Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte has said he would prefer to see more money go towards investment from the sale of state assets. More »Plea over sale of state assets
Yemeni troops killed five suspected Al-Qaeda militants early on Sunday in an artillery attack in the southern city of Zinjibar, a local official said. More »Yemeni soldiers kill five Qaeda suspects
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Following are comments from policymakers attending the meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in Mexico City on Saturday. U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER "I think it's important to give Europe's leaders credit for what they have accomplished ... and put in place in terms of the architecture of a credible response in the last four months." "They have had a big impact in reducing the downside risks to growth ... though it's important not to rest on that progress. ... More »Comments from G20 finance chiefs meeting in Mexico
Evacuees from Brazil's destroyed Antarctic research base were set to fly home Sunday as the government assessed the extensive damage caused by a fire that also killed two navy personnel and injured another. More »Brazil poised to evacuate staff from Antarctic base
A "devastated" community has united to raise money for the family of 13-year-old girl Casey-Lyanne Kearney. More »Fundraiser for stabbed teenager
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said Sunday it had not blocked an oil shipment to Greece, denying earlier reports it had done so in retaliation to the EU phasing in a ban on its key export, the Iranian Student's News Agency (ISNA) reported. "There has been no change in Iran's oil shipment to Greece or any other country. No changes in our shipment schedule," said Pirouz Mousavi, managing director of the Iranian Oil Terminals Co. Earlier, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said Tehran had refused shipment of 500,000 destined for Greek refiner Hellenic Petroleum, but a Hellenic official denied it. ... More »Iran says has not refused oil to Greece - ISNA
Thousands of Russians linked hands around Moscow on Sunday in a protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's expected return to the Kremlin for a third term in elections next weekend. More »Anti-Putin human chain protest hits Moscow
LONDON (Reuters) - MPs have urged Royal Bank of Scotland and other lenders not to withdraw financial support from troubled credit card insurer CPP fearing the loss of more than 1,300 jobs. CPP, which insures against credit card fraud and identity theft, said on Friday it was in talks with its banks about how an overhaul of its sales procedures would affect it, following a probe by the financial regulator into alleged mis-selling. The Sunday Times reported that RBS, Barclays and Santander had refused to renew CPP's credit facilities when they expire in March 2013. CPP declined to comment. ... More »MPs urge RBS to stand by troubled card insurer CPP
Members of murdered schoolgirl Casey-Lyanne Kearney's family are taking part in a day of charity events in her name, including a benefit gig by Britain's Got Talent finalists 2 Grand. More »BGT Finalists' Concert For Murdered Girl
At least 30,000 anti-Putin demonstrators have formed a human chain in Moscow for the last big protest before next week's presidential election. More »Last Anti-Putin Rally Before Russian Election
RABAT (Reuters) - The United States is evaluating the outcome of legal proceedings in Egypt, where 16 Americans are among dozens of democracy activists being put on trial, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday. The case has strained ties between Egypt and Washington and threatened $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid. "We are evaluating the outcomes of the legal proceeding today. We'll have more to say after we have finished that analysis and gathered as much information as possible," she told reporters on a visit to the Moroccan capital, Rabat. ... More »Clinton says weighing response to Egypt activist trial
TEHRAN (Reuters) - A picture of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, glares down from an enormous election banner onto a busy street in central Tehran, ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote in the Islamic state this week. Iran's first nationwide vote since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 has been marked by increased rhetoric extolling Islamic values as pressure mounts on the Iranian authorities - from at home and abroad. ... More »Iran election campaigners seek refuge in Islamic rhetoric
KUNDUZ/KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Seven U.S. military trainers were wounded on Sunday when a grenade was thrown at their base in northern Afghanistan, police said, as anti-Western fury deepened over the burning of the Koran at a NATO base. Despite an apology from U.S. President Barack Obama, riots raged across the country for a sixth day on Sunday against the desecration of the Muslim holy book at a NATO air base at Bagram. Some protesters hoisted the white Taliban flag. The Afghan Interior Ministry identified one of its employees as a suspect in the fatal shooting of two U.S. ... More »Seven U.S. soldiers wounded after Afghan NATO base attacked
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The world's leading economies worked on Sunday to line up a deal in April on a second global rescue package worth nearly $2 trillion to stop the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis from spreading and putting at risk the tentative recovery. Germany said it would make a decision some time in March on strengthening Europe's bailout fund, a move other Group of 20 countries say is essential to clear the way for throwing extra funds into the International Monetary Fund. ... More »G20 moves to line up huge rescue deal for April
An Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear sites would amount to a roll of the dice against elusive targets, drawing in the United States if the gamble fell short, analysts and former US military officers say. More »A strike on Iran would pose tough test for Israelis
Egyptian police prevented a British man and his wife from smuggling 19 artefacts out of the country, an antiquities official told AFP on Sunday. More »British couple caught smuggling artefacts in Egypt
Emirati authorities have cancelled the residencies of dozens of Syrians for taking part in a protest against their regime outside the consulate in Dubai, Syrian activists told AFP on Sunday. More »Syrian protesters quit UAE after visas 'cancelled'
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans overwhelmingly oppose further aid for Greece, according to opinion poll released on Sunday, one day ahead of a vote in parliament on a new Greek bailout package where Chancellor Angela Merkel may be forced to rely on opposition support. The poll by the Emnid Institute in Bild am Sonntag newspaper found 62 percent oppose a new 130 billion ($175 billion) rescue package while 33 percent are in favour. A similar Emnid poll in September found 53 percent opposed and 43 percent in favour. ... More »Germans overwhelmingly oppose Greek bailout - poll
Seven US soldiers in Afghanistan have been wounded in a grenade attack just hours after the nation's president appealed for calm over the burning of Korans at a US military base. More »Koran Protests: US Soldiers Injured In Attack
The International Committee of the Red Cross resumed negotiations on Sunday with the Syrian authorities and opposition groups on evacuating the wounded from Homs's besieged Baba Amr district, a day after talks collapsed, the ICRC said. More »Talks resume on evacuating wounded in Syria's Homs
Nelson Mandela was discharged from a South African hospital on Sunday after a minor diagnostic procedure showed nothing "seriously wrong" with the 93-year-old anti-apartheid icon. More »Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade was roundly booed as he cast his ballot Sunday in an election which has sparked deadly protests over his bid for a third term. More »Senegal votes as Wade seeks disputed third term
Iraq's transport minister appealed to foreign firms on Sunday to help restore his country's dilapidated infrastructure by rebuilding airports and constructing a European-style rail network. More »Iraq seeks investment to upgrade transport network
A protester was killed and seven US soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack on their base in a sixth day of anti-American protests Sunday, police said, as President Hamid Karzai called for calm. More »US troops wounded in attack over Koran: Afghan police
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went into talks on Sunday with her Moroccan counterpart Saad Eddine Othmani on the third and final leg of a Maghreb tour aimed at nurturing democracy in the region. More »Clinton in Morocco as Maghreb tour winds up