2013-01-14

In the final press conference of his first term, US President Barack Obama has rejected Republican calls to trade public spending cuts in return for

France’s Cyril Despres produced a stunning performance to claim the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally from San Miguel de Tucuman to Cordoba in Argentina

Day one of a new law making it easier for Cubans to go abroad has brought queues at foreign embassies and travel agents.   The hated exit permits

If football is a religion for many of its fans, for some of those studying in the seminaries of Vatican City, religion is also football. The

Thousands of Tunisians have taken to the streets in protest against the Islamist-led government, exactly two years after President Ben Ali was

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has failed in his attempt to put his sex trial on hold until after the general election. Three

A new law has come into force in Cuba designed to make it easier to travel abroad. After being in existence for 50 years, the hated exit permits

The Greek parliament has raised taxes on the self employed, and high earners. They are the latest troika-imposed measures to reduce Greece’s budget

The EU is on course to revise and accelerate its training program for the Malian army. 200 instructors now look set for deployment over 15 months

The British car-maker, owned by the Indian group Tata Motors, has announced a 30% rise in sales for 2012. Jaguar Land Rover has sailed through the

A former Austrian interior minister has been sentenced to four years in jail for corruption. Ernst Strasser, who was also a Euro MP, was charged

Greece’s ruling party says it will not be intimidated by an attack on its office in Athens. In the early hours of Monday, gunshots were fired at

French military intervention in north Mali is aimed at stopping a radical Islamic takeover of the territory. Three groups essentially dominate

Many people in Mali say they are relieved at the French intervention to try to halt the Islamist advance. Schools in and around Bamako have

We know that Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate are expecting a baby. Now the Prince’s office has ended speculation that the Duchess of

More than 150 wildfires continue to sweep across Australia’s state of New South Wales. Buildings at the country’s biggest optical space observatory

An estimated 110 million pilgrims are expected to bath in the Ganges river during India’s Kumbh Mela festival which began on Monday. The 55 day event

Serbia’s parliament has paved the way for ethnic Serbians in Kosovo to be given autonomy within Kosovo’s legal framework. But the resolution

The Detroit Motor Show is putting on a brave face for 2013 – or else it is real confidence flowing from Motor City again as US makers release a slew

The stars were out in force for this year’s Golden Globes, which in Hollywood are second in importance only to the Oscars. The night’s big winner

Somali militants have posted a picture of what they claim is the second French commando killed after a failed attempt to save a French hostage. He

Chinese artist Song Dong has arrived in Sydney Australia with his exhibition “Waste Not”, which has already been seen in New York and London, and is

Islamist rebels in Mali have seized control of a small town from government forces, despite the military intervention by France. Reports say the

Over the next 55 days, tens of millions of Hindus are expected to splash through the waters where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet as part of the

Dutch delivery firm TNT’s shares halved within minutes on Monday morning on the news that US rival UPS was abandoning its takeover, as it was

Not many jewellers get namechecked in a hit song, but Harry Winston is one of them. His diamonds were Marilyn Monroe’s Best Friend; now they have

For many young people, industry is a thing of the past. But this bustling high-tech region in the south of the Netherlands is doing all it can to

An air strike on a rebel-held town southwest of the Syrian capital Damascus has left 20 people dead, according to opposition activists. Latest

In South Korea, arguably the world’s most connected country, doctors are prescribing horse-riding to treat teenagers who have become addicted to the

Somali rebels claim a second French soldier has died from gunshot wounds after a failed attempt to rescue a French agent. The al Qaeda-linked