A trip through time to Europe's origins

The Swedish state-owned energy group said its net profits fell 21 percent in 2011 as a result of a "tough year" for energy production and the forced shutdown of its German nuclear reactors. 

The European Central Bank has kept eurozone borrowing costs at an historic low of 1 percent, after cutting rates twice in recent months. Uncertainty about the eurozone economy is still high, the bank says.  

Two alleged Syrian spies have been arrested for spying on Syrian dissidents in Germany. The intelligence agencies say that such spying is by no means rare but they do what they can to protect them. 

Germany and Kazakhstan have signed a 3-billion-euro deal to cooperate on raw materials, industry and technology, but not without the German Chancellor raising the thorny issue of human rights in the central Asian nation.