Europe | featured news

President Obama's political fate could be decided in the debt-ridden nations of Europe. While praising European efforts to address its potential economic crisis after this week's G-20 summit, Obama also said that problems overseas could damage the economy in the U.S. -- and threaten his re-election.

Spain lurched closer to becoming the largest euro zone country yet to be shut out of credit markets when it had to pay a euro era record price to sell short-term debt on Tuesday.

A gunman who authorities say had past psychiatric problems was captured alive after taking four people hostage Wednesday in a bank in the southern French city of Toulouse, claiming he was acting for religious reasons.

Italy put forward a proposal at a G20 summit in Mexico on Tuesday for the euro zone's rescue funds to start buying the debt of distressed European countries, and the idea is expected to be discussed at a meeting of leaders in Rome on Friday.

Myanmar's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday began an emotional visit to Britain, where she left her family 24 years ago and took up her famous struggle against the military dictatorship in her homeland.

Euro zone paymaster Germany, relieved at a narrow election victory for Greece's pro-bailout parties, signaled on Monday it may be willing to grant Athens more time to meet its fiscal targets to avert a catastrophic euro exit.

Fears of an imminent Greek exit from Europe's joint currency receded Sunday after the conservative New Democracy party came first in a critical election and pro-bailout parties won enough seats to form a joint government.

Francois Hollande is the man in charge after his Socialist Party swept France's parliamentary election. Voters welcomed the French president's vision of injecting government money into Europe's economies in hopes of helping the joint euro currency stave off disaster....

The euro-zone's bailout funds can't handle another big bailout, the world's biggest private financial institutions said.

Tens of thousands of Italian workers rallied in Rome on Saturday to protest pension cuts, tax hikes and labor reforms imposed by the government of Mario Monti and to demand more stable work, particularly for the young. The demonstration organized by Italy's main labor unions came a day after Monti's latest effort to stave off contagion from Europe's debt crisis. His Cabinet on Friday approved measures worth (EURO)80 billion ($100 billion) to spur economic growth, streamline the notoriously bloated public sector and lower the national debt.