Italians voted in local polls on Sunday that will test political parties three months from a general election that left no clear winner and a month after the start of a fragile coalition cabinet.
A sexually graphic lesbian love story, "Blue is the Warmest Colour" by French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche, clinched the top prize Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival in a pivotal year for gay rights.
At least 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Paris to protest a new law allowing gay marriage, a largely peaceful gathering that later turned violent as riot police battled hundreds of right-wingers.
Bikes are outselling cars in cash-strapped Italy but while cyclists in Milan say their city is ready for a two-wheel lifestyle, there are daily nuisances for riders on Rome's trafficked streets.
International efforts to end the unrest in Syria accelerate Monday with key talks in Paris and Brussels, amid a push for a new peace conference despite growing divisions within the Syrian opposition.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Sunday to take steps to avoid a brewing trade war between China and the EU during a first visit by China's new premier to Germany, with both leaders calling for dialogue.
Britain's intelligence services were under pressure Saturday to explain their knowledge of two Islamists suspected of hacking a soldier to death in London, amid claims they had tried to recruit one of them.
Two men arrested on a Pakistan International Airlines plane after fighter jets were scrambled to escort it to a London airport remained in custody Saturday for questioning by the police.
Switzerland and China cleared the final hurdle Friday towards a landmark free-trade agreement, as Beijing seeks to underscore its growing global ties via deals with European partners.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde avoided immediate charges on Friday but was named an "assisted witness" after French prosecutors grilled her for two days over a state payout to a disgraced tycoon when she was finance minister.
A French anti-racism association is launching a mobile application it hopes will help eradicate racist graffiti by enabling users to take photos of offensive tags, geo-locate them and get them removed.
French prosecutors began questioning IMF chief Christine Lagarde for a second day Friday to decide if she should be charged over a state payout to a disgraced tycoon during her time as finance minister.
British police made two further arrests Thursday and raided houses across London following the brutal murder of a serving soldier who survived a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Britain's newspapers on Friday paid tribute to the soldier brutally murdered in a suspected Islamist attack in London and demanded that the preacher suspected of radicalising suspect Michael Adebolajo be jailed.
Christine Lagarde smashed the glass ceiling at one of the world's preeminent institutions when she was named two years ago to lead the International Monetary Fund, capping a shooting-star career.