MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who returned from talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, said Wednesday that Syrians themselves should decide the fate of their leader.

HELSINKI (AFP) - World-leading mobile phone maker Nokia plans to cut 4,000 jobs at its smartphone manufacturing facilities in Finland, Hungary and Mexico by the end of 2012, it said Wednesday.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - The Maldives' ex-president Mohamed Nasheed told AFP Wednesday he had been forced to resign by armed police and army officers in a coup plot hatched with the knowledge of his successor.

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) - Japanese car giant Nissan on Wednesday said its third quarter profits rose 3.2 percent year-on-year.

PARIS (AFP) - The Bank of France estimated Wednesday that the eurozone's second biggest economy would stagnate in the first three months of 2012.