France is overspent

European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet has attacked France for being Europe's "number one spender". Mr Trichet warned that in comparison to its GDP, the country was well on the way to spending much more than its European neighbours during 2007. The warning came as Prime Minister Francois Fillon warned that France's finances were in a "critical" state. French finances have caused friction with Europe, with France under pressure to cut its budget deficit. Meanwhile, France has attacked European Central Bank policies saying they are to blame for poor growth and the strength of the euro - which is currently trading at record highs against the dollar. Social security budget figures released recently compounded France's problems, as they showed a larger-than-expected deficit for this year. The forecast for the social security deficit rose to 11.7bn euros (£8.1bn; $16.5bn) from a previous figure of 8bn euros. "Public finances are in very great difficulty,'' Mr Trichet told Europe-1 radio, adding that Mr Fillon "probably was right to underscore that'.' "Careful management of public finances is very important and obviously, in the eyes of the Commission as well as the European Central Bank, France must respect its commitments," he added. Earlier this month eurozone finance ministers told their French counterpart Christine Lagarde at a meeting in Portugal that Paris had to beef up its plans to rein in its deficit. President Sarkozy has vowed to try to erase the deficit by 2010, but says he cannot guarantee it will happen until 2012. The French leader wants to cut taxes, a move that means France will breach a rule set by the EU on public deficits, in order to avoid an economic slowdown. Mr Sarkozy argues France needs to cut taxes by 11bn euros to tackle its spiralling unemployment problem

Microsoft Reaction

Microsoft has lost its appeal against a record 497m euro (£343m; $690m) fine imposed by the European Commission in a long-running competition dispute. The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position. A probe concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in server software and products such as media players. Microsoft has two months to appeal at the European Court of Justice. "The Court of First Instance essentially upholds the Commission's decision finding that Microsoft abused its dominant position," the court's statement said. Microsoft's top lawyer said it was important now for the company to comply with EU competition law, but that it had not yet decided on its next legal steps. It threw out just one small part of the European Commission's ruling, which had established an independent monitoring trustee to supervise Microsoft's behaviour. The court has upheld a landmark commission decision to give consumers more choice in software markets

Energy & Climate Change

Recent surveys show a majority of Europeans are concerned about climate change but also focused on energy supplies. Joachim Bitterlich, former German government adviser and Executive Vice President for International Affairs with water, waste and energy management company Veolia, said: "Today, (European) research money should be used to make progress on renewable energy sources, more research money should be spend on improving biomass and solar energy, cleanly burning waste and also nuclear energy."While Europeans remain divided over the use of nuclear energy there is a strong consensus that alternative sources to oil and gas are needed and soon. In the Eurobarometer survey, people were asked what type of energy they think will be used 30 years from now. By 2037, Europeans believe solar, wind and nuclear energy will be the main sources of energy with much less reliance on fossil fuels

Gun Crime in UK

New powers to crack down on gun and knife crime have come into effect in England and Wales. The government says the new legislation promises harsher punishments and tougher restrictions on the ownership and sale of guns and knives. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said tackling gun and knife crime was a "top priority", and said weapons on the street would not be tolerated. The powers were introduced as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006. The home secretary said the new law would send a strong message to criminals that knives and guns had no place on Britain's streets. She said: "Tackling gun and knife crime is a top priority for this government and it is essential that we build on the tools and powers that police already have in order to make people feel safer and more secure in their communities. "We are determined to prevent young people obtaining knives by raising the age from 16 to 18. We are also determined to crack down on the criminals who use realistic imitation firearms to threaten and intimidate."

The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 will:

* Make it an offence to manufacture, import or sell realistic imitation guns;

* Double the maximum sentence for carrying an imitation gun in public without reasonable excuse from six to 12 months;

* Make it an offence for any person to fire an air weapon beyond the boundary of any premises;

* Make it an offence to sell a knife to a person aged under 18, raised from 16; and,

* Increase the age limit for buying or possessing an air weapon from 17 to 18.

Police will also be given powers to apply for a fast-track review of licensed premises, if they feel it could be associated with serious crime or disorder. It will be an offence to sell, hire or make a gift of an air weapon to a person under 18, while In Scotland it will be an offence to sell a crossbow to a person aged under 18. In 2005/2006 there were 3,275 offences involving imitation firearms, accounting for approximately 15% of firearm offences for the year.. In 2005/2006 there were 10,437 crimes in which air weapons were used, resulting in 1,180 cases of injury, including one fatality and 119 serious injuries.

The act will make suppliers of imitation air guns accountable to the police, and mean they will have to keep written records of all weapons sold. Britain has been blighted by a wave of gun and knife crime in recent months. The killing of 11-year-old Rhys Jones outside a pub in the Croxteth area of Liverpool, in August, sparked outrage across the country, and led to increased calls for a crackdown on gun and knife crime. Ms Smith said: "It is important to remember that the gun crime problem is concentrated in a few local areas which we recognise and which we are focusing our efforts on with the new Tackling Gangs Action Programme."