The Chinese government said Thursday that it had set a target toslow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 even as its economycontinues to grow. China is aiming to reduce so-called carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percentcompared with

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused theWest of breaking promises made after the fall of the Iron Curtain,saying that NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe violated commitmentsmade during the negotiations over German reunification. Newlydiscovered documents from Western archives support the Russian

Dubai struggled to ease fears of debtdefault Thursday after its move to delay repayments at two flagshipcompanies shook confidence in the Middle East as a center forinvestment and a source of capital.Dubai's debt problems, a hangover from a property boom

U.S. President Barack Obama had been wary ofattending the global climate change summit in Copenhagen next month.Many hope his decision to attend will increase the meeting's chancesfor success. But doubts remain about his commitment.When Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, it's the turkeys

The director of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned Thursday that its investigation into Iran’s nuclear program had †effectively reached a dead end†after more than a year of stonewalling by Tehran.Mohamed ElBaradei, the departing director of the International

As many as 24 Canadians, includingone who died, suffered from a severe allergic reaction after receivingthe H1N1 pandemic vaccine.But Canadian health officials stressed Wednesday that the rate of anaphylaxisappears to be low: 0.32 per 100,000 doses. Anaphylaxis is a severeallergic

Iranian authorities haveconfiscated Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi's medal, her lawyer andNorway's government said Thursday, in a sign of the increasinglydrastic steps they are taking against any dissent.In Norway, where the peace prize is awarded, the government said theconfiscation was

A Thursday newspaper report accuses former GermanDefense Minister Franz Josef Jung, now Chancellor Merkel's laborminister, of having withheld information from parliament regarding aGerman-ordered air attack in Afghanistan which killed dozens ofcivilians. The opposition is demanding that Jung resign.That Thursday was

During battles at the end of World War II, tensof thousands of soldiers and civilians never got a decent burial. Foralmost 30 years, one man has been finding these bodies and helping themrest in peace.The first thing one sees is

He snores, she suffers. But many couples insiston sleeping together because they worry that having separate beds willlead to emotional distance. Still, scientists say, they are ignoringfindings that say that being well-rested - rather than cuddling -might be a whole

Michaele and Tareq Salahi like a goodparty, an attorney who knows them said Thursday, and maybe that's whythe couple from Virginia's horse country didn't look out of place atthe White House state dinner for the Indian prime minister.They were all

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi'sestranged wife is seeking 43-million euros, or about $65-million(U.S.), a year in alimony in a divorce case she launched after herhusband was embroiled in a sex scandal, an Italian newspaper reportedThursday.Veronica Lario's lawyer was not immediately

President Obama is pledging a provisional target for reductions in greenhouse gasemissions in the United States, the first time in more than a decadethat an American administration has offered even a tentative promise toreduce production of climate-altering gases, the White

Is global warming the new globalization?Environmental activists are hoping that demonstrations at next month'sclimate summit in Denmark can forge a protest movement like theanti-globalization movement seen after the WTO riots in 1999. But theDanish authorities have other ideas.If you missed

Brazil is seen as an economic success story andits people revere President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva like a star. Heis on a mission to turn the country into one of the world's fivebiggest economies through reforms, giant infrastructure projects

Fariba Pajooh has been held in Tehran's notoriousEvin Prison since she was arrested in August, with no access to anattorney. No charges have been filed against the Iranian journalist.When she received the call from the intelligence service, FaribaPajooh knew that

A regional German court has taken a decision thatcould cost the government billions of euros. It has ruled that the"solidarity" income tax surcharge introduced in 1991 to help rebuildeastern Germany is unconstitutional. The matter will now go beforeGermany's top court.A

The Toyota Motor Corporation said Wednesday that it would fix or replace the accelerator pedalsof 4 million vehicles to resolve a widespread problem with unintendedacceleration that has stripped some of the luster off the car maker’sreputation for safety and reliability.The

President Obama saidon Tuesday that he will announce his decision on how many more troopsto send to Afghanistan next week, and that it is his intention to†finish the job†that began with the overthrow of the Taliban government in

The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan,Richard Holbrooke, spoke to German news magazine Spiegel about Washington's goals inAfghanistan, President Obama's new war strategy and the prospects ofhanding over responsibility to the government in Kabul.SPIEGEL: You were part of President