GERMANY

A YouTube video showing a 90-year old grandma dancing to the beat of I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), the Grammy award-winning song by Whitney Houston, has gone viral, notching over 700,000 downloads since Feb. 12.

Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, one of the world's leading file-sharing and online storage sites (but is now defunct), was granted bail, Wednesday, by a New Zealand court, but his freedom has been curtailed with a series of restrictions.

U.S. crime-fighters failed in a bid to keep alleged Internet pirate Kim Dotcom behind bars on Wednesday when a New Zealand court freed him from jail and instead put him under effective house arrest and banned him from using the Internet.

A U.S. software industry report on Wednesday chided Brazil, China and India for policies it said threatened the future of cloud computing, but also took aim at developed countries such as Germany that did well on its inaugural scorecard.

In a strange mix-up, Hillary Clinton stuck out at a meeting of the G20 foreign affairs ministers in Los Cabos, Mexico this week. While the 30 other foreign secretaries and ministers wore crisp white shirts, Clinton stuck out sporting a lime green blouse. The informal meeting marked the first time the G20 Ministers of Foreign Affairs assembled together. The G20 members gathered in Mexico to discuss among other issues food security, sustainable development and the growing international economy.

George Soros does not have a favorable view of how Germany is handling the Eurozone debt crisis.

Thousands of young Portuguese have migrated to Mozambique in recent years – reportedly as many as 120,000 in 2011 alone.

European stock markets mixed in early trade Tuesday after eurozone finance ministers sealed a deal on second rescue package for debt-laden Greece.

The two-week-long Mardi Gras annual festival kick started in New Orleans, Louisiana, Monday with celebrities, entertainers and revelers taking part in parades.

Scores of carnival revelers carried out vibrant huge parades on the streets of Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz, as a part of traditional German street fest Monday.

Euro zone finance ministers sealed a second bailout for debt-laden Greece on Tuesday that will resolve its immediate financing needs but seems unlikely to revive the nation's shattered economy.

Euro zone finance ministers sealed on Tuesday a second bailout for debt-laden Greece that will resolve its immediate financing needs but seems unlikely to revive the nation's shattered economy.

Euro zone finance ministers inched toward approving a second bailout for debt-laden Greece Monday night that would resolve Athens' immediate repayment needs but seems unlikely to revive the nation's shattered economy.

On Friday, Christian Wulff resigned as president of Germany. Two days later, Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the main political parties agreed on a replacement: Joachim Gauck, 72, a candidate whose popularity with the public may help restore some faith to the office of the presidency.

The sudden rise of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has stunned many inside the National Basketball Association and those who watch the league on a regular basis.

Argentine soccer phenom Lionel Messi stormed into second behind Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo in the running for the European Golden Shoe award, following a stunning performance in Barcelona's 5-1 dominating victory over Valencia, where he racked up four goals in a row.

Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and nine other countries called on Monday for Europe to shift its focus from tough budget cuts towards measures to create growth as the region looks headed for its second recession in three years.

There are some major concerns regarding the rescue package and the efficacy of the Athens government in imposing much-needed austerity.

Rosenmontag, known as Rose Monday, is one of the highlights of the German Karneval. Similar to Mardi Gras, it is celebrated on the Monday before Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent in Germany. In the Rose Monday parade in Düsseldorf this year, many of the floats were meant to mock politicians while sending a political message to the crowd. Take a look at some of the most satirical parade floats in celebration of Rose Monday.

The cost of financing new planes may come off current highs for some carriers as lenders step up competition for creditworthy debtors, a top supplier of aircraft financing told Reuters.

It's almost Mardi Gras 2012, and people around the world are preparing for the carnival season that comes before Lent. But how did Mardi Gras get started? What does its name mean? How did it take root in New Orleans, and how is it celebrated around the world? Here are five things to know about Mardi Gras history and in traditions, from how the holiday is celebrated worldwide to why some believe the carnival's roots lie in ancient Rome.