GERMANY

Now even the East is experiencing a buoyant economic rebirth.

German President Christian Wulff is now in even more trouble after reports surfaced that he threatened news outlets against running stories on his loan scandal.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note - a device that is neither a phone nor a tablet but a happy combination of both - in October.

What will the year 2012 bring? Well, it looks like: the Summer Olympics in London. After that, venturing a prediction is a tough task, but here are a few.

In the aftermath of the war's “official cessation” in 2003, many more people continued to die, from both disease and periodic armed conflicts.

The presence of - troponin I - a biomarker protein in muscle tissue that indicates heart muscle damage, could indicate a person likely to suffer from heart attacks, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Policymakers marked the 10th anniversary Sunday of the introduction of euro notes and coins by urging governments in the currency bloc to save and consolidate to overcome their debt crisis.

The United States will remain the top choice of most global commercial real estate investors in 2012, but the country has lost ground to Brazil which ranked No. 2 this year, according to a survey released Sunday.

Iran has successfully produced and tested fuel rods for use in its nuclear power plants, state television reported on Sunday, in a snub to international demands that it halt sensitive nuclear work.

Dysfunctional politics threatens to deliver a protracted period of slow global growth, possibly lasting well beyond 2012, which will only deepen the political and economic problems for the West.

The United States will continue to be the top choice of most global commercial real-estate investors in 2012, but the country has lost ground to Brazil, which ranked No. 2 this year, according to a survey released Sunday.

Iran said it had delayed its promised long-range missile tests in the Persian Gulf on Saturday and signaled it was ready for fresh talks with the West on its disputed nuclear program.

Europe must cooperate more closely if it wants the euro to succeed as its shared currency, and it still has a long way to go to overcome its sovereign-debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year's Eve address.

The year 2011 was the year of the protester. What will 2012 bring?

For years, 600-pound Donna Simpson was involved in the feederism community - that is - a community of people with a fat fetish. People would pay her $19 per month to watch her eat.

Out with the old year, in with the new and for investors uncertainty is likely to be the only certainty once more.

The Middle East saber-rattling heightened Friday as Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired salvos at the West and claimed the United States could not frighten them out of blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Amazon's Kindle products had their best holiday season ever, according to a statement released by the company on Thursday. More than a million Kindles flew off the shelves each week during the month December.

Paul Christoforo and his Ocean Marketing firm were dumped by N-Control Wednesday after a rude exchange with a customer went public. In an exclusive interview with the IBTimes, Christoforo discusses the incident, hate mail, and his future.

Egyptian prosecutors and police raided offices of 17 pro-democracy and human rights groups Thursday - including several funded by the United States - in what rights defenders described as a campaign against them by the military rulers.

Technology companies appear likely to resume battle in 2012 on three major fronts of the patent wars: smartphone designs, operating systems and semiconductor chip sets. Despite passage of copyright reform under the America Invents Act in September, technology lawsuits persist and experienced lawyers worry that little will change.