Italian prime minister Mario Monti has unveiled the alliance he will lead for next month’s parliamentary elections. After announcing that he would

If good things come to those who wait, then Barack Obama and Joe Biden must be rubbing their hands in delight. The US Congress has finally

The former French screen goddess and animal rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot has threatened to seek a Russian passport in protest at the treatment

Beatriz Lecumberri was the bureau chief for the news organisation Agence France Presse in Caracas between 2008 and 2011, and during that time

Lebanon is making its first formal plea for aid, to help refugees fleeing the continuing violence in neighbouring Syria. The country’s cabinet has

A pair of “ghost gum” trees in Australia’s outback made famous by an Aboriginal artist have been destroyed in a suspected arson attack. The trees

Christmas holiday spending nudged up prices in the eurozone in December. The cost of living in the 17 countries sharing the euro had been forecast

When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was re-elected last October it was one of the last times he appeared to be healthy, and it now looks unlikely

The father of an Indian gang rape victim, who died of her injuries, is demanding the death penalty for her attackers. He spoke after scattering the

The New Year has arrived and so, as the tradition goes, it has been greeted with smiles and good humour around Europe and the world. Once the

Bus and underground workers have started a two-day strike in Madrid that will affect Spain’s biggest weekend of the Christmas season. They are

In a big contrast from Europe, car sales in the US and China continue to rise. In the states the industry has just enjoyed its best year since

This week in Learning World, we look at the issue of child labour. An estimated 250 million children are forced to work rather than go to school

There was no sign of the pick-up in job creation that the US economy needs to recover, in December as the pace of hiring by employers there eased

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been taking part in a rare rally staged by President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah group in Gaza. The

A British man has become the first person in the UK to undergo a hand transplant after losing his own to gout.   The eight-hour operation was

Baby Nevaeh has become an internet star from birth, after grabbing the finger of the surgeon performing the caesarean section on her mother

A meteorite that is billions of years old may provide the link between the warm, wet past and the cold, dry present on the planet Mars.   Discovered

Virgin Megastore’s French operation is declaring itself insolvent. The books-to-music retailer, which employs 1,000 people, is the latest victim of

Transocean has agreed to pay the equivalent of just over one billion euros to settle US government charges over BP’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill

European Union competition regulators says they will press ahead with a probe into whether Google hurt rivals by manipulating internet searches

The Pakistani teenager who was shot by the Taliban for promoting girls’ education has left hospital after nearly three months of specialist

Iconic French actress Brigitte Bardot has threatened to apply for Russian citizenship if French authorities go ahead with plans to put down two sick

The oldest private Swiss bank is to close after admitting its role in helping wealthy Americans dodge their taxes. Wegelin Bank, which was founded

The Venezuelan government has claimed that the international media are trying to destabilise the country as its president Hugo Chavez struggles to

A traditional folk art show in northern China’s Shanxi Province attracted thousands of visitors to watch the swinging balls of fire during the New

A giant rubber duck made its way through the waters of Sydney’s Darling Harbour, triggering some oohs and aahs amongst spectators. The 26-metre-high

Around 300 Bangladeshi garment workers, mostly women, staged a mass hunger-strike in the capital, Dhaka, to highlight unsafe working conditions and

The neighbourhood of Xerem has been badly affected as more than 3,000 people across Rio de Janeiro state have had to leave their homes due to

As poverty continues to rise, the European Food Aid Programme for the Most Deprived is under threat. This could affect some 18 million people