Europe

This handout photo provided by Finnish police shows Ibrahim Shkupolli, the suspected shooter at Sello shopping centre in Espoo. A lone gunman shot dead his former girlfriend and then gunned down four of her work colleagues in a rampage at a Finnish shopping mall Thursday before turning his weapon on himself. © AFP/Lehtikuva

ESPOO (AFP) - A lone gunman shot dead his former girlfriend and then gunned down four of her work colleagues in a rampage at a Finnish shopping mall Thursday before turning his weapon on himself.

Police launched a ...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev chats with soldiers during a visit to Dagestan in June last year. A suicide bomber set off a powerful car bomb outside a police headquarters in the restive Russian republic of Dagestan, killing five policemen and wounding 15, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. © AFP/Ria Novosti/File Mikhail Klimentyev

MOSCOW (AFP) - A suicide bomber set off a powerful car bomb outside a police headquarters in the restive Russian republic of Dagestan, killing five policemen and wounding 15, an Interior Ministry spokesman ...

A man walks through snow in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Soldiers helped rescue stranded drivers as Britain's most brutal winter in decades caused chaos for travellers, and bitterly cold temperatures cloaked much of Europe. © AFP Ben Stansall

LONDON (AFP) - Soldiers helped rescue stranded drivers Wednesday as Britain's most brutal winter in decades caused chaos for travellers, and bitterly cold temperatures cloaked much of Europe.

Millions of people in ...

Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson announces he will not sign a controversial bill to compensate the British and Dutch governments over the failure of Icesave bank, instead referring the issue to a referendum. Britain has warned Iceland it risks international financial isolation if it votes against the compensation bill © AFP Halldor Kolbeins

LONDON (AFP) - Britain has warned Iceland it risks international financial isolation if it votes against a bill to compensate Britain and the Netherlands over the failure of Icesave bank.

Financial services ...

A German debit card in a cash machine in Berlin. Around 30 million high-tech German bank cards could leave owners high and dry, bank associations warned on Tuesday as the feared Y2K computer bug cropped up 10 years later than expected. © AFP John Macdougall

FRANKFURT (AFP) - Around 30 million high-tech German bank cards could leave owners high and dry, bank associations warned Tuesday as the feared Y2K computer bug cropped up 10 years later than expected.

The problem ...

A German debit card in a cash machine in Berlin. Around 30 million high-tech German bank cards could leave owners high and dry, bank associations warned on Tuesday as the feared Y2K computer bug cropped up 10 years later than expected. © AFP John Macdougall

FRANKFURT (AFP) - Around 30 million high-tech German bank cards could leave owners high and dry, bank associations warned on Tuesday as the feared Y2K computer bug cropped up 10 years later than expected.

The ...

Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, seen here in 2009, said he will not sign a controversial bill to compensate the British and Dutch governments over the failure of Icesave bank. Grimsson will instead refer the issue to a referendum. © AFP/File Olivier Morin

REYKJAVIK (AFP) - Iceland's president said on Tuesday he would not sign an unpopular bill to compensate Britain and the Netherlands over the failure of Icesave bank, threatening the survival of the government and ...

Fishing boats are stuck in ice in the northern German harbour town of Greetsiel. A cold snap across Europe killed 13 people in Poland over the New Year as avalanches and skiiing accidents left at least 10 others dead in the Alps, police and rescuers said Monday. © AFP/DDP David Hecker

PARIS (AFP) - A cold snap across Europe killed 13 people in Poland over the New Year as avalanches and skiiing accidents left at least 10 others dead in the Alps, police and rescuers said Monday.

As temperatures ...

A protestor urges the release of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong in November 2009. The leading Chinese dissident has appealed his conviction on subversion charges but is holding out only faint hopes that his 11-year prison term will be overturned, his lawyer said. © AFP/File Mike Clarke

BEIJING (AFP) - Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has appealed his conviction on subversion charges but is holding out only faint hopes that his 11-year prison term will be overturned, his lawyer said ...