OPEC MEETING

VIENNA - OPEC oil ministers meeting in Vienna on Thursday are in a bind. Prices are plunging - and in the short term, the cartel may not be able to do much about it. Expectations that the group would not cut output to support the market saw the global price of oil slump another $1.89 on Thursday to $75.86 a barrel, extending its losses since June, when it was as high as $115. 

GREECE-MIGRANT SHIP

IERAPETRA, Greece - More than 700 people, mostly refugees from Syria, began disembarking Thursday on the Greek island of Crete after a harrowing journey on a smuggling ship that broke down in gale-force winds while trying to reach Europe. The Baris cargo ship lost engine power Tuesday in international waters off Crete, and reached the coastal town of Ierapetra after being slowly towed for 40 hours by a Greek navy frigate.

GREENLAND-ELECTIONS

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Greenland's hopes of a mining boom are shrouded in uncertainty as voters on the ice-capped Arctic island decide Friday who will replace a local government that collapsed after its leader admitted to using taxpayers' money for private trips. The fall of Premier Aleqa Hammond's government last month came at a bad time for the semi-autonomous Danish territory, which needs foreign investments to kick-start the mineral exploration that many Greenlanders hope will pave the way for independence.

BRITAIN-SCOTLAND

LONDON - Britain's main political parties have agreed to grant Scotland new tax and spending powers to fulfill a promise of greater autonomy made before a recent independence referendum.

UKRAINE

MOSCOW - Ukraine's parliament opened for its inaugural session Thursday since an election last month that ushered in a spate of pro-Western parties. Security was tight outside the building, which has been the focus of numerous rowdy rallies in recent months. 

GREECE-GENERAL STRIKE

ATHENS, Greece - A 24-hour general strike in Greece shut down services across the country, forcing flight cancelations and school closures and leaving state hospitals functioning with emergency staff, while thousands of protesters marched in central Athens. Labor unions called the strike to protest continued austerity measures as Greece struggles to emerge from a financial crisis that wiped out a quarter of the country's economy and sent unemployment soaring to 26 percent. Youth unemployment reached nearly 60 percent during the crisis, which began in late 2009 after years of profligate government spending and lax fiscal management. 

BRITAIN-IMMIGRATION

LONDON - Britain has reported a big increase in immigration last year despite government efforts to control the numbers of arrivals. Office of National Statistics figures released Thursday show increased migration from within the European Union and from the rest of the world.

SPAIN-CORRUPTION

MADRID - Spain's prime minister, whose party is facing a series of corruption cases, says most politicians aren't crooked and that his government is taking the problem seriously. Mariano Rajoy spoke Thursday. His health minister resigned Wednesday after a judge said she benefited financially from an alleged corruption scheme that ensnared her ex-husband.

GERMANY-ECONOMY

BERLIN - Germany's unemployment rate was steady at 6.3 percent in November as the labor market in Europe's largest economy remained strong. The Federal Statistical Office said Thursday that 2.72 million people were out of work in Germany in November, about 16,000 fewer than in October and not enough to change the unemployment rate.

FRANCE-RUSSIA-CHRISTMAS TREE

PARIS - Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has a Christmas tree this year thanks to an unusual patron: the Russian government. Amid high tensions between Russia and the West over violence in Ukraine, Russia's ambassador to France says the "tree is a message of peace."