NEWS European leaders gathering on Thursday for their year-end summit meeting hailed an agreement to place euro zone banks under a single supervisor, calling it a concrete measure to maintain the viability of the currency as well as a step in laying the groundwork for a broader economic union. James Kanter reports from Brussels.
Susan E. Rice, who faced fierce opposition from Republicans in her bid to be the next U.S. secretary of state, said she is pulling out of the running because the confirmation process would have been “lengthy, disruptive and costly.†Mark Landler reports from Washington.
Talks on a proposed treaty governing international telecommunications collapsed in acrimony on Thursday when the United States rejected the agreement on the eve of its scheduled signing, citing an inability to resolve an impasse over the Internet. Eric Pfanner reports from Dubai.
Even though North Korea ignored China's appeal not to test its new longer-range missile, the new leadership in China appears intent on remaining a steadfast supporter of its wayward neighbor because it considers the North a necessary buffer against the United States and its allies. Jane Perlez reports from Beijing.
The European Commission settled its antitr ust case against Apple and four book publishing groups over e-book price fixing on Thursday, in what was described as a victory for the leading online seller, Amazon, and a setback for publishers fighting for the ability to set prices for electronic literature in the digital marketplace. Kevin J. O'Brien reports from Berlin.
New testimony that emerged Thursday deepened the intrigue surrounding the death of the former K.G.B. officer Alexander V. Litvinenko, offering “prima facie†evidence of Russian state involvement and indicating that he had been a paid agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, lawyers at a preliminary inquest hearing said. Alan Cowell reports from London.
The British government gave the go-ahead Thursday for exploratory hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract natural gas from shale-rock deposits. Stanley Reed reports from London.
SPORTS A game that was once considered merely a bar pastime is now a major industry in Europe. Over the holiday season, Premier League soccer is the only sport that will attract more television viewers in Britain than the Professional Darts Corporation's championship, the higher-quality and better-attended of darts' two world title events. Steven Cotton reports.
