European election: And the winner is ... Angela Merkel
Largely untouched by the eurosceptic wave sweeping the continent, Germany's Angela Merkel looks set to emerge the biggest winner of Sunday's European elections.
Ex-Beatle McCartney cancels Japan tour over illness
Former Beatle Paul McCartney has cancelled his Japan tour due to illness, organisers said Tuesday, days after apologising to fans for missing a pair of weekend concerts.
AstraZeneca rejects Pfizer's final $117bn bid
British drugs giant AstraZeneca rejected on Monday a final takeover bid from US rival Pfizer worth $117 billion, saying it undervalued the firm and created uncertainty and risk for shareholders.
European alcohol ban in Kazakhstan a hasty decision: KazAlko
KazAlko Association considers ban of European alcohol import to Kazakhstan a hasty decision.
Swiss vote to ban paedophiles from working with kids
Switzerland on Sunday overwhelmingly voted for a harsher stance against convicted paedophiles by banning them from working with children for life.
Stallone, Schwarzenegger revive old rivalry in Cannes
One-time rivals Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger grabbed the opportunity of their testosterone-fuelled promotion of "Expendables 3" in Cannes to poke fun at each other in a rollicking press conference.
Prince Harry visits WWII battle site in Italy
Britain's Prince Harry visited an Italian World War II battlefield on Sunday where tens of thousands of soldiers died 70 years ago and unveiled the design of Britain's pavilion for the Milan Expo.
Swiss turn down world's highest minimum wage
Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to introduce the world's highest minimum wage, which would have guaranteed every worker in one of the world's priciest nations at least $25 an hour.
Briton, Israeli, German among student Oscar winners
Young filmmakers from Briton, Germany and Israel were announced Friday as winners of student Academy Awards, along with 12 laureates from American universities, who will get their prizes next month.
Syrian woman's siege of Homs film gets standing ovation at Cannes
A Syrian woman whose horrifying footage of the siege of Homs was turned into a film by an exiled director was on Friday given a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, a few hours after the pair met for the first time.
Four dead as 'catastrophic' floods hit Bosnia and Serbia
Four people in Bosnia have died in flooding from the heaviest rainfall to hit the Balkans in over a century, officials said Friday, in what Serbia's premier has called a "horrible natural catastrophe".
Five MSF aid workers freed in Syria
Five aid workers from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who were kidnapped in Syria in January have been freed, the medical charity said.
eBay courts Latin America with Spanish, Portuguese websites
US online giant eBay announced Thursday the launch of Spanish and Portuguese versions of its popular auction and shopping website, hoping to boost its presence in growing Latin American markets.
Sudan judge orders Christian woman to hang for apostasy
A Sudanese judge on Thursday sentenced a heavily pregnant Christian woman to hang for apostasy, a ruling which Britain denounced as "barbaric" and left the United States "deeply disturbed".
Gazprom chief escaped sanctions after European lobbying
The head of Russian state gas giant Gazprom escaped being named on a list of EU sanctions over the Ukraine crisis after lobbying from European energy firms, Moscow newspaper Vedomosti reported.
British journalists shot and beaten in Syria kidnapping
Two British journalists were recovering in Turkey on Thursday after being shot and beaten by rebel kidnappers while covering the Syrian conflict, the Times reported.
Cannes film fest opens with 'Grace of Monaco' mauling
The world's biggest film festival opened in Cannes Wednesday with a blast of controversy as critics mercilessly savaged the opening movie about Hollywood-darling-turned-princess Grace of Monaco.
Biopic hits and flops: film-makers grapple with great lives
A great or glittering life is no guarantee of a gripping biopic, say film-makers, as the Cannes Film Festival prepares to open Wednesday with the first big screen adaptation of the life of Monaco's Princess Grace.
UN condemns killing of French journalist in CAR
The UN Security Council has condemned the killing of a French journalist in the Central African Republic, and stated those responsible "shall be held accountable".
100-carat yellow diamond fetches $16 million at auction
A 100-carat yellow diamond sold for 14.5 million Swiss francs ($16.3 million,11.9 million euros) at auction in Geneva.