UNITED KINGDOM

English author and bookmakers' favorite Julian Barnes finally won the Man Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday, despite once dismissing the coveted award as posh bingo.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday that France and Germany had agreed to boost a euro zone financial rescue fund to two trillion euros ($2.76 trillion), pushing U.S. stocks and the euro higher despite doubts about whether there was such an agreement.

The Femme Fatale pop star dropped her latest video Monday night, according to the singer's Twitter account.

Fourth time on the Man Booker short list, Julian Barnes has finally triumphed, winning the prize for fiction with his novel The Sense of an Ending.

France and Germany have agreed to boost a euro zone financial rescue fund to two trillion euros ($2.76 trillion), part of a plan to resolve the bloc's debt crisis that should win support at Sunday's EU crisis summit, Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday.

Stocks surged late in trading on Tuesday as buyers latched onto another report of agreements to strengthen the euro zone's rescue fund to bid up stocks aggressively.

France and Germany have agreed to boost a euro zone financial rescue fund to two trillion euros ($2.76 trillion) as part of a plan to resolve the bloc's debt crisis that should win support at Sunday's EU crisis summit, Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday.

Britney gets steamy with real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick in the hotly anticipated video

The leaders of the most powerful nations in Europe, France and Germany, have reportedly agreed to increase the size of the Eurozone’s rescue fund to 2 trillion euros ($2.7 trillion) – up from the current 440 billion euro ($604 billion) lending capability -- as part of comprehensive program to find a solution to the debt crisis wreaking havoc across Europe.

South African group Steinhoff will swap several of its industrial units for a bigger stake in Kap International, in a $1.1 billion deal giving it control of the manufacturing firm.

Eight foreigners were killed in a Botswana plane crash when the plane caught fire shortly after takeoff.

Apple Inc.'s projection of selling 25 million iPhones by the end of 2011 lends credence from the registered sales of 4 million units of iPhone 4S during the opening weekend.

The United States is set to pass narrowly on Tuesday its toughest measures yet to curtail speculation in commodity markets, likely shifting the focus of a fierce four-year debate from the regulators to the courts.

A total of nine Tibetan clergy have now set themselves alight this year – seven in just the last month.

The 2012 Tour de France, featuring new steep climbs and a large dose of time trialing, is expected to suit three-times champion Alberto Contador -- if he takes part, that is.

In just a mere three days after its release, Apple's newest iPhone 4S has already sold over four million units.

She is frequently described in the British press as a “rising star” in the Conservative Party and some believe she might one day become the first Asian Prime Minister of the U.K.

An extradition treaty with the United States is not biased against British criminal suspects, a judge-led review said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to campaigners fighting to stop a computer hacker being sent to stand trial in America.

Regardless of doleful predictions of an epic fail, Apple Inc. has struck again with yet another out-of-the-park home run with its new iPhone 4S. The Cupertino-based tech giant announced on Monday that it has sold more than four million units of the new iPhone 4S during its first weekend (just three days after its launch on Oct. 14).

Apple set a new record by selling more than 4 million iPhone 4S smartphones in the first three days after it was introduced, as customers flocked to Apple retail stores and waited in huge lines to get their hands on the coveted device.

The star driver died two hours after the accident.