Spain's public prosecutor says there are grounds to investigate alleged secret payments made to leaders of the ruling Popular Party (PP), including the prime minister.

A Romanian media campaign called "Why don't you come over?" pokes fun at British anxiety about a possible influx of Romanian job-seekers next year.

The contraction of manufacturing across the eurozone slowed in January amid signs that the worst may be over, according to the Purchasing Managers' Index.

France's President Francois Hollande is to visit Mali, where three weeks of targeted French air strikes have forced Islamist militants to retreat.

The Russian city once known as Stalingrad is to regain its old name during commemorations of the famous World War II battle on Saturday.

Danish brewer Carlsberg signs a joint venture in Burma to brew and market its beers in the country.

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A Ukrainian-Russian Zenit rocket carrying a US-made telecommunications satellite falls into the Pacific Ocean shortly after its launch.

SNS Reaal, the Dutch bank and insurance firm, is nationalised after failing to find private investors to put money into the firm.

France's Credit Agricole is to write down the value of its assets by 2.68bn euros to reflect the weak eurozone economy and new tighter regulations.

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David Beckham has announced that he has signed with French team Paris St-Germain and that he will give his salary to a local children's charity.

A candidate in Armenia's presidential elections is shot and wounded in the capital Yerevan, in what officials believe was an assassination attempt.

Three weeks of French targeted air strikes in northern Mali have left Islamist militants "in disarray", France's defence minister says.

Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen admits that he took performance-enhancing drugs for 12 years between 1998 and 2010.

Deutsche Bank reports a surprise 2.2bn-euro loss in the fourth quarter of 2012 after writing off investments and setting aside money for likely litigation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed the worst political crackdown in the country's post-Soviet era, Human Rights Watch says.

A night-time blaze sweeps through a camel farm in Germany's Black Forest region, killing 86 animals but causing no human casualties, police say.

MEPs have debated a report by the Public Health Committee on active ageing.

The European Commission has proposed that member states restrict the use of certain classes of pesticide that are believed to be harmful to bees.