Italian woman kidnapped in Algeria is freed

An Italian woman kidnapped in southern Algeria over a year ago has been freed, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Tuesday. Terzi said he had just told the family of Maria Sandra Mariani of her release. "I join in their great joy and relief for this wonderful news," he said in a written statement. "My deepest gratitude goes to all of those who have contributed to the positive outcome with great dedication, constancy and professionalism." Mariani, 54, was seized by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a sub-Saharan offshoot...

Volvo expands diesel engine line-up

Volvo has extended its range of diesel engines. The manufacturer has added a new entry-level five-cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged engine for its S60, V60, V70 and S80 models. The new 134bhp engine will take the D3 name – the current D3 diesel will be reclassified as the D4 – and come with the option of manual or automatic transmission. The updated range now consists of the 113bhp D2, 134bhp D3, 161bhp D4, and...

Obama rejects Netanyahu's claim on Iran nuclear 'freebie'

President Obama has firmly rejected a complaint by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran was given a "freebie" on its nuclear program. Netanyahu's complaint came Sunday, a day after key world powers met with Iran and announced that the next meeting would take place in late May. "My initial impression is that Iran has been given a freebie," Netanyahu said. "It has got five weeks to continue enrichment...

Google Drive: a new cloud storage service 'to launch next week'

The search giant is set to take on popular storage service, Dropbox, with its new offering, technology site Read Write Web reports. It is expected to offer 5GB of free storage – 3GB more than Dropbox’s capacity. People will be able to pay for more storage. However, prices are not yet known. Users can put their files into Google Drive and then access them on their desktop, mobile phone or tablet. It is expected that...

Japan vows $60 billion to boost IMF firepower

Japan said on Tuesday it will provide $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first non-European nation to commit money to boost the fund's financial firepower to contain the euro zone debt crisis. Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan hoped Tokyo's contribution, which will be formally announced at a Group of 20 financial leaders' meeting later this week, will encourage other countries...