IBT Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Mario Monti accelerated plans on Sunday to approve a 20 billion-euro austerity package aimed at shoring up Italy's strained finances and stemming a crisis that threatens to overwhelm the euro zone.

The euro faces a decisive week as European Union leaders, urged on anxiously by the United States, seek agreement on the definitive rescue plan that has eluded them for two years.

An expert panel appointed by Japan's Olympus Corp. to look into an accounting scandal at the disgraced firm will release its findings on Tuesday, the Kyodo news agency said in a weekend report. The findings could pave the way for possible criminal complaints.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann backs changes to the European Union treaty that would create a political and economic powerhouse even at the cost of relinquishing some national sovereignty, he told a Sunday newspaper.

An expert panel appointed by Japan's Olympus Corp to look into an accounting scandal at the disgraced firm will release its findings on Tuesday, Kyodo news agency said in a weekend report, opening the way for possible criminal complaints against former company executives.

India has put a plan to open up its retail industry to foreign supermarkets on hold, a senior government source said on Sunday, an embarrassing turnaround for a beleaguered government fighting to retain the support of key allies.

Laugh-In actor Alan Sues, who was known for playing outlandish and effeminate characters on television, has died at age 85, a statement on his website said.

Heavy Santa Ana winds returned to the Los Angeles area early on Saturday as over 100,000 homes and businesses lost power due to fallen trees and other damage from an ongoing windstorm.

China said it was deeply concerned about a preliminary ruling by a U.S. trade body that trade practices by Chinese solar makers are hurting U.S. producers and said the decision underscored a U.S. inclination to trade protectionism.

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese said an aggressive stance by unions, high labor costs and a potential downturn in world prices threaten plans for vast expansion of its key Australian iron ore operations.

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese said an aggressive stance by unions, high labour costs and a potential downturn in world prices threaten plans for vast expansion of its key Australian iron ore operations.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 3At least one Petrobras employee was believed to be on the drilling rig involved in the spill and prosecutors want to determine if Petrobras acted according to the law, Estado said.

Germany's SAP announced a $3.4 billion cash deal to buy U.S. Web-based software company SuccessFactors Inc., joining the scramble among technology firms to offer cloud-computing services to businesses.

Dec 3 - Germany's SAP announced a $3.4 billion cash deal to buy U.S. web-based software company SuccessFactors, joining the scramble among technology firms to offer cloud-computing services to businesses.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met party leaders Saturday to drum up support for new measures designed to shore up public finances, helping growth and calming the debt crisis in the euro zone's third-largest economy.

Twenty-seven years later, the impact from the Bhopal gas disaster is far-reaching as survivors continue to battle health issues, families fight to keep the memories of their loved ones alive, and companies and cities continue to face the fallout from what has been called the worst industrial disaster of our time.

Herman Cain announced on Saturday that he would suspend his presidential campaign. Here is the full text of the speech he gave to supporters in Atlanta.

Cain, the Georgia businessman whose sudden rise in the polls in October shook up the Republican presidential field, announced in Atlanta on Saturday that he would withdraw from the race in light of allegations of a 13-year extramarital affair and several 1990s-era sexual harassment accusations.

Regulators investigating the collapse of MF Global have determined that the firm combined money between securities and futures accounts owned by customers, and transferred funds outside the country to at least one entity, a source said on Friday.

Yahoo! Inc plans to bid for rights to show online highlights of German Bundesliga soccer matches in the 2013/14 season, its head of German operations told a magazine.

The euro zone will once again serve as the source of Wall Street's angst, as investors look to a summit of the region's political leaders for decisive solutions for the ballooning debt crisis.

Picking the best of anything is a tough task when it involves a huge sample size. It rings no truer than when attempting to pick out 10 best goals of a whole year. The task is no laughing matter. However, it was a lot of fun.

The Oscars' Best Animated Short Film category will be the usual battle between giants and little guys this year, with Pixar and Tweety Bird competing with a batch of smaller animated films from around the world. The Academy released a 10-film shortlist on Thursday, which puts Pixar's La Luna in the running to become the company's 11th nomination, and gives the Warner Bros. cartoon I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat a chance to add to WB's long history in the category as well.

Following is a list of nominees in key categories for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, announced in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Winners will be announced on February 12.

Lady Gaga made her music video directorial debut with a 14-minute production which was met on Friday with a mix of weariness and adulation by fans and pop culture watchers.

A powerful wind storm with gale-force gusts left much of the Los Angeles area strewn with toppled trees and downed power lines on Thursday, slowing rush-hour traffic and knocking out electricity to over 300,000 customers.

Apple failed to convince a U.S. judge to block Samsung Electronics from selling Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the U.S. market, depriving the iPhone and iPad maker of crucial leverage in a global patent battle between the two companies.

Jimmy Fallon might be a big-shot late-night TV host these days, but he still knows that he's a comedian first and foremost.

The network future of NBC's Community -- alarmingly absent from the midseason schedule that the network released last month -- might be up in the air, but digital-age couch potatoes are in luck.