Google scanning: Theft or freedom?

A proposed partnership between the French government and Google is stoking fears in France that the country’s literary treasures will fall under commercial control of a U.S. technology company.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy threw his weight behind Barack Obama’s bank reform plan as he delivered his keynote speech at the 40th World Economic Forum at Davos Wednesday.

A strong earthquake with magnitude 6.5 struck Friday night southwest of Sumatra in Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood caused a stir Wednesday when he told owners of recalled Toyotas to stop driving their cars, took back that wording, and said he meant to tell worried owners to take their cars to the dealer for a fix.

Afghanistan’s Parliament has started voting on the Cabinet nominees of President Hamid Karzai, pictured above, making decisions that will be crucial to his fight against corruption and his administration’s legitimacy in the eyes of the nation and world.

Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson on Monday unveiled the winged rocket his company developed to give paying customers a brief taste of space.

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India is struggling to revive its national sport, field hockey.

The president of Toyota said he takes full responsibility for safety issues in the company’s cars and vowed to regain the trust of customers in his first interview after appearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

No international climate deal and consensus that pulling the plug too quickly on stimulus spending could undermine the global economic recovery were key results from the APEC summit.

A CNN.com guide to some countries looking at using body scanners at airports, and the countries the U.S. will be keeping a close eye on after the December 25 attempted bombing of an airplane.

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At least seven people were killed and nine wounded when a suicide bomber detonated at a security checkpoint near a military facility outside of the capital, Islamabad, police said.

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A few drinks in the People’s Republic of China leads a writer e to discover European delights and other unexpected finds in modest Qingdao.

Pakistani troops killed at least 29 militants in clashes and air strikes in the tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan, military officials told CNN.