2008-12-23

There is confusion tonight over an attempted coup in the West African state of Guinea. Mutinous soldiers announced they had taken control following

What happens to a company town when the company closes shop? Sindelfingen in southwest Germany has been one of the country’s richest towns, but now

Britain’s economy shrank by more than forecast in the third quarter of this year, and for the first time since the early 1990s according to offical

Very thin trading in Europe on Tuesday revealed little as to the state of things with mixed results, either small losses or equally small gains

Although third-quarter figures were no worse than expected for the American economy, there are fears the final quarter will be much worse as

Rolls Royce aero engines have signed a deal with Etihad airways of Abu Dhabi worth 410 million euros. The contract is to supply and maintain Trent

Guinea is the world’s leading exporter of bauxite, used to make aluminium. But despite its natural riches, most people live in poverty. In May this

Thousands of trade unionists have taken to the streets in Ukraine to protest against cuts in wages and benefits and to demand action to ease the

A looming crisis over the legality of foreign, non-American troops in Iraq has been averted with the parliament in Baghdad voting to let them stay

The world’s leading gas producers have agreed to create an OPEC-style organisation, with its headquarters in Qatar. Western consumer nations fear

In a sign of increasingly close relations, China has sent two giant pandas as a goodwill gift to Taiwan. Beijing has often used pandas as a

Against the backdrop of the gas group meeting, the question of Europe’s dependence on Russian supplies has resurfaced. Moscow’s energy spats with

Protests continued in Athens just hours after a police van was hit by gunfire. Thousands of people marched through the city in a demonstration that

Germany has joined the international anti-pirate flotilla off Somalia. The German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung says the EU’s anti-piracy mission

Belgium goes into Christmas mired in its third political crisis in twelve months, turning to a veteran power broker to find a new prime minister

The west has been warned that the era of cheap natural gas is over. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s comments came as he hosted a summit

The ongoing row between Libya and Switzerland appears to have re-surfaced after Swiss Airlines announced it is to lose its last remaining flight to

Military leaders in the west African state of Guinea have taken control of the country and suspended the constitution following the death of

Moscow is hosting a meeting of gas exporting countries, which some analysts say could lead to the creation of an OPEC-style pricing cartel

Emil Boc is the new Romanian prime minister. He has been sworn into his role. He is the youngest ever Romanian leader and will lead a coalition

Belgium has turned to a veteran politician to broker a new government, after a scandal over the botched bail out of the Fortis bank forced the

The Israeli and Turkish prime ministers have met in Ankara. Ehud Olmert was keen to thank Turkey for its mediation role in negotiations between his

A temporary ceasefire by Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip has not eased conditions for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the stricken territory

With the IMF in their sights, EU leaders and the president of Brazil are preparing to target an organisation they believe is uncontrolled and