Chinese activist Chen flies to the US

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:17:30 GMT

Departure of Chen and his family brings to an end the worst diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington in over a decade

Spain hit by rise in bad bank loans

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:14:43 GMT

Value of bad loans held by banking sector increased a third during the past year to €148bn and accounted for 8.4% of their entire loan portfolios

Brazil stimulus fails to raise growth

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:14:32 GMT

Contraction makes Brazil’s growth second slowest in Latin America and comes as Asia’s major emerging markets, China and India, are also decelerating

President plays up image as ‘Mr Normal’

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:55:12 GMT

New French president seeks to fulfil his promise to voters after the ‘bling-bling’ image of his unpopular predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy

Moderate Islamist aims to heal Egypt’s rifts

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:56:29 GMT

Aboul Fotouh’s critics, and even some supporters, say that by seeking to appeal to all the major constituencies he has failed to satisfy any of them

Obama ground forces braced for air war

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:35:18 GMT

President’s team says massive grassroots campaign will be needed to withstand bombardment of negative attack ads from Romney and super-Pacs

Osaka mayor has old guard running scared

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:32:06 GMT

The blunt nationalist, who has divided opinion, will have to get things done in his city if he is to retain the backing of Japanese voters

China jails leader of smuggling ring

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:49:27 GMT

China has jailed Lai Changxing, its most notorious fugitive, for life after finding him guilty of smuggling and bribing regional officials

Jordan worries Syrian crisis could undermine stability

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:29:15 GMT

Amman has pointedly refused to back either President Bashar al-Assad’s regime or the rebels seeking its overthrow