Angela Merkel (right) and Dilma Rouseff give a news conference in Hanover, Germany on March 6, 2012(©AFP/File) German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped Forbes’s list of the world’s most powerful women for the third consecutive year, followed by Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff, the magazine said Wednesday. They were followed by Melinda Gates — who...

View of the Institute for Religious Works (IOR) headquarters at the Vatican, on February 18, 2012(©AFP/File) The Vatican on Wednesday said it was a “credible partner” in the struggle against money laundering as it published its first-ever report on efforts to meet international rules on suspect financing. The Vatican “is already a credible...

People attend a mass demonstration to protest unemployment and demand political reform on March 10, 201 in Barcelona(©AFP/File) Leaders of recession-hit Europe take a fresh stab at fighting tax fraud and evasion worth a trillion euros a year at a summit Wednesday but seem unlikely to convince reluctant Austria and Luxembourg to sign on. With euro-scepticism...

Pipes are seen as land is cleared from ordnance and mines in the massive Majnoon oil field, on February 7, 2012, in Iraq(©AFP/File) The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday urged Iraq to build up its weak fiscal buffers as the oil producer’s economy remains highly vulnerable to the oil market. Iraq has maintained macroeconomic stability “in a...

A man walks by the closed entrance of "El Corte Ingles" in Barcelona during a general strike on November 14, 2012(©AFP/File) Spain’s top department store chain El Corte Ingles must restructure five billion euros ($6.5 billion) of debt, the company said Tuesday, citing economic conditions as Spaniards shop less in the recession. El Corte Ingles,...

David Warner is pictured during the Commonwealth Bank ODI series against Sri Lanka in Sydney on January 20, 2013(©AFP/File) Cricket Australia said Tuesday it had no immediate plan to curb the use of social media by players after a Twitter rant by David Warner, but suggested it could happen in the future. Opening batsman Warner is due to face a disciplinary...

Microsoft offers a glimpse Tuesday at a new-generation Xbox as videogame consoles evolve into home entertainment centers(©AFP/File) Microsoft offers a glimpse Tuesday at a new-generation Xbox as videogame consoles evolve into home entertainment centers and adapt to competition from smartphones and tablets. A tented stage has been set up at the technology...