News stories by David Cronin, page 9

Polluting industries have received an early Christmas gift from European Union leaders who have agreed to weaken their proposals for fighting climate change in order to protect short-term commercial gains.

European Union governments are in no hurry to widen the scope of the bloc's anti-discrimination rules so that gays and lesbians can enjoy greater rights.

Less than a week after the European Commission promised to study whether trade preferences granted to Colombia should be revoked because of the country's human rights record, Brussels officials have decided to extend the preferences for a further two years.