International

• Friday, October 28th 2011 - 04:39 UTC

  Sarkozy said Greece should have not joined the Euro in 2001: “it was not ready”

  

  French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said allowing Greece into the Euro zone in 2001 was a “mistake”. He said Greece was “not ready” at the time, but he added, it could be rescued thanks to Wednesday's EU deal on the euro debt crisis

• Thursday, October 27th 2011 - 23:34 UTC

  Euro zone largest bank profits down as bad loans in Spain keep growing

  

  The Euro zone's biggest bank Santander said it expected bad loans in Spain to keep on growing as Spaniards, blighted by unemployment and heavy mortgage debt, fall into arrears on payments.

• Thursday, October 27th 2011 - 23:31 UTC

  China ready to support Euro rescue fund and held stabilize global markets

  

  French president Nicolas Sarkozy conferred with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao as European policy makers seek to build support for an enlarged rescue fund designed to resolve the region’s sovereign-debt crisis.

• Thursday, October 27th 2011 - 15:57 UTC

  France praises Argentina justice system over the sentencing of Astiz

  

  French Foreign Affairs Minister, Alain Juppé praised on Thursday the life sentence declared by the Argentine justice system against former navy spy, Alfredo Astiz, for the crimes against humanity, tortures and kidnappings he committed during the last military dictatorship. Juppé said the decision “honours Argentina.”

• Thursday, October 27th 2011 - 06:05 UTC

  EU leaders reach a deal on Greek debt and boosting bailout fund to 1.4 trillion

  

  European Union leaders announced an agreement early Thursday in Brussels on debt crisis measures including a hard-fought deal with private sector investors to write down Greek bonds by 50%.

• Thursday, October 27th 2011 - 05:52 UTC

  In anticipation of global crisis World Bank extends 260m loan to Uruguay

  

  The World Bank Board approved a 260 million dollars loan to support the Uruguayan government’s reform program in order to consolidate growth with social equity and provide a line of financing to address the impact of the current uncertainty in global economic affairs.

• Wednesday, October 26th 2011 - 15:22 UTC

  Strong support for Merkel ahead of the Euro bail out summit

  

  Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament approved on Wednesday a motion to strengthen the Euro zone rescue fund via leveraging, providing Chancellor Angela Merkel with the mandate she needs to negotiate at a key Euro summit in Brussels.

• Wednesday, October 26th 2011 - 15:18 UTC

  WTO warns protectionism is gaining ground “as a political reaction” to economic difficulties

  

  Economic pressures are tempting G20 governments to resort to protectionism in a misguided bid to shield their domestic markets from problems that are unrelated to trade, the World Trade Organization said in a biannual report Wednesday.

• Wednesday, October 26th 2011 - 02:47 UTC

  Iran blames the West for the killing of Gaddafi and ‘plundering’ Libya

  

  Western countries supported Muammar Gaddafi when it suited them but bombed the Libyan leader when he no longer served their purpose in order to “plunder” the north African country's oil wealth, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, October 26th 2011 - 02:45 UTC

  Euro zone bailout summit outcome in doubt; Italian government on the brink

  

  Italy's cabinet failed on Tuesday to agree on pension reforms as the country seeks to re-launch its economy and tackle its debt. Meanwhile, financial markets nervously await the outcome of Wednesday's second Euro zone summit.