(MENAFN - AFP) Leaders of recession-hit Europe take a fresh stab at fighting tax fraud and evasion worth a trillion euros a year at a summit Wednesday but seem unlikely to convince reluctant Austria and Luxembourg to sign on.

With euro-scepticism gaining ground as European Union unemployment queues lengthen and growth slumps, there were hopes of the one-day summit producing ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Microsoft staked a claim to the Internet Age living room with an eagerly awaited new generation Xbox One console touted as a home entertainment hub that goes far beyond games.

"Today, we put you at the center of a new generation in the living room," said Don Mattrick, head of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, unveiling the new version of the ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Under fierce questioning by US lawmakers, the political appointee who headed the IRS during the tax agency's targeting of conservative groups insisted Tuesday he was not involved in the scandal.

Senators grilled retired IRS boss Douglas Shulman about what he readily acknowledged was "inexcusable" behavior by agents who, from 2010, singled out right-leaning ...

(MENAFN - AFP) The world is unprepared for a massive virus outbreak, the deputy chief of the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, amid fears that H7N9 bird flu striking China could morph into a form that spreads easily among people.

Keiji Fukuda told delegates at a WHO meeting that despite efforts since an outbreak of another form of avian influenza, H1N1, in 2009-10, ...

(MENAFN - AFP) An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug.

But the experts warned of dangerous side effects at high doses -- including residual sleepiness during the day and, in a small number of subjects, ...

(MENAFN - AFP) A bill to legalise gay marriage in Britain passed a crucial hurdle in parliament on Tuesday, despite efforts by lawmakers from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party to wreck the plans.

Members of the House of Commons voted by 366 to 161 in favour of the same sex marriage bill, a majority of 205, and it will now go to the unelected House of Lords ...

(MENAFN - AFP) For 75-year-old pensioner Sova Sengupta the collapse of Indian property-to-media empire Saradha Group, to which she had entrusted her life's savings with the promise of a handsome return, spelt financial ruin.

"I'd deposited 100,000 rupees ($1,800). I lost all my savings," the widow wept after police last month revealed that Saradha, headquartered in the ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Women could be allowed in to football stadiums in Saudi Arabia in the near future after the head of the country's football federation said he was in favour of the idea.

Ahmed Eid said such access could be granted "soon", raising the possibility that 15 percent of the under-construction King Abdullah stadium in Jeddah could be made into family boxes, where ...

(MENAFN - AFP) American teenagers are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites, but taking steps to protect their privacy online, a study showed Tuesday.

The new survey showed 91 percent of those surveyed posted a photo of themselves, up from 79 percent in 2006; 71 percent post the city or town where they live; and 53 percent posted their email address.

But ...

(MENAFN - AFP) Trying to fight back against the persistent economic crisis in the Balkans, food producers here have turned towards halal food, targeting rising demand from markets in Western and Muslim countries.

At a recent three-day halal food fair in the Bosnian capital, the first of its kind in the Balkans, some 30 producers from the region gathered to present their ...