Mario Monti, the new prime minister of Italy has started work to form a government that will lead Italy out of its acute debt crisis which prompted the resignation of PM Silvio Berlusconi. Speaking shortly after his nomination was made public on Sunday, Monti said, “Italy must again be and must increasingly be an element of strength, not weakness, in a European Union that we helped found and in which we should be... 

Russia has ruled out supporting fresh sanctions against Iran, despite a UN report that says Tehran may be trying to develop nuclear weapons. According to BBC reports, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax news agency that extra sanctions “will be seen in the international community as an instrument for regime change in Iran”. “That approach is unacceptable to us, and the Russian...