WORLD

Majority of Afghan population from the conflict-mired Helmand and Kandahar province never knew of the 9/11 attacks in New York, a new study suggested on Saturday.

No attempts would be made to rescue the 29 miners trapped in the New Zealand's Pike River Coal mine till early Sunday, officials said. The air quality in the mine was deemed unsuitable for any operations and there are growing fears of yet another explosion. The Tasman district police have confirmed that two Australians, two British citizens and one South African were trapped along with 24 other local miners.

While the unemployment rate in the U.K. appears to be stabilizing, the jobless rate for British women keeps rising – to the point that more than one million females are now without work.

North American and European nations of the NATO alliance agreed for the first time to develop a missile defense shield over the next decade to protect against the threat of ballistic missiles for all its member states, President Barack Obama announced on Friday.

The saga surrounding the extension (or repeal) of George W. Bush’s tax cuts seems to be changing daily, almost hourly. It’s a highly complex and contentious issue that will (perhaps unfortunately) be decided solely by politics.

As early as the 1980s, fault lines began to appear in Europe's economy and the global financial crisis tore them wide open. Now, Europe perhaps faces its greatest economic challenges since WWII.

A bill that would authorize the U.S. attorney general to shut down web sites accused of copyright infringement has met opposition from Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Proposed rules by the Obama administration to clamp down on the for-profit school sector may have been leaked in June a day before they were made public, a pair of Senators asking for a probe said on Thursday.

The Paris Club of creditor nations and Brazil have agreed to cancel $7.35-billion of debt owed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), representing more than half of the nation’s foreign debt.

China will no longer give exemptions to foreign firms from the Urban Maintenance and Construction Tax and Education Surcharges.

President Barack Obama on Friday praised the steps Portugal Prime Minister Jose Socrates is taking to reduce his nation's budget deficit and debt.

Full-text of speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at the sixth European Central Bank Central Banking Conference, in Frankfurt, Germany , on Nov. 19, 2010.

As Ireland appears to be on the verge of resolving its debt crisis, the focus may now shift to yet another fiscally-troubled peripheral euro nation, Portugal.

Coordination on exiting the Aghanistan war, a missile shield system over Europe to protect against Iranian threats, and forging closer ties with Russia will be on the agenda for the NATO summit in Portugal over the next two days.

The Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan has promised to supply natural gas for the proposed Nabucco pipeline -- a project that could allow European Union (EU) countries to rely less on Russian energy in the future.

China is intensifying efforts to fight inflation as it raised the reserve requirement ratio for banks on Friday for the fifth time this year and the second time this month.

In a strategic move to delink from North Korea, the South has dumped the decade-old Sunshine Policy that was ushered in to eventually achieve the unification of both Koreas.

The nations of the EU-10 – which comprise various countries in Eastern Europe -- have commenced a meaningful economic recovery and look to strengthen even further in 2011, according to a report from the World Bank.

The government of Ireland has stated that it will not raise the country's low corporation tax rate in exchange for a bailout from the European Union (EU), amidst speculation that France and Germany want the tax rate increased.

A suspect package believed to be containing components of a bomb found at Windhoek airport on Thursday was only a security test, German officials said on Friday. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere stated that suitcase was only designed for security checks and no explosives of threat to passengers were found in the package.

A suspect package believed to be containing components of a bomb found at Windhoek airport on Thursday was only a security test, German officials said on Friday. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere stated that suitcase was only designed for security checks and no explosives of threat to passengers were found in the package.

The Dutch government said on Thursday it will cut 10,000 defence ministry jobs as part of austerity measures to reduce the budget deficit.

France is verifying the authenticity of a broadcast message by an al-Qaeda off-shoot demanding troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in return for the safety of their nationals kidnapped in Niger. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) also suggested direct negotiations with al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden over hostages' issue. Five French nationals along with two Africans, all employees of French firms Areva and Vinci operating in the mining town of Arlit in Niger were kidnapped on September 16.

A Chinese court sentenced the former head of the country's foremost nuclear firm for life for corruption. Kang Rixin, the former general manager at the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), was convicted of accepting a bribe of approximately $1 million during his tenure.

At least 30 miners are unaccounted for, after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in New Zealand on Friday. Rescue teams including fire crews and helicopters have been pressed in and reports of casualties are emerging on the local media. Police are yet to confirm the reports but updated that two people have surfaced from the mine since the explosion.

On the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Seoul, city mayor Oh Se-hoon, in an interview with IB Times speaks about his agenda for the city’s future, the recognition received by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for carrying out public participation in governance successfully and more.

As comments from Dublin and Brussels strongly hint at the possibility of Ireland formally seeking international financial support sooner or later, analysts are mulling the chances of a possible bailout of the stricken Celtic Tiger by the robust Chinese Dragon.

Regional manufacturing activity in Philadelphia improved during November, according to the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, which touched its highest reading since Dec. 2009.

Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller isn't ready to accept defeat despite media projections that rival candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski has won the election.