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BBC news 2012-06-29

BBC News with Fiona MacDonald

The value of bank shares has slumped as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic investigate banks for manipulating interest rates. In London, shares in Barclays bank closed more than 15% down. Here's our political correspondent Rob Watson.

Another banking scandal is bringing further condemnation of the banks from Britain's politicians. The Chancellor George Osborne said Barclays' behaviour was evidence of a shocking culture of greed and systemic failure of the banks in the run-up to the financial crisis of 2008. Mr Osborne said the chief executive of Barclays had serious questions to answer, and that investigations were continuing into other banks and into any evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Ed Miliband, has called for those responsible to face the full force of the law.

The president of the European Union, Herman van Rompuy, has said EU leaders have agreed to spend $150bn on immediate measures to boost growth. Speaking at the end of the first day of an EU summit in Brussels, Mr van Rompuy said short-term and long-term decisions were essential to deal with Europe's debt crisis. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel is resisting pressure to pool the region's debt while other countries think this may be the only way to save the single currency. Discussions are also focusing on record borrowing costs for Spain and Italy.

The US Supreme Court has upheld a central part of one of President Obama's landmark pieces of legislation - the healthcare reform bill - which was facing a challenge on constitutional grounds. From Washington, here's Paul Adams.

By a narrow 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court has ruled that the central provision of the Affordable Care Act - the requirement that citizens buy health insurance or pay a penalty - is constitutional. The court has not ruled entirely in the administration's favour, but this is a major and unexpected victory for President Obama. For opponents of the act who felt that the constitutional argument was their best bet, it's a significant setback. But here on the steps of the Supreme Court, speaker after speaker has vowed to continue fighting against the bill.

The International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia has acquitted the Bosnian war crime suspect Radovan Karadzic of one of two charges of genocide. The judges said the prosecutors had failed to prove he had ordered the mass killing, expulsion and persecution of Muslims and Croats by Serb forces from Bosnian towns. Mr Karadzic's lawyer Peter Robinson said his client was hopeful that other charges would also be dropped.

"Their judgment showed that we have a huge amount of work to do in our defence case, and so we are really committed to do everything we can to bring witnesses and let them see his side of the story."

The court refused to dismiss a second charge of genocide against Mr Karadzic over his alleged involvement in a massacre in Srebrenica in 1995.

World News from the BBC

A former Egyptian cabinet minister, Samih Fahmi, has been jailed for 15 years for selling natural gas to Israel at below-market prices. Mr Fahmi was convicted of squandering public funds. A businessman, Hussein Salem, has [been] given a similar sentence in his absence. Prosecutors said the sale of cheap gas to Israel by Hosni Mubarak's former government cost Egypt billions of dollars in lost revenue.

The founder of the Wikileaks website, Julian Assange, who's taken refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London, says he has no intention of complying with a demand that he turn himself in to police. Mr Assange faces extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges, which he denies. He says he's being prosecuted for leaking sensitive information on the Internet.

"I've been forced to reside here in the UK for the past 561 days, 10 days in solitary confinement, the other time under house arrest because of one simple reason. Now Sweden will not send someone to come here to speak to me. They will not pick up the phone, nor will they explain the reasons. They will not do that, and I have not been charged. The United States is not able to extradite me from the United Kingdom while the Swedish matter is underway. The Swedish matter has to a degree been protecting me here in the United Kingdom."

Rail and road links between England and Scotland have been severely disrupted by torrential rain, which has brought flooding to parts of Britain and Northern Ireland. The two main rail lines to Scotland are suspended. One man drowned in central England when he was swept away by a flash flood.

Italy has overcome favourites Germany to reach the final of the European nations football championship by 2-1. Both Italian goals were scored by the striker Mario Balotelli in the first half while Germany's Mesut Ozil scored in injury time from a penalty. The Italians will face Spain in the final in Kiev on Sunday.

BBC News