Australians to go to the polls on Sept. 7

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called an election for Sept. 7 and said Sunday that it will be fought over who can be trusted to manage the Australian economy as it transitions from a decade-old mining boom fed by Chinese industrial demand that is now fading.

Spanish PM defends cuts day after massive protests

MADRID (AP) — Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday defended his government's harsh austerity measures aimed at correcting Spain's grim economic forecast, one day after tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets to protest his handling of the country's worst crisis in decades.

Themes of Obama’s European tour highlight changes since his election

President Obama and Europe were bound together during his first two years in office by the global economic downturn and the collective effort to resolve it. But the dominant themes of the president’s European tour, set to begin Monday, highlight how much the world has changed over that time.

As he enters the second half of his term, security issues, in South Asia and the broader Middle East, have replaced the economy as the chief shared interests of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful allies.