IBT Staff Reporter

Syrian authorities arrested a blogger on Sunday who was traveling to Jordan to attend a conference on freedom of the press in the region, her friends said.

Failure by European leaders at their summit this week to fix the fatal flaw in the euro zone, its lack of political union, would risk tremendous market upheaval, a rupture of the common currency and global economic fallout.

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

JPMorgan Chase & Co is arranging the 1-billion-euro ($1.34 billion) loan that SAP AG is taking on to help pay for its $3.4 billion takeover of SuccessFactors, SAP co-Chief Executive Bill McDermott told Reuters.

Citigroup Inc is discussing a plan to shuffle Asian managers to reassure Japanese regulators as they prepare to sanction the bank for alleged lapses in disclosure related to the sale of financial products, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Germany is prepared to soften language in the euro zone's permanent bailout mechanism compelling bondholders to accept losses in exchange for much stricter budget rules, four sources have told Reuters.

Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a 30-billion-euro package of austerity measures on Sunday -- increasing value added tax, reintroducing a property tax, and raising the pension age -- in a drive to gain control of Italy's strained public finances.

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.