The US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, the world's most powerful central bank.

A search operation is launched off Spain's north-west coast after three people from the same family are swept out to sea by a huge wave.

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones and TVs, forecasts a fall in profit for the October-to-December quarter.

A demonstration of Samsung's new television equipment at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show goes awry when Transformers director Michael Bay's autocue failed.

Parts of the United States and Canada are braced for potentially record-breaking low temperatures as an Arctic chill brings further freezing weather.

The US says it is accelerating the supply of military hardware to Iraq as Baghdad prepares to recapture the city of Fallujah from al-Qaeda linked militants.

China will create up to five banks funded by private investment this year, its banking regulator says.

A brutal polar spell tightens its icy grip on parts of North America, ushering in plummeting temperatures not seen in decades.