EUROPEAN UNION

The European Central Bank stepped in to stem an accelerating selloff of euro zone government bonds on Wednesday, traders said, after the United States called for more decisive action to halt the spreading sovereign debt crisis.

A European Union plan to impose tougher rules on credit rating agencies is "dangerous" as it is bound to limit the "quality and independence" of the rating process, the president and chief operating officer of Moody's Investor Services told Le Figaro newspaper.

Foreign direct investment into China climbed nearly 16 percent in the first 10 months of 2011 from a year earlier as foreign investors continued to flock to the world's fastest-growing major economy despite the global economic malaise.

Mauritius' Chamber of Agriculture revised its 2011 sugar production forecast up by 5 percent to 410,000 tonnes on Tuesday, saying the sugar cane crop had proven more resilient to poor rainfall than expected.

Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday rejected a move to downgrade the abuse-of-power offence under which former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been jailed, dealing a blow to prospects of an early release for the charismatic opposition leader.

Monti said he would “act with urgency” to resolve Italy’s deep financial crisis.

The entire affair paints a poignant picture of the idea of freedom of religion in Iran, where Zoroastrians are vulnerable to pressures of conversion, official retaliation and discriminatory practices in employment and education.

Lucas Papademos has insisted that remaining in the Eurozone is our only choice.

LEIPZIG, Germany, Nov 14 - Warning that Europe faced its toughest hour since World War Two, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her party to set aside its misgivings about the euro and accept closer political integration as a solution to the bloc's deepening debt crisis.

Nyamulagira Volcano, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is drawing crowds of tourists as Virunga National Park offers its first ever overnight treks to the eruption.

President Barack Obama served notice on Sunday that the U.S. was fed up with China's trade and currency practices as he turned up the heat on America's biggest economic rival.

About 230,000 people in Swaziland -- almost one-fifth of the population -- are HIV-positive

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Europe could be living through its toughest hour since World War Two as new leaders in Italy and Greece rushed to form governments and limit the damage from the euro zone debt crisis.

Canada and Mexico want to join talks to forge a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, giving a significant boost to the U.S.-led initiative to foster economic growth by tearing down trade barriers.

Italy anxiously awaits the reaction of financial markets Monday to the appointment of former European Commissioner Mario Monti to head a technocratic government, hoping it will end a disastrous week for the Eurozone's third largest economy.

The delay in a massive Canada-Texas pipeline project will inflame opposition to other export options for crude from Canada's oil sands and threaten the nation's aim of becoming a top global energy supplier.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to speed up reform of the European Union treaty, and she wants all 27 European Union member states to give their approval by the end of next year, government sources said Sunday.

Below are quotes from leaders of Pacific Rim countries and business executives attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Saturday.

Italy's head of state begins talks Sunday to appoint an emergency government to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and handle a crisis that has brought the Eurozone's third-largest economy to the brink of financial disaster.

The lower house of the Italian parliament passed an austerity package on Saturday, paving the way for three-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign from office.

Can anyone bring any sense of fiscal stability and normalcy to the Italian government? Perhaps Mario Monti, center, can -- and all in the European Union, and those who believe in the euro, not just the citizens of Italy, will no doubt be rooting for him.