German-owned travel firm Thomas Cook is to buy British package holiday rival MyTravel. The new company will be headquartered in London and listed on

Vodafone has beaten rival suitors to buy Indian mobile firm Hutchison Essar. The British phone giant bid 8.4 billion euros for a controlling 67%

Removing a mention of Gibraltar from a formal treaty has finally allowed European sanctions against North Korea and Iran to be applied – in line

Israel is suspending the construction of a footbridge at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem pending public discussions. Archaeological

Hundreds of African and Asian migrants have finally come to shore in Mauritania after being stranded at sea for 10 days. Passengers, many of whom

Reaction following the Stuttgart court’s decision to free Mohnhaupt has been mixed. The Bavarian interior minister Gunter Beckstein criticised the

The French oil giant Total is among 15 groups and individuals that have gone on trial today over the Erika disaster. Bringing the charges are no less

Iraq’s High Tribunal has sentenced Saddam Hussein’s former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan to be hanged. He stood trial alongside the former

A series of bomb attacks at markets in Baghdad have killed at least 76 people. The deadliest was on the Shorja wholesale market where at least 71

Former Red Army Faction or Baader-Meinhof Gang member Brigitte Mohnhaupt is to be released from prison after 24 years for her role in a spate of

Those that voted for a change in Portugal’s strict abortion laws celebrate victory in Sunday’s referendum. However the low turnout means the vote is

The authorities in Egypt have released a Muslim cleric kidnapped in a suspected CIA operation in Italy. Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, or Abu Omar, was

The decriminalisation of abortion in Portugal should go ahead but faces one last obstacle after a low turnout in Sunday’s referendum. With less than

The UN’s special envoy to Kosovo has been meeting for talks in Brussels on the province’s future. Martti Ahtisaari joined the EU’s foreign policy