GERMANY

On a percentage basis, the biggest spikes came from Greece and Spain.

Many people only dream about travelling the world because of time and financial constraints, but Michael Wigge, an award- winning comedian, has proved that its possible, for free.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said any agreement would need to include an ambitious strategy for growth.

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) announced Thursday it will build its next generation Vauxhall/Open Astra cars at two factories in Ellesmere Port, UK and Gliwice, Poland, leaving the company's Bochum, Germany plant facing closure.

Israeli leaders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Ehud Barak have long taken a hawkish stance against Iran.

Fears are escalating across Europe that Greece will have to exit the euro zone.

The euro wallowed near a four-month trough versus the dollar Thursday after some banks in Athens faced emergency funding needs, compounding fears that a potential Greek exit from the euro could put more pressure on other struggling euro zone nations.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to soften her stand on Greece Wednesday night, saying she was ready to discuss stimulus programs to get the Greek economy growing again and that she was committed to keeping Greece in the euro zone.

Iran continues to send arms shipments to Syria in violation of a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports, according to a draft report by a U.N. panel released Wednesday.

Greece continued to weigh heavily on confidence Wednesday as bank customers there began sending cash out of the country or hiding it under their beds -- this despite hints from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that a stimulus would be forthcoming if the country stuck to its austerity commitments.

The financial markets appear to have already priced in Greece?s departure from the euro bloc.

Tsipras has said he wants Greece to remain in the euro zone, but has demanded that bailout agreements be renegotiated by providing more favorable terms.

Shortly after winning 21 seats in parliament, Greece's Golden Dawn has already become a political pariah.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday said the country will provide Afghanistan with 150 million euros annually to support its security forces. The funding will start in 2015, the year after NATO-led forces are scheduled to leave the country.

The German hamlet of Villa Baviera in Central Chile wants to put its macabre history in the past and promote itself as a tourist destination.

Although Greece is considered the ?cradle of Western Civilization,? the nation has had a vastly different history and trajectory from the dominant countries of Western Europe.

International opinions about which nations serve as a positive influence on global affairs are changing. Around the world, more people are looking to Asia, with Japan topping the list, while increasing numbers are disappointed with Europe. However, Asians themselves remained wary of their neighbors.

Investors spent most of Tuesday tip-toeing back into risky assets before suddenly losing their nerve about two hours before the closing bell and retreating, for the second day in a row, to German bunds and U.S. Treasurys.

Hollande - the first Socialist French President in nearly 17 years to occupy the Elysee Palace - is at odds with Merkel's German-led package of tax hikes and spending cuts that have characterized the European response to the growing sovereign debt crisis.

Singapore was the fifth-largest arms importer in the world between 2007 and 2011.

Ayrault, 62, has never before held a ministerial office but has served as a politician, including mayor of the city of Nantes, continuously since 1986