The German Central Bank has announced that one of its board members at the centre of a row over comments he made about immigration and Jews is to
stand down
at the end of the month. Thilo Sarrazin said in an interview that Jews shared a particular gene that set them apart and warned of ethnic Germans being
outnumber
ed by immigrants in the future.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the global economic recovery is slowing
sharply
. It says it now expects the seven leading industrialized economies to grow at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second half of the year, which is lower than previously predicted. Here is our business reporter Mark Gregory.
The OECD is less optimistic about the prospects for growth in the global economy than it was four months ago, but it still thinks another recession is unlikely. The Paris-based think tank's main policy message to governments, however, is "don't overdo the
austerity
". It urges policymakers to be careful not to
choke off
economic recovery by cutting back on spending too much and too soon, and it says governments should think about reintroducing stimulus measures if the slowdown
persist
s.
France and Romania say they've agreed to work together to help the Roma community
integrate
into Romanian society following a row over French deportations of hundreds of Roma, or Gypsies. The announcement was made by the Romanian foreign minister following talks with a French minister in Bucharest. Romania says it will establish a new integration plan for the Roma and will send extra police to Paris to help curb crime committed by Romanians.