SOMALIA-HOSTAGES RELEASED
MADRID Two Spanish aid workers kidnapped by Somali militants from a Kenyan refugee camp in 2011 are on their way home aboard a Spanish military aircraft. Jose Antonio Bastos of Doctors Without Borders said Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut are healthy and are eager to see relatives after the plane lands at a military airport near Madrid Friday afternoon. The plane picked up the two in Djibouti but Bastos did not say how they got there or how the release was arranged.
NSA SURVEILLANCE-EU
VILNIUS, Lithuania The European Union's justice minister has called U.S. surveillance a "wake-up call" as the bloc's leaders Germany and France pledged to draw up new rules to protect EU citizens' privacy rights. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding says that Europe needs to "act swiftly" in response to PRISM the U.S. surveillance program revealed by NSA leaker Edward Snowden and adopt measures to protect data and tough sanctions for violators.
NSA-SURVEILLANCE-GERMANY
BERLIN Chancellor Angela Merkel is acknowledging Germans have been unsettled by allegations of widespread U.S. surveillance though she insists patience is needed as officials seek answers from Washington. Merkel faced a barrage of questions about the National Security Agency's activities at a news conference Friday following a week in which her opponents have asserted she's doing too little to confront the U.S. and protect Germans' data. Germany holds elections Sept. 22 in which Merkel seeks a third term.
VATICAN-TWEETING INDULGENCES
VATICAN CITY New technology is bumping into old theology as the Vatican extends indulgences to people who follow the upcoming World Youth Day in Brazil via social media. But the Vatican's top Twitter guru warns in an interview Friday that merely checking the pope's Twitter feed will not result in a get out of Purgatory free card. "A movement of your heart is needed," he says. By Nicole Winfield.
GERMANY-SEPT 11 TRIAL
BERLIN A Moroccan man serving a 15-year prison sentence in Germany for helping three of the suicide pilots in the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. is seeking a new trial. A spokesman for federal prosecutors Marcus Koehler said Friday the Hamburg court that convicted Mounir el-Motassadeq has forwarded the Moroccan's application for the case to be reopened. Prosecutors will examine it and respond to the court, which will decide whether the case should be retried.
EU-HEZBOLLAH
BRUSSELS A senior European Union official says the EU is moving closer to declare the military wing of the Lebanese party Hezbollah a terrorist organization and could take a decision as soon as Monday. Friday's comments by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, highlighted a steady change of heart within the EU. It has long been held back by fears such a move would destabilize Lebanon and its neighbors. By Raf Casert.
FRANCE-NORWAY-TERRORISM
PARIS French prosecutors say they have dropped terror charges against a Norwegian musician and freed him from custody, but still want him to go to court for allegedly inciting racial hatred. The prosecutor's office said Friday that Varg Vikernes was freed on Thursday night after three days of questioning by police in the central French city of Brive-la-Gaillarde, near his farmhouse. His French wife was freed on Wednesday. Her recent purchase of four firearms raised suspicions of French authorities although she had a permit.
TURKEY-LANDSLIDE
ANKARA, Turkey An official says a landslide triggered by heavy rains has killed at least five people near Turkey's border with Syria. Gov. Celalettin Lekesiz said the landslide, which struck early Friday, demolished six hillside houses near the town of Dortyol in the border province of Hatay. At least 12 people were hurt.
SWITZERLAND-NEW-PHYSICS
GENEVA Scientists at the world's top lab for particle physics say they've witnessed an extremely rare event that adds certainty to how they think the universe began. Physicists Pierluigi Campana and Tiziano Camporesi, leaders of the two main teams of scientists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, say they measured a particle called "Bs" decaying into muons, a fundamental particle.
ROMANIA-SYRIA
BUCHAREST, Romania Romania says that a fugitive Syrian businessman who was sentenced in absentia to 20 years for ordering the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq was handed over to Romania's authorities, and is now in police custody. Omar Hayssam was sentenced in 2007 on charges that he ordered the kidnapping of the journalists in Iraq in 2005. They were freed after 55 days in captivity.
BRITAIN-ROYAL PATERNITY LEAVE
LONDON He may be royal, but when it comes to paternity leave Prince William is in the same boat as everyone else. Like thousands of other new fathers in Britain, he will get two weeks off when his child is born. Along with British society, the royal family has been gradually modernizing its attitudes to birth and parenting. William's father, Prince Charles, was present at the birth of his two sons, who were born in a hospital rather than a palace both breaks from royal tradition. But William is the first senior royal to receive statutory paternity leave, which was introduced in Britain in 2003. By Jill Lawless.
BUSINESS AND FINANCE
G20-GLOBAL-TAX
PARIS The finance chiefs of the world's leading economies have announced an ambitious plan to help governments get more taxes from multinational companies. The plan was designed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and introduced at a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers in Moscow on Friday.
EUROPE-FINANCIAL CRISIS
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel is warning that a second debt writedown for Greece could undo much of the recent work done to stabilize the euro area. Merkel's comments Friday came a day after her finance minister visited Athens and told a Greek audience that it's not in the country's interests to seek a second write-off, or "haircut," following last year's debt restructuring with private-sector bondholders.
WORLD MARKETS
LONDON Disappointing earnings from two U.S. technology giants and renewed concerns over the growth prospects for China and Japan weighed on markets Friday despite better U.S. economic news. Stocks in Asia and Europe retreated even though Wall Street struck record levels again on Thursday after some encouraging U.S. economic data. By Pan Pylas and Teresa Cerojano.
BRITAIN-EARNS-VODAFONE
LONDON Vodafone, one of the world's largest mobile phone companies. is reporting that its revenues declined 3.5 percent to 10.2 billion pounds ($15.5 billion) amid increasing competition in many parts of Europe. The British wireless provider that is thought to be mulling options for its 45 percent stake in the U.S.'s Verizon Wireless, said Friday that regulation, competitive pressures and the weakness of the economies in southern Europe weighed on its revenues.
SWEDEN-EARNS-ELECTROLUX
STOCKHOLM Home appliance maker Electrolux reported Friday an 8 percent fall in second quarter earnings amid continued economic weakness in Europe and unfavorable currency fluctuations. The Stockholm-based company said its earnings for the period amounted to 642 million kronor ($98 million), while quarterly sales were flat year-on-year at 26.7 billion kronor ($4 billion), the company said.