Ally of Angela Merkel had been under increasing pressure over home loan and apparent attempt to block report in tabloid. The German president, Christian Wulff, has resigned after being caught up in a corruption scandal involving a dubious loan, an apparent attempt to block a report in a German tabloid and a string of apparently undeclared freebies.
Wulff, who had served as the head of state since 2010, stepped down on February 17 after prosecutors said they had asked the German parliament to lift his immunity.
They said they had “factual indications” …

French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined the microblogging website Twitter on February 15 shortly before he was due to appear on television to announce the official start of his election campaign.
“Good day to you all, I’m very happy today to launch my Twitter account. Thank you to all of those who would like to follow me,” Sarkozy said, in his first message, under the official Twitter handle.
“I have accepted TF1′s invitation to appear on the 8pm news tonight and I invite you all to join me,” he said, referring to France’s …

At the New Jersey church where her singing career first took flight, fans and admirers gathered on Sunday to celebrate the life of Whitney Houston and mourn her passing a day after she died in a Beverly Hills hotel.
Cards and flowers were tied to the railings of the New Hope Baptist Church, and congregants hugged and cried at the entrance. It was in this large but modest looking, red-brick house of worship on a quiet backstreet near downtown Newark where Houston’s career began as a soloist in a gospel choir …

Scavenging wolves have been sneaking into hilltop villages in central Italy, with one sighted uncomfortably close to the gates of an elementary school.
Their ominous appearance should not be taken as yet another metaphor for European decline. The lupine intruders, like their human counterparts, have simply been responding to the extreme cold that has swept the Continent in the past week.
The deep freeze caused widespread disruptions and even fatalities, as Rendezvous reported.
The effects of the cold have been compounded by shortages of natural gas, particularly from Russia, once again highlighting Europe’s …

Europe’s race towards fiscal integration saw another member drop out on January 30, as the Czech Republic joined the UK on the sidelines of a treaty to enforce tighter economic discipline within the single currency zone.
The 17 countries in the euro, and eight others, agreed to move forward with the treaty, proposed at the last meeting of European leaders in December. The pact will create new fiscal rules within member states, and give the European Court of Justice the ability to enforce them.
Countries will no longer be allowed to run …