International

• Monday, July 30th 2012 - 23:28 UTC

  As world food-prices soar World Bank says it is ready to help countries

  

  The World Bank on Monday said it stood ready to help governments respond to a broad-based run-up in grain prices that has again put the world’s poorest people at risk and could have lingering detrimental impacts for years.

• Monday, July 30th 2012 - 10:02 UTC

  Russian tycoon super-yacht, valued in 300 million dollars visit Gibraltar

  

  Super-yacht “A” recently paid a visit to Gibraltar joining a list of many famous yachts to call at the Rock. She is owned by Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, a 40 year old Russian businessman and billionaire who was born in Belarus.

• Monday, July 30th 2012 - 07:15 UTC

  PM Rajoy not handling the economic crisis, say 80% of Spaniards

  

  Support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy fell sharply in July after his government announced a new round of deep spending cuts and tax hikes to fight the sovereign debt crisis, an opinion poll showed.

• Monday, July 30th 2012 - 05:03 UTC

  Outrage in Britain over the empty seats at the London Games stadiums

  

  Organisers fought to quell growing public outrage over empty seats across venues at the London Olympic Games where China has laid down an early marker with a world record win in the pool and a commanding early lead in the medals table.

• Monday, July 30th 2012 - 04:52 UTC

  Israel says Mercosur should be “much concerned” with the inclusion of Venezuela

  

  Israeli ambassador in Uruguay Dori Goren said that the incorporation of Venezuela of Mercosur should “concern” the countries of the regional block given what he described as “Venezuelan support to Iranian agents that establish terror webs in the region”.

• Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 11:01 UTC

  US Justice and securities regulators probing credit-rating agency S&P

  

  The US Department of Justice and securities regulators are probing potential violations by credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's in connection with its ratings of structured products, the company said this week.

• Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 08:47 UTC

  “The Olympic Games are coming home tonight,” IOC President Jacques Rogge

  

  Britain's Queen Elizabeth declared the London Olympics open after playing a cameo role in a dizzying ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation that invented modern sport.

• Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 02:35 UTC

  Despite profits in Brazil, Santander bank profits halved following write-downs

  

  Profits at Spanish banking giant Santander have halved after it made more write-downs against unrecoverable loans secured against property. The bank, which is the Euro zone biggest, said first-half profits halved to 1.7bn Euros in the six months to the end of June.

• Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 01:13 UTC

  Plans for a 300bn Euro rescue of Spain and writing down of Greek bonds

  

  Spain has for the first time conceded it might need a full EU/IMF bailout worth 300 billion Euros if its borrowing costs remain unsustainably high, a Euro zone official was quoted in the Madrid media.

• Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 00:32 UTC

  US economy playing against President Obama’s re-election bid

  

  The White House cut its outlook for US growth in 2012 and 2013 on Friday, hours after data showed the economy grew at a tepid pace in the second quarter, raising concerns about a slowdown that could mar President Barack Obama's re-election chances.