POLAND

The late Pope John Paul II moved a big step closer to Roman Catholic sainthood on Friday when his successor approved a decree attributing a miracle to him and announced that he will be beatified on May 1.

The late Pope John Paul II moved a big step closer to Roman Catholic sainthood Friday when his successor approved a decree attributing a miracle to him and announced that he will be beatified on May 1.

The late Pope John Paul II will be beatified this May, a key step on the path to sainthood, the Vatican announced on Friday.

Internet search giant Google Inc. has joined India's celebration of Pongal or Makar Sankranti festival with new Doodle, which has painted kites and flying balloons on its homepage. Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India.

A plane carrying Polish leader Lech Kaczynski crashed killing all on board because the crew feared that aborting the landing due to fog would anger the president, Russian aviation officials said on Wednesday.

Economy in both the euro area and the EU27 grew at a much slower pace in the second quarter, according to the second estimate by Eurostat, the official statistical office of the European Union

Following the explosion onboard Russian aircraft Tu-154B in Serbia on Saturday, the country’s Federal Transport Overseeing Service, Rostransnadzor, has asked airlines to ban services of the passenger jet until the causes of the explosion are known.

Vehicle production in European Union rose by 15% in the first nine months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said Thursday.

Shares surged in Scandinavian carrier SAS on Thursday after a report that Lufthansa planned a takeover, giving new buzz to a long talked-of match.

Rabbit Hole, the latest film of Australian actress Nicole Kidman, will premiere next year on her home country Australia.

In January, London's Dulwich Picture Gallery is celebrating its 200th year with an exclusive international loan exhibition titled Masterpiece A Month: Presiding Genius.

Five countries said on Saturday the EU's budget should be frozen until 2020, highlighting a new source of policy divisions that could spark a funding battle between the region's western states and their poorer peers in the east.

Britain, France, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands called on Saturday for the EU budget to be frozen until at least 2020, in a joint letter to the European Commission.

The top after-market NYSE gainers on Thursday are Office Depot, Accenture, Salesforce.com and American Express. The top after market NYSE most active stocks are Citigroup, Boston Scientific, Sprint Nextel Corporation and Bank of America.

Wipro Ltd said its global consulting, system integration and its outsourcing business unit Wipro Technologies has opened its new development center in Budapest, Hungary, to service Magyar Telekom, Hungary’s biggest telecom service provider.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Czech and Polish prime ministers that she would welcome their countries into the eurozone, daily Lidove Noviny reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

Russia is seeking an explanation from NATO after documents published by Wikileaks revealed that the military alliance planned to protect Baltic States against Moscow. Russian officials stated that the Kremlin was awaiting clarification from NATO the proposed Eagle Guardian plan.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is behind bars in London, facing extradition to Sweden where he is charged with rape and sexual molestation in two separate cases.

The nations of the EU-10 – which comprise various countries in Eastern Europe -- have commenced a meaningful economic recovery and look to strengthen even further in 2011, according to a report from the World Bank.

Registration of European passenger cars slumped by 16.6 percent in October against the numbers recorded in the corresponding period a year ago

The European Union said it remained concerned over a gas deal between Russia and Poland. The EU said terms for access to a gas pipeline under a deal between Russia's Gazprom and Poland's PGNiG may breach European competition law.