Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is recuperating in hospital in Cuba after surgery for cancer. The procedure, which lasted more than six hours, was

Three explosions have rocked Syria’s interior ministry building in Damascus. State television says several people have been killed. Other reports

Iranian dissidents Nasrin Sotoudeh and Filmmaker Jafar Panahi have been presented with the Sakharov Prize in absentia at the European Parliament in

Inditex – Zara’s parent company – defied the economic crisis once more in the third quarter, but there was no surge for the shares of the world’s

The Federal Reserve is significantly boosting its stimulus programme for the US economy and has taken the unprecedented step of saying it will keep

Former Yugloslav intelligence chief Xdravko Tolimir has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed during the Balkan war in the mid-1990s

The first session of Ukraine’s new parliament saw politicians from opposition and ruling parties fighting and climbing over each other to be able to

Protesters in Cairo mull over a decision by Egypt’s main Liberal and secular opposition to urge a “No” vote in Saturday’s referendum. The two-day

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first state of the nation speech since his return as top man in the Kremlin. Speaking to the Federal

After weeks of anticipation, Pope Benedict sent his first tweet on December 12: “Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter

Hundreds of students gathered in peaceful protests today in Mumbai to denounce the practice of sex-selective abortions. Recent figures show that

There aren’t enough blankets to go around at the refugee camp near the Syrian village of Atmeh close to the Turkish border. Camp residents tussle

UN nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say, if allowed, they are “ready” to visit Iran’s Parchin military complex

Serbia billionaire retail tycoon Miroslav Miskovic has been arrested in Belgrade for fraud. Nine other men, including Miskovic’s son Marko, have also

The trial has begun in Moscow of a former policeman accused over the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was killed as she

Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters have been raided and five employees arrested as police investigate tax evasion and money laundering using

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 is the last consecutive number date sequence of the century. Bearing in mind that each day is divided into two 12-hour

Poverty is not only shaking EU countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal but also the euro zone’s biggest economies. France’s Socialist prime

Actors Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts star in “The Impossible”, the account of a family caught in the mayhem of the tsunami that hit South East Asia

Marble busts line the Long Room at Trinity College, Dublin. Great philosophers and writers from the past gaze down on an innovation very much of the

OPEC’s oil ministers have agreed to keep the cartel’s output unchanged at 30 million barrels a day. But experts think the producers may soon have to

Two Iranian dissidents have been awarded the EU’s annual Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought but were unable to come to Strasbourg to collect it in

Pope Benedict XVI has posted his first message on the social networking site Twitter. The Pontiff’s inaugural tweet reads: “Dear friends, I’m

Official recognition for Syria’s opposition coalition has grown, with acknowledgement coming from the US-founded international Friends of Syria

Renault-Nissan has finalised a long-awaited deal to take control of Russia’s AvtoVAZ – best known for its Lada models. That builds on a partnership

Italy’s borrowing costs fell at its latest auction of short-term government bonds. That means Rome has passed the first debt test since technocrat

Some might see the 12th of December (12/12/12) as yet another doomsday, but a lot of couples in China and Thailand consider it a very auspicious day

British scientists are due to begin drilling the ice sheet of Antarctica to reach a previously hidden lake. They hope a deep probe of Lake Ellsworth

With winter settling in, life is becoming increasingly difficult for the 3 million Syrian refugees who have been forced away from home by intense

North Korea has, for the first time, successfully launched a rocket carrying a satellite – despite international condemnation. There are