International

• Monday, December 6th 2010 - 05:23 UTC

  EU governments’ support for financial sector 4.5 tr Euros; UK top of the list

  

  European Union states have underwritten their financial sectors with 4.5 trillion Euros of aid since the banking crisis hit. Top of the league is the UK, which pledged 850.3bn Euros of support between October 2008 and October 2010.

• Monday, December 6th 2010 - 05:15 UTC

  Germany reaffirms commitment to Euro as markets test EU monetary union

  

  German Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said financial markets are currently testing whether the Euro zone will survive but he insisted the 16-nation monetary union won't break up. However he also warned about the risk of the emergence of an anti-Euro party.

• Saturday, December 4th 2010 - 06:48 UTC

  Brazil recognized the state of Palestine based on borders before 1967

  

  Brazil recognized on Friday the state of Palestine based on borders before Israel seized control of the West Bank in 1967. The foreign ministry said the recognition was in response to a request made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to President Lula da Silva earlier this year.

• Saturday, December 4th 2010 - 02:59 UTC

  China, Brazil announce “macro-prudent” measures to cut liquidity, tighten credit

  

  Two of the strongest emerging economies Brazil and China announced Friday measures to withdraw liquidity tighten credit and contain inflation. Brazil’s “macro-prudent” measures are geared to cut on money circulation, while China said monetary emphasis will change from “relatively loose” to “prudent”.

• Saturday, December 4th 2010 - 01:31 UTC

  Lula da Silva and Obama, best evaluated leaders in Western Hemisphere

  

  Brazil’s Lula da Silva and US Barack Obama are the Western hemisphere leaders best evaluated and most respected, according to a paper based on a public opinion poll and which was released Friday by the NGO Latinobarometro.

• Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:33 UTC

  Putin flies to Zurich to thank FIFA for trusting Russia the 2018 World Cup

  

  Prime Minister Vladimir Putin thanked FIFA President Sepp Blatter for the trust the association deposited in Russia that was chosen to host in 2018 football’s major event, the World Cup.

• Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:18 UTC

  IMF chiefs rules out double-dip recession, praises South American countries

  

  IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn ruled out any possibility of an impending double-dip recession even as he warned against downward risks posing the countries while they were recuperating, albeit languidly.

• Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:13 UTC

  IMF prepares for crisis scenario: plans to double lending capacity to 450 billion

  

  IMF expects to double its lending capacity to 450 billion US dollars over the next few months, giving it additional firepower to deal with the sovereign-debt crisis engulfing Europe, according to IMF officials and documents.

• Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 05:49 UTC

  2010 among the three warmest years since climate records started in 1850

  

  The year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top 3 warmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850, according to data sources compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

• Thursday, December 2nd 2010 - 23:05 UTC

  Relief in Euro zone as ECB extends availability of emergency loans to banks

  

  The European Central Bank moved Thursday to contain the continent's government debt crisis, extending the availability of emergency loans and keeping its benchmark lending rate at one percent.