German consumer sentiment surged to its highest level in more than 13 years heading into February, a survey showed yesterday, as lower oil prices meant shoppers in Europe’s largest economy had more spare cash.

German consumer sentiment is strong heading into the new year - recent figures show that the German people are feeling positive about the country’s economic prospects for 2015.

Michelle Obama, who turns 50 tomorrow, isn’t ruling out using plastic surgery or Botox in the future.

Barack Obama urged politicians to remember child shooting victims and not weaken in the face of a powerful gun lobby as he reached out to moderate members of his own party before a Senate vote on gun controls expected next month.

President Barack Obama has launched the most sweeping effort to curb US gun violence in nearly 20 years following last month’s Connecticut school massacre.

President Barack Obama and Republicans crept closer to talks on avoiding a recession-threatening package of automatic tax increases and spending cuts, but the White House insisted it would not budge on higher taxes on the wealthy.

Microsoft bills Windows 8 as a “reimagining” of the personal computer market’s dominant operating system, but still has a lot to do before the makeover captures the imagination of most consumers, a poll has shown.

US President Barack Obama seized on a Republican Senate candidate's controversial remark about rape and pregnancy in an attempt to shore up his support among women.

What gender gap?

Republican challenger Mitt Romney has a two-point lead over President Barack Obama just 12 days before Election Day, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will tangle over foreign policy in their final presidential debate tonight, both candidates still looking for a breakout from a deadlocked White House campaign with just two weeks to run.

A strong US jobs report gave Barack Obama an upbeat end to a startling week for both presidential campaigns, while Republican challenger Mitt Romney finally addressed his disparaging remarks about the 47% of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes, calling his words “just completely wrong”.

A strong US jobs report gave President Barack Obama an upbeat end to a startling week for both presidential campaigns, while Republican challenger Mitt Romney finally addressed his disparaging remarks about the 47% of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes, calling his words “just completely wrong”.

Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has finally addressed his secretly taped disparaging remarks about the 47% of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes, calling his words “just completely wrong”.

Early returns and exit polls in a heated parliamentary election show that Georgian voters have turned against President Mikhail Saakashvili and the party that has been in power for almost nine years.

Republicans lashed out at President Barack Obama and his administration chiefs over their evolving description of the deadly September 11 attack on the US consulate in Libya.

Fresh signs of a housing rebound in the US and growing support in public opinion polls boosted President Barack Obama’s bid for a new term in the White House as Republican rival Mitt Romney struggled to quell a video controversy.

On-farm usage of preventative vaccines has trebled in the past 10 years, according to global market research specialist GFK.

Republican Mitt Romney’s selection of Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate has not altered the race against President Barack Obama, and the campaign remains very close with less than three months to go, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

Another dose of bad economic news threatened Barack Obama’s re-election chances, offering Republican challenger Mitt Romney fresh ammunition to exploit just four months from election day.

President Barack Obama’s campaign has moved quickly to capitalise on his newly announced support for gay marriage, releasing an internet video that calls his Republican challenger backward on the issue.

MOST Americans say President Barack Obama should be voted out of office even though they have concerns about the Republican alternatives, a new poll suggests.

Most Americans say President Barack Obama deserves to be voted out of office even though they have concerns about the Republican alternatives, a new poll suggests.

Italians are overwhelmingly in favour of cutting their country’s enormous debts, as long as they do not have to make personal sacrifices to achieve it.

Japan will go ahead with its whaling programme in the Antarctic later this year under heightened security to fend off activists who have vowed to disrupt the annual hunt, the country’s fisheries minister said.

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama faces a long re-election campaign, having all but given up on the economy rebounding in any meaningful way before November 2012.

London: British consumer confidence jumped the most in 18 years in May as Britons became less pessimistic about their finances and the economy, a report by GfK NOP showed.

Barack Obama’s approval rating has hit its highest point in two years – 60% - and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to a poll.

FACING high unemployment and lukewarm public approval, President Barack Obama can take heart from history: At the same point in his presidency 28 years ago, Ronald Reagan was saddled with an approval rating much lower than Obama’s is now. And the unemployment rate then was a full percentage point higher.

British consumers became increasingly pessimistic about the state of the economy and their own finances during December, research suggested today.

Sarah Palin has said she could defeat US President Barack Obama if she was to seek the White House in 2012.

POLAND’S presidential race between business-friendly Bronislaw Komorowski and conservative Jaroslaw Kaczynski is too close to call ahead of the final round of voting tomorrow, surveys showed yesterday.

AFTER a series of leaked prototypes, it’s almost a given that Steve Jobs will unveil a new version of the iPhone during Apple’s annual software developers conference in San Francisco on Monday.

Americans want Democrats to control Congress after this year’s elections, according to a poll – but only just.

President Barack Obama today criticised the “ridiculous spectacle” of oil industry officials pointing fingers of blame at each other for the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

US President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan today for a first-hand look at the eight-year-old war he inherited and has dramatically escalated.

Most Americans like Barack Obama but a majority still think he is taking the country in the wrong direction, according to a new poll.

US troops in Afghanistan suffered a further eight losses today, turning October into the deadliest month for American forces in the country since the conflict began in 2001.

US President Barack Obama met key members of his administration and the US army to discuss Afghanistan as the conflict entered its ninth year.

President Barack Obama today urged the US Congress to enact sweeping health care legislation, declaring the "time for bickering is over" and the moment has arrived to help millions who have insurance and many more without it.

The hope and optimism that washed over the US in the opening months of Barack Obama’s presidency is fading, according to a new poll.

Consumer confidence in the UK has plunged to its second lowest level on record, with a marked drop among young people, researchers said today.

The quietest place in Washington today may have been the White House itself.

THE US electoral map is becoming bluer as more battleground states appear to be breaking for Democrat Barack Obama, latest polls indicate.