GERMANY

The leading opposition figure went on hunger strike after accusing prison guards of beating her as they tried to move her to a hospital for treatment for a back injury.

Mexican business-tycoon Carlos Slim Helú's mobile telecommunications company América Móvil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX) made an unsolicited bid to raise its stake in Dutch mobile phone company Koninklijke KPN N.V. (Amsterdam: KPN) by $3.4 billion, KPN announced Tuesday.

U.S. and European stocks as well as commodities fell hard Tuesday on worries about the effect of a possible Greek departure from the euro zone.

After conservative leader Antonis Samaras failed to form a coalition government in the wake of Sunday's fractured Greek elections, now comes the leftists? attempt to forge such an alliance.

Industrial output in Germany shot up far more than expected in March, following February's weather-related weakness, renewing hopes that Europe's biggest economy may have avoided recession.

Futures on major US stock indices point to a lower opening Tuesday as growing concerns over political instability in Greece weighed on sentiment.

Asian stock markets advanced Tuesday, recovering from their biggest fall in six months in the previous session on concerns over election results in France and Greek.

While Nicolas Sarkozy has finally met his Waterloo -- and not before time according to a testy French electorate -- analysts are unconvinced Hollande can persuade the rest of Europe, let alone a resolute Germany, to abandon the austerity juggernaut.

Socialist Francois Hollande will lead France after Nicolas Sarkozy got ousted by voters fed up with austerity. In Greece, the far-left and far-right have made big gains. But it may not be time just yet to start worrying about the fate of the euro zone.

Spain, the euro zone's fourth-largest economy, said Monday industrial output decrease by 7.5 percent in March compared to the prior year, following sharp unemployment and shrinking gross domestic product, according to official data.

Seven political parties gained at least 6 percent of the vote in Sunday?s election in Greece, with the top vote-getter, the conservative New Democracy, winning about 18.9 percent.

Germany's Economics and Technology Ministry reported Monday factory orders rose in March, spurred primarily by businesses looking away from the euro zone and to the United States and emerging markets. Orders rose 2.2 percent from February, spurred by a 4.8 percent growth in export orders from outside the currency zone.

During his victory speech, the new French president explicitly disavowed austerity.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday as elections in France and Greece stirred up new uncertainties about how the region will tackle its ongoing debt crisis.

The victory of socialist Francois Hollande in the French Presidential election has posed certain tough challenges to NATO and US President Barack Obama.

Oil prices fell Monday to add to the sharp decline in the previous session as French and Greek election results raised doubts about those countries' commitment to the austerity measures to sort out Eurozone debt crisis.

Highlighting the economic data this week -- May 7-11 -- are the March trade-balance figures to be released Thursday. Economists expect the U.S. trade deficit to widen after its sharp narrowing in February.

Nicolas Sarkozy delivered a concession speech Sunday night, following his loss to Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in France?s presidential election. I bear the full responsibility for this defeat, Sarkozy said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives stood neck-and-neck with the rival Social Democrats (SPD) in an election in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, projections showed on Sunday, pointing to weeks of tough coalition talks to form a government.

Polling began in Greece Sunday in an early general election that could push the debt struck country to further turmoil and uncertainty.

Labeled the Sopranos of the Afghanistan war, the Haqqanis have built themselves from what was once a rebel force bent on removing the Russians in the 1980s into a Mafia-like organization dealing in smuggling, extortion, and assassination.