RUSSIA-MILITARY MODERNIZATION

NIZHNY TAGIL, Russia — It has a remote-controlled turret, it bristles with state-of-the-art defense systems and its computerized controls make driving it feel "like playing a video game." Russia's Armata tank, which its creator says can be turned into a fully robotic combat vehicle, is the crowning glory of a sweeping military modernization drive that is rumbling forward amid a perilous confrontation with the West over Ukraine. But President Vladimir Putin's expensive arms build-up faces major hurdles as Russia's economy sinks under the weight of Western sanctions and falling oil prices. 

GERMANY-NSA SURVEILLANCE

BERLIN — German prosecutors on Friday closed their investigation into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone by the U.S. National Security Agency, saying they have been unable to find evidence that would stand up in court. 

FRANCE-STRAUSS-KAHN

LILLE, France — Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been cleared of pimping charges in a French trial that hinged on sex parties that took place in the midst of the global financial crisis. Ten others were acquitted as well. 

GERMANY-FRANCE-PLANE CRASH

BERLIN — German prosecutors say the co-pilot who crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 researched how to get hold of deadly drugs and the possibility of a living will — a finding that suggests he was mulling other means of killing himself until the last minute. 

GREECE-BAILOUT

ATHENS, Greece — Stark warnings to Greece over its stalled bailout talks hit shares hard Friday, with the main Athens index down 4 percent within an hour of opening. The drop comes a day after the International Monetary Fund pulled its negotiators out of the talks in Brussels, saying there had been no progress.