To the sound of midnight fireworks and pealing church bells, Slovakia joined the eurozone, putting it under the shared currency’s protective umbrella amid a world financial downpour – and

A top Russian general called US plans to post missile defence systems in former Soviet bloc countries a top national security threat, the latest signal of a growing chill in US-Russian relations.

Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history’s most-travelled pope, died tonight in his Vatican apartment. He was 84.

The lives of many thousands of children could be saved by making the world they live in less dangerous, researchers said today.

NO-FRILLS airline Ryanair said yesterday that it was considering expanding to the former Soviet bloc, as it extended a deadline for staff at newly-acquired Buzz to accept a job offer or face closure.