Krishnadev Calamur

France, Le Monde

Standard and Poor's has lowered France's credit rating one notch from AA-plus to AA, citing the country's limited ability to get its public finances in order.

French officials called the downgrade unfair. Prime Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault said France's rating remained one of the best in the ...

The new leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, is perhaps best known for being the man behind the shooting attack on Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl who courageously campaigned for girls' education.

Fazlullah, who was elected Thursday as head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, rose to prominence in Pakistan's Swat ...

Iran, Press TV

There's guarded optimism as the second round of talks between Iran and international powers over the Islamic republic's nuclear program got under way in Geneva.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met for an hour with Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, ahead of Thursday's talks. ...

Britain, The Guardian

We begin with a hot-button issue in Britain – and elsewhere: immigration.

Migrants to Britain since 2000 are less likely to receive benefits or use government housing than those people already in the country. That's according to a new study by the University of London's migration ...

A court in Bangladesh has handed down the death penalty for 152 soldiers in connection with a mutiny by border guards in 2009.

The Associated Press says that "the sentences followed a mass trial involving 846 defendants — a process criticized by a human rights group who said it was ...

Pakistan, Geo TV

We begin in Pakistan where an Islamabad court has granted former President Pervez Musharraf bail over a military operation to force militants from the capital's Red Mosque.

The former military leader has been charged with murder over the death of a radical cleric who died ...

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced this week that he wanted London to become "one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world."

Cameron said Britain will issue sukuk, or Islamic bonds, valued at $320 million as early as next year.

But what does all that ...

Indonesia, Kompas

There's more fallout over disclosures that the U.S. spied on many of its allies — this time in Indonesia.

The Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Greg Moriarty, the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, over allegations that Australian diplomatic posts, including the one in Jakarta, were used as part ...

Thinking of living and working abroad for the experience? For those already doing it, Asia seems to be the preferred destination.

The HSBC 2013 Expat Survey asked 7,000 expatriates in 100 countries to rate nations on three factors: economics, experience and raising children.

China topped the list, followed by ...

India is expected to launch a satellite to Mars next month at a cost of less than $80 million — a fraction of what it costs other countries.

The satellite, known as Mangalyaan, or Mars Craft, is designed to orbit Mars and study the planet's atmosphere and surface. It ...

Iraq, Al Sabah

We begin with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Washington.

The newspaper reported on Maliki's meetings Wednesday with Vice President Joe Biden, who renewed U.S. support for Iraq's security.

Maliki, who meets President Obama on Thursday, is seeking U.S. help to curb the rising violence ...

China, CCTV

We start this morning with more news on that deadly crash in Beijing's Tiananmen square.

Authorities say they've arrested five people in Beijing in connection with Monday's crash that killed two people and injured nearly 40. They labeled the incident a terrorist attack.

Police said the attack ...

We told you last week about how bicycles are outselling new cars in almost every European country.

When we delved a little deeper into the numbers, we found that while bicycle sales remained steady in a six-year period that began in 2006 (the top chart), sales ...

Turkey, Zaman

Turns out the twain shall meet after all.

A railway tunnel under the Bosphorous Strait now connects the Asian and European parts of Istanbul – fulfilling the vision of an Ottoman sultan nearly two centuries ago.

The aim of the Marmaray tunnel is to ease traffic ...

Disclosures about the National Security Agency's spying on U.S. allies, including France and Germany, have sparked outrage in Europe and created tensions in trans-Atlantic relations. But just how widespread is such spying? Here are four things to know.

1. Who spies on whom?

Spying on adversaries is common — as ...

Spain, El Pais

We begin this Monday with more spying by the National Security Agency on U.S. allies. The country is different this time — Spain — but the reaction isn't.

The NSA tracked 60 million Spanish phone calls between Dec. 10, 2012, and Jan. 8, the newspaper reported, ...

China, Xinhua

We begin in China where a court on Friday rejected an appeal by former politician Bo Xilai over his life sentence for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

Bo, if you remember, was a rising star in China's political system before his career collapsed in early ...

We know that Europeans love their bicycles — think Amsterdam or Paris. Denmark even has highways specifically for cyclists.

Indeed, earlier this month, NPR's Lauren Frayer reported that Spain, which has long had a love affair with cars, is embracing the bicycle: ...

It's hard to keep track of all the leaks by Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor. Much of the material has been published in Britain's Guardian, as well as other publications, including The Washington Post, and have shed light on some of the agency's surveillance ...

The fallout from revelations about the National Security Agency's spying activities continues: A key European Parliament committee approved new rules strengthening online privacy and outlawing the kind of surveillance the U.S. has been conducting.

NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says the legislation could also have significant implications for U.S. ...