The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to at least a dozen nations. Tens of thousands of people were left without heat and governments scrambled to find alternate energy sources.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition agreed Monday to give Europe's biggest economy an extra stimulus of up to euro50 billion ($70 billion) in an effort to cushion it against a deepening recession, senior officials said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition on Monday started hammering out a multibillion-euro package to cushion Europe's biggest economy against a deepening recession, with leaders at odds over proposals for tax relief as they enter an election year.

Car sales in Spain plummeted by 28 percent last year, the worst slump on record, manufacturers said Monday. Automobile trade association ANFAC said 1.16 million vehicles were sold in 2008, down from 1.61 million the previous year.

Belarus' central bank sharply devalued the Belarusian ruble Friday, allowing the currency to plunge 20 percent in a move that will stop the hemorrhaging of its reserves.

Russian media report that Moscow has withheld natural gas supplies to Ukraine for a second day as talks remain suspended. Oil prices were retreating in Asia following pledges by Russia and Ukraine to keep supplies flowing to the rest of Europe. No interruptions outside Ukraine were reported.

The euro dropped slightly against the dollar in light post-holiday trading Friday, a day after Slovakia became the most recent nation to adopt the common European currency.

The euro dropped slightly against the dollar in light post-holiday trading Friday, a day after Slovakia became the most recent nation to adopt the common European currency.

A woman and her two small daughters got more than their expected scenic tour through downtown Vienna on Thursday, when a team of unruly horses took them on a wild ride--leaving the coachman behind.

Danish police say they have arrested a man of Palestinian descent on suspicion of shooting and wounding two Israelis at a shopping mall. Police spokesman John Jacobsen says without naming the suspect that he is a 27-year-old Dane born in Lebanon of Palestinian parents.

Danish police say they have arrested a man of Palestinian descent on suspicion of shooting and wounding two Israelis at a shopping mall. Police spokesman John Jacobsen says without naming the suspect that he is a 27-year-old Dane born in Lebanon of Palestinian parents.

The Czech Republic took over the rotating European Union presidency Thursday, with the bloc aiming to see its new governance treaty approved in 2009. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, authorities illuminated central Prague's giant metronome know as the "Time Machine" in the Czech colors o...

A newspaper reports that Paul Hofmann, an Austrian who informed on his Nazi commanders in occupied Rome and later became a New York Times correspondent, has died.

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says any Israeli decision to end fighting in Gaza will depend on a daily assessment of its military operations against the militant Islamic group Hamas.

Slovak banks did brisk business as they opened on New Year's Day for a very special occasion--issuing euros to citizens eager to get their hands on the country's new currency.

The deadline for Russia's threatened cutoff of gas supplies to Ukraine has passed, after a breakdown in negotiations over payments for past shipments and a future price.

Revelers around the world greeted 2009 with fireworks, bell ringing and a tinge of optimism Thursday--amid hopes they'd seen the last of 2008's disappearing jobs and slumping stocks.

Wall Street had a merciful end to a dreadful year as stocks closed the last session of 2008 with a moderate advance. Investors took some comfort Wednesday from the Labor Department's report of a sharp drop in weekly unemployment claims. But many traders were out of the market, on vacation or having ...

The new year can't come soon enough for some North Dakota farmers and ranchers, if only to get a mental break from a 2008 roller coaster ride that ended with falling prices all around.