International

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 18:50 UTC

  Rodriguez Zapatero calls early election; Spanish opposition leads opinion polls

  

  Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced Friday an early general election in November, four months early than scheduled, looking to capitalize on a slight upturn in opinion poll ratings.

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 18:46 UTC

  Spain regional governments’ debts out of control; Moody’s downgrade warning

  

  Credit rating agency Moody's, on Friday, put Spain on review for a possible downgrade, adding to concerns that a Greek rescue package has done little to halt the spread of Europe's debt crisis.

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 10:35 UTC

  Brazil begins exporting rice to South Africa, competing with Thailand

  

  Brazil has begun shipping rice to South Africa, competing with Thailand, the largest source of the grain for Africa’s largest economy. A shipment of rice from Brazil’s Santa Catarina state left Santos bound for South Africa this week.

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 07:08 UTC

  Repsol-YPF earnings hit by civil war in Libya and labour strikes in Argentina

  

  Repsol-YPF, Spain’s largest oil company, said second-quarter earnings fell 7.3% after refining margins narrowed and output declined because of the civil war in Libya and strikes in Argentina.

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 06:32 UTC

  Claims China is ‘circumventing’, via US, to avoid Brazil anti-dumping tariffs

  

  Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo revealed documents from Chinese company Sun Falcon International Inc. offering triangulation scheme through Los Angeles port, the busiest container port in the US, to avoid Brazilian anti-dumping tariffs.

• Thursday, July 28th 2011 - 20:30 UTC

  Second rescue plan “too tough for Greece, too light for private creditors”

  

  Representatives of leading emerging market countries at the IMF have warned the Fund's management against pouring more large sums of money into Greece's second bailout, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

• Thursday, July 28th 2011 - 20:03 UTC

  EU population reached 502.5 million; Ireland, UK with highest birth rates

  

  The population of the European Union reached 502.5 million on 1 January 2011 according to data provided by the statistical office of the European Union. This is one million and a half more than a year ago.

• Thursday, July 28th 2011 - 11:21 UTC

  Santander Latam’s profits insufficient to compensate EU poor performance

  

  Spain's Banco Santander CEO Alfredo Saenz announced Wednesday its second-quarter net profit fell 38% as growth in Latin America was offset by weaker results in crisis-hit Europe and a one-time charge in Britain

• Thursday, July 28th 2011 - 08:58 UTC

  Gibraltar ‘invaded’ by 7.000 cruise passengers; 330.000 expected this season

  

  Gibraltar’s Main Street was a hive of activity on Tuesday as two cruise ships carrying over 7,000 passengers arrived in the Rock. The “Independence of the Seas” and the “Grand Princess” both arrived early in the morning carrying 4,200 passengers and 2,900 passengers respectively, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Thursday, July 28th 2011 - 06:15 UTC

  UK to cooperate with Bolivia in the fight against drug trafficking

  

  The British government has announced a new co-operation deal with Bolivia in the fight against drug trafficking. During a two-day visit to Bolivia, Britain's Minister for Latin America, Jeremy Browne, said the Serious Organised Crime Agency in London will join forces with the counter-narcotics police in La Paz.