World to welcome in New Year with a bangSydney will Monday kick off a wave of dazzling firework displays welcoming in 2013 from Dubai to Paris and London, with long-isolated Yangon joining the global pyrotechnics for the first time.
Spain faces 207-bn-euro headache in 2013 Spain defied the markets by averting a sovereign bailout this year but high interest rates could yet force Madrid to its knees as the nation confronts a 207-billion-euro ($274 billion) financing headache in 2013.
31 December 2012 14:29
Vatican backs Monti, the anti-Berlusconi The Vatican has thrown its weight behind outgoing prime minister Mario Monti, ditching the scandal-hit Silvio Berlusconi in favour of a practising Catholic they hope may lead Italy after February's general election.
Talks stall as fiscal cliff looms Two days of last-gasp talks produced no deal Sunday between US political leaders struggling to averting a fiscal calamity due to hit the American and world economy within hours.
31 December 2012 12:15
Dried squash holds headless French king's blood: study Two centuries after the French people beheaded Louis XVI and dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, scientists believe they have authenticated the remains of one such rag kept as a revolutionary souvenir.
9 dead after bus careens into Oregon ravine A Canada-bound bus crashed through a guard rail on an icy road in Oregon on Sunday and careened into a ravine, killing at least nine people and injuring at least 26 others.
31 December 2012 11:13
Merkel steels Germans for 'more difficult' 2013 Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Germans that the economy, Europe's biggest, would experience a harder time next year than in 2012 and cautioned too that the eurozone debt crisis was far from over.
31 December 2012 11:08
US backs Argentina in debt restructring case The US gave strong support to Argentina on Friday in the Latin American country's legal battle with hedge funds over the repayment of $1.3 billion to holders of defaulted bonds.
Obama signs law against Iran's influence in Latin America President Barack Obama enacted a law Friday to counter Iran's alleged influence in Latin America, through a new diplomatic and political strategy to be designed by the State Department.
31 December 2012 10:02
Senate renews warrantless surveillance act The Senate approved a five-year extension Friday of a George W. Bush-era surveillance law that allows US spy agencies to conduct wiretapping on foreign citizens without a warrant.
31 December 2012 09:57
Obama 'modestly optimistic' for fiscal deal President Barack Obama said Friday he was "modestly optimistic" a last-minute deal was possible with Republicans to avert a "fiscal cliff" crisis that could spark a recession and rock global markets.
30 December 2012 18:59
Tour de France champ Wiggins knighted in New Year honours Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins led a parade of Olympic champions whose achievements in a remarkable summer of sport in Britain were recognised in the New Year Honours list on Saturday.
30 December 2012 18:23
Apple to drop patent claims against Samsung phone Apple has agreed to drop its patent claims against Samsung's Galaxy S III Mini after the South Korean rival said it would not sell the gadget in the United States.
