It is also one of the few European banks that has taken a big step in cross-border consolidation.

ECONOMIST: An unseemly rush to defend a national champion

The Greens said their "radical", but "realistic" plan for "cross-London road pricing scheme" would generate funding for step-free access, extending Tramlink and promoting cycling like in Amsterdam.

BBC: Mayoral hopefuls 'lack vision' on London transport

"You should see this like being in 1915 when the pioneers were trying to do these first cross-country flights - still unable to cross the ocean, but an important step for the development of aviation, " Mr Borschberg said.

BBC: Solar Impulse plane lands in Phoenix

Made up initially of one prosecutor from each member state, Eurojust is seen by pro-integrationists as the start of a joint European prosecution service - just as they regard Europol, which co-ordinates investigations of cross-border crime, as the first step towards a European police force.

BBC: Laeken's anti-terror agenda

Though a step up from the groomed cross-country ski trails that lie closer to the town of Jasper (population 4, 000), 23km to the northeast, the technical challenges of the Tonquin Valley are not extreme.

BBC: Back-country skiing in Canada��s Jasper National Park

This opening was supposed to be the first step towards scrapping all regulations holding up cross-border trucking.

ECONOMIST: Foreign trade

Other projects included a dashboard that predicts when petitions will cross the 100, 000 signature threshold, documentation and step-by-step primers on using the API, email alert systems that inform you when a petition on an issue you care about has been created, and more.

WHITEHOUSE: Looking Back at the White House Hackathon

Many Ukrainians, especially politicians who some joke have more sins than most, step inside ice holes - cut in the shape of a cross - to honour the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.

BBC: Pagan holidays in modern Ukraine

The crisis has exposed acute new questions, such as how to marry Europe's cross-border single market for finance with the reality that only national governments can and will step in when things go wrong.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne