Whether Volvo’s European chief executive and its new Chinese owner can steer Volvo to success has implications for corporate China's global expansion. Chinese companies have poured billions of dollars into foreign acquisitions - but have had little success managing major consumer brands.

Pope Benedict XVI has given his strong backing to Croatia's bid to join the EU, on his first visit to the nation. He said he understood fears of a loss of cultural identity from joining the bloc but said Europe needs to be reminded of its Christian roots.

Serbia's road to the EU has cleared significantly, though there are still many kilometres to go... This dealing with the past at a judicial level occurs in parallel, as witnessed in other historical precedents, with the longer-term work of society with itself.

Rumor of a European vegetable conspiracy, the suggestion that the E. coli epidemic was deliberately engineered to hurt Spanish and/or other European farmers thereby boosting their own agricultural sector, is the direct result of the EU's distorted agricultural policy.

European anti-racism campaigners have criticised moves by Finnish authorities to colour-code the country's ID cards, with bright blue cards for native-born citizens and brown cards for all foreign nationals, calling the new scheme "legalised ethnic profiling".

Before the world commemorates the centennial of the Titanic's sinking next year, Belfast has decided to celebrate the ship's launch, to remind people of its ship-building legacy. The residual sense of shame about the disaster is fading, replaced with a pride in the city's maritime history.

The link between the pomp and glory of Hampton Court, a cellar in Liverpool and a copper works in Wales may be obscure. But according to the nation’s foremost historians, they are among the 100 places which define Britain.

The images of Barack Obama's recent visit were a publicity consultant's dream. But beyond the feel-good photography and the cheerful bonhomie, there was purpose and substance to Obama's trip, specifically the need to redefine America's relationship with Europe in a much-changed world.