5-billion) contract to build one of Doha's new metro lines, as part of a consortium with two Qatari partners, SBG and HBK.

This was the second such contract for European firms in three days.

The British Bankers' Association on Wednesday announced changes to Libor interest-rate transparency in a bid to avoid a repeat of last year's rate-rigging scandal.

The BBA said publication of banks' individual submissions would be embargoed for three months in a move aimed at avoiding possible "manipulation of the rate".

Spanish textile giant Inditex, owner of the Zara brand, announced Wednesday a rise in quarterly profit as it pursued a global expansion with a string of new stores including in Japan, China and Russia.

The spread of Inditex's worldwide reach boosted sales by 5.2 percent from a year earlier to 3.59 billion euros ($4.8 billion) in the three months to April 30, the first quarter of the firm's 2013 business year.

Tourists planning to flock to Brazil for the World Cup a year from now should brace for some of the world's highest housing, restaurant and transport prices.

Prices have gone through the roof, particularly in the country's tourism gateway Rio, which this month is one of the hosts for football's Confederations Cup and in July welcomes Pope Francis for a major Catholic Youth festival.

From 24 to 30 June, Beirut Design Week 2013 will be held across Beirut City, featuring exhibitions, conferences, workshops and open studios showcasing the work of local and international designers operating within Lebanon. This year’s event will focus on creative economies, intercultural exchange, design education and design entrepreneurship.

Beirut Design Week is organized by the MENA Design Research Center, an organization cofounded by Maya Karanouh and Doreen Toutikan and incubated by TAGbrands, a regional branding and design agency. The Center is focused on promoting a diverse understanding of design through the implementation of design research and collaborative multidisciplinary projects in the region.