Europe | featured news

A year after the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank in Italy, drowning 32 passengers and crew, the ship’s owner acknowledged Saturday that efforts to salvage the wreck were behind schedule, even as survivors of the disaster expressed anger at being told to keep away from anniversary ceremonies.

The first official portrait of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, has been unveiled at London's National Portrait Gallery -- but has met with a mixed reaction from art critics and the public. Award-winning artist Paul Emsley, who spent three-and-a-half months painting the Duchess's likeness, said he had tried to portray her warmth and personality in the picture.

France's government says it has persuaded a leading Internet provider to stop blocking online advertisements — a controversial move that would have hit online search giants such as Google.

This season matches across Europe have been punctuated by repeated outbursts of racism and on Thursday AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng took matters into his own hands after leading his side off the field of play after being subjected to racist abuse.

Italy's caretaker Prime Minister, Mario Monti, promises to cut labour taxes in an interview seen as the launch of his election campaign.

Masked and armed robbers used the New Year's Eve revelry as cover to rob the flagship Apple store in Paris.

Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died in Rome at the age of 103.

The German magazine Der Spiegel’s online edition today posted an obituary for George H.W. Bush. It was titled “The Better Bush.” Here is a screenshot of the obituary headline and text: In fact, George H.W. Bush is still alive. The premature death notice was scrubbed without an explanation as to why the magazine’s New York correspondent Marc Pitzke got the story completely wrong. Here is the website announcing that Pitzke’s article can no long be found.

Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani is favorite among Italians to lead the next government, with outgoing technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti second most popular and Silvio Berlusconi coming a close third, a poll showed on Sunday.

Local governments across Spain have been paying their suppliers' bills months behind schedule, forcing companies to help shoulder the financial woes of the Spanish government.