ATHENS (AP) ― Greek lawmakers on Monday approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy, after riots in Athens and other cities left stores looted and burned and more than 120 people hurt.  The historic vote paves the way for Greece’s European partners and the International Monetary Fund to release $170 billion in new rescue loans, without which Greece would default on its mountain of debt next month and likely leave the eurozo

Adele, who captured the world’s heart with an album about a broken romance, emerged as the top winner at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, winning six trophies including the prestigious trifecta of record, song and album of the year.Musician Adele poses with her six trophies at the 54th Grammy Awards in Los A

BERLIN (AFP) ― Tiny cracks detected in January in the wings of some Airbus A380s will cost around 100 million euros ($132 million) to fix, the German weekly Der Spiegel reports in its edition to appear Monday.Experts and internal sources at Airbus estimate that repairs and inspections on the super jumbos, ordered by the European Aviation Safety Agency, would cost about one million euros ($1.3 million) per aircraft, for a total of 100 million euros, Der Spiegel said.An Airbus spokesman said in Ja

HANOI (AFP) ― Stashing gold at home rather than having cash in the bank is a generations-old habit in communist Vietnam, but a recent surge in prices has sparked government attempts to bring the yellow metal to heel. Last year the country bought more gold per capita than India or China, according to the World Gold Council, and domestic prices soared by 18 percent ― far outstripping the global market’s 11 percent increase.And old habits are dying hard, according to 60-year-old retiree Truong Van

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., the third-largest bank in Australia, plans to eliminate about 1,000 jobs by Sept. 30 as it combats a slump in lending growth and higher funding costs. The cuts will be in the Australian businesses and will primarily involve middle-management, back-office and support staff, the Melbourne-based bank said in an e-mailed statement Monday. ANZ Bank currently employs 49,000 people globally, including about 24,000 in Australia, it said. ANZ Bank joins larger

JAKARTA (AFP) ― Automakers from Japan to India are eyeing a bonanza in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy where a newly wealthy middle class are splashing out on cars like never before.With the economy growing at a brisk 6.5 percent a year, more Indonesians are climbing into the middle class, hungry for cars and other status symbols their newfound wealth affords.It is welcome news for automakers who, starved of sales in the ailing economies of Europe and the United States, are now circl

The United States and China will try to set the stage for a smoother relationship during a visit by China’s likely next president, but neither side is under illusions about resolving deep disputes.Vice President Xi Jinping, who is in line to be the fast-growing Asian power’s leader until 2023, will enjoy treatment usually reserved for a head of state including a White House meeting Tuesday (local time) by President Barack Obama.In a bid to show a softer image both at home and abroad, Xi will als

Sales at U.S. retailers probably increased in January by the most in four months, spurred by the biggest gain in auto purchases since 2009, economists said before a report this week. The projected 0.8 percent gain in retail receipts would follow a 0.1 percent advance in December, according to the median forecast of 65 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Commerce Department figures on Feb. 14. Industrial production jumped and the cost of living increased in January, other data may show.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) ― Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Monday faces indictment for contempt in Supreme Court which may cost him his job for his refusal to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.The Supreme Court Friday threw out a last-ditch appeal from the embattled Prime Minister.If convicted, Gilani faces six months in jail and disqualification from office in a case that has fanned political instability and may force elections within months in a country already troubled