Palash Ghosh

The Fianna Fail, the principal party in Ireland’s ruling coalition government, has elected former foreign minister Micheal Martin as its new boss, a few days after Brian Cowen resigned from the post.

Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Russia, already reeling from the airport suicide bombing in Moscow, will open the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Heritage Oil plc, the independent British exploration company, said it has made a major gas discovery in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The European Commission said it has blocked a proposed merger between Greece’s two major airlines, Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines SA, because it would have created a quasi-monopoly and lead to to higher fares for four of the six million Greek and European passengers flying to and from Athens each year.

The Egyptian government, besieged by a wave of public demonstrations against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, said it will get tough and arrest and prosecute anyone participating in street riots. At least four people, including a police officer, have already died in widespread protests.

Sara Lee Corp (NYSE:SLE) has rejected a takeover bid by a group of private equity firms, according to a report in the New York Post.

The executive summary of themes to be discussed at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting to be held Jan. 26-30 2011 in Davos, Switzerland.

Life spans in the U.S. lags behind its major high-income industrial peers largely due to Americans’ long history of smoking as well as rising rates of obesity, according to a new report from the National Research Council (NRC).

Indian tax officials in Mumbai has searched the homes and offices of two of Bollywood’s leading actresses, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif, on suspicions that they have evaded paying taxes on earnings derived from advertisements, foreign assignments and guest appearances.”

Billionaire Stanley Ho, the 89-year old godfather of a casino business empire based in Macau in southern China, is battling members of his own family over the control of companies that comprise his immense wealth.

The government of Greece said it will take legal action against German engineering and electronics giant Siemens AG for allegedly bribing Greek officials.

Regis Philbin, who recently quit his lucrative gig as host of “Live With Regis & Kelly,” might also be losing his endorsement deal with TD Bank, which has made him a familiar figure through its television commercials. Kelly Ripa also appeared in the ads.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) said it sold more vehicles in China than it did in the U.S. in 2010, making it the first time in the automaker’s 102-year history that sales in a foreign country surpassed domestic sales.

The United States Postal Service may close thousands of post office locations that are losing money, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Iran has hanged two men for their activities during the turmoil following President Ahmadinejad’s controversial election victory in 2009. Iran has now executed 64 people is just the past twenty-four days, or on average one person every nine hours.

Lovers of chocolate probably have no clear idea where the Ivory Coast is located, but political turmoil in that West African nation will likely drive up the price of their favorite sweet treat.

Violent crime in New York City, the nation’s largest city, has plunged over the past twenty years.

The former chief executive officer of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Eric Schmidt, may be seeking a career in television, according to a report in The New York Post.

Brent Bozell, president of the right-wing Media Research Center (MRC) and publisher of NewsBusters, issued the following statement about the forced departure of outspoken liberal Keith Olbermann from MSNBC.

J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) agreed to name William Ackman to its board of directors after the activist investor became the department store chain’s largest shareholder.

The ten most “prosperous” nations on earth, according to Legatum’s system, are dominated by Europe. The top ten in order are Norway, Denmark, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden. Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands and the United States.

Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz – no doubt seeking to heighten publicity for her new film “Green Hornet” – claimed recently that while in high school in Long Beach, California she likely bought marijuana from future rap superstar Snoop Doggy Dogg.

RadioShack Corp. (RSH) stock is plunging on news that its chairman and chief executive officer, Julian Day, will retire in May. The company also posted preliminary fourth-quarter earnings that fell below analyst’s expectations.

As many as 23,500 British companies may go bankrupt this year, as a direct result of government spending cuts, and almost 150,000 firms are in serious financial trouble, warned Begbies Traynor Group, the insolvency specialist.

OPEC may consider raising production in 2011 in order to meet higher demand, according to the oil minister of Saudi Arabia.

Political parties in Ireland will hold crisis talks following the abrupt departure of the Green Party from the coalition led by Prime Minister Brian Cowen.

Regis Philbin's decision to “retire” from his television show “Live! With Regis & Kelly” was apparently prompted by financial issues, not by his advanced age.

Controversial, colorful politicians like Silvio Berlusconi are a dying breed.

The unemployment rate in California trickled up to 12.5 percent in December, from 12.4 percent the prior month – meaning the jobless rate stayed above the 12 percent mark for the entire year, according to the state’s Employment Development Department (EDD).