Venezuelans lined up for hours in searing tropical heat on Sunday to vote in the biggest electoral test yet to President Hugo Chavez's socialist rule from a young rival tapping into discontent over crime and cronyism. Henrique Capriles, a centrist state governor, narrowed the gap with Chavez in final polls thanks to a vigorous campaign
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Turkish forces fired across the frontier into Syria on Sunday after a shell launched from Syria landed in Turkey's border town of Akcakale, underlining Ankara's warning that it will respond with force to any violence spilling over into its territory. It was the fifth consecutive day of Turkish retaliation against incoming bombardment from northern Syria,
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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo damaged his left shoulder in Sunday's 2-2 La Liga draw at Barcelona, the club said in a statement on their website (www.realmadrid.com ). Ronaldo, who netted both of Real's goals at the Nou Camp, landed heavily on the shoulder after attempting an overhead kick in the second half. "The
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National Bank of Greece made a share-swap offer to buy all of rival Eurobank and create the country's biggest lender, it said on Friday, the latest move in efforts to consolidate the Greek banking industry. Greek banks are under pressure to merge after suffering steep losses from the country's debt restructuring, heavy deposit withdrawals and
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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday that Chancellor Angela Merkel's trip to Greece this week did not mean the debt-stricken country would receive the next tranche of aid from its bailout. "The chancellor will not discuss with Greece a matter which the troika must report on first," Schaeuble told broadcaster ZDF in an
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The Greek economy shrank even more over the last five years than previously estimated, according to revised economic growth figures released by the debt-ridden country's statistics agency. In a statement published late on Friday, the ELSTAT agency said GDP contracted by 4.9% in 2010 and 7.1% in 2011, exceeding previous estimates of 3.5% and 6.9%,
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The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a near four-year low of 7.8 percent in September, a potential boost to President Barack Obama's re-election bid. The Labor Department said on Friday the unemployment rate, a key focus in the race for the White House, dropped by 0.3 percentage point to its lowest point since January 2009.
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A Lebanese-Swedish man denied charges on Friday of plotting to attack Israeli tourists in Cyprus, in a case which authorities said bore similarities to a deadly attack in Bulgaria this year. The 24-year-old defendant faces eight counts of conspiracy and consent to commit a crime and participation in a criminal organisation. A Cyprus court ordered
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Europe's economic crisis is nibbling away at demand for chocolate, the affordable treat once thought of as recession proof. Times are tough enough now that even the market for this modest luxury is struggling in Europe, analysts say. "For the first part of the recession we thought chocolate would be recession proof, and then we
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The priorities of the Cypriot EU – Presidency are the main topic of the forthcoming two-day Economist Conference, which will take place on October 8th-9th 2012 at the Hilton Park Nicosia Hotel. The two-day summit is being organized under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union and in collaboration
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