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One of the largest annual technical conferences, South by Southwest (SXSW), will begin Friday, March 9 and last until Sunday, March 18. Here is a full list of the SXSW 2012 music lineup for South by Southwest from March 13-18.

The euro zone is out of the emergency ward, but it may face a chronic debilitating illness rather than a rapid convalescence.

Barclays Plc tapped the European Central Bank for 8.2 billion euros ($10.8 billion) of cheap funding this week, marking a U-turn for the bank as it had previously been worried about the risk of political interference if it took funds.

Despite agreeing to the new European Union fiscal stability pact, Spain has autonomously decided to defy the established deficit target. Spain will not reach the previously set deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and instead opts for more flexibility, setting a new target of 5.8 percent of GDP.

Spain set itself a softer deficit target for 2012 than originally agreed under the euro zone's austerity drive, putting a question mark over the credibility of the European Union's new fiscal pact.

Barclays Plc has taken 8.2 billion euros ($10.9 billion) of the European Central Bank's (ECB) long-term refinancing operation (LTRO), which offers three-year loans to banks at a rate of 1 percent, in order to manage funding gaps in Spain and Portugal.

European Union leaders met on Thursday to discuss the right balance between budget austerity and reviving lost growth, at the first summit for two years in which the euro zone debt crisis did not eclipse all else.

A new theory is gaining steam that calls into question the conventional hypothesis that humans came to America via a land bridge connecting Alaska and Siberia.

Euro zone unemployment rose in January to 10.7 percent, the highest figure since 1999, as the ranks of the jobless continued to swell in Portugal, Italy and Spain, among others, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, said Thursday.

New bonds that Greece will issue this month as part of its debt restructuring are likely to be the highest yielding in the euro zone as creditors price in a high risk of being forced to take yet more losses.

Spanish borrowing costs fell at an auction on Thursday despite a grim economic backdrop that has pushed the government to step up its drive for leeway from Brussels on its difficult debt cutting targets.

Workers at an electrical products factory in eastern China received a pleasant shock when they returned to their jobs after the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

European stock markets gained in early trade Wednesday ahead of second 3-year long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank.

Brazil v Bosnia took place in St. Gallen, Switzerland on Tuesday. Watch all the highlights from the exhibition match here.

The Dutch parliament, which has been heavily critical of euro zone bailouts, gave grudging backing to Greece's second rescue package on Tuesday saying it was needed to stabilize the currency bloc.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's room for maneuver on future euro zone bailouts, in doubt after a revolt by coalition lawmakers, shrank further on Tuesday when Germany's top court raised a hurdle to swift action in financial rescues.

Germany's Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that a parliamentary panel formed to approve urgent action by the euro zone bailout fund is in large part unconstitutional. The decision could hamper efforts to tackle the European debt crisis.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has for the first time spoke of his fear that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will sack him after the club's poor run of form.

The politics of China's need for a smooth leadership succession this year provide the best protection against a hard economic landing, regardless of stuttering exports, faltering capital flows, local government debts and lingering inflation risks.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has admitted that he would be interested in bringing Porto star Hulk to the club.

Firms and consumers continued to pull their money out of Greek banks at a rapid rate in January, European Central Bank data showed on Monday, underscoring the ongoing lack of trust the country's banking system faces.