International

• Monday, July 26th 2010 - 03:41 UTC

  Russian planning massive sale of assets to cover budget deficit

  

  Russia plans the largest sell-off of state assets since the early 1990s as it seeks to raise over 29 billion US dollars to plug budget gaps over the next three years, finance ministry sources told reporters. The plan to sell minority stakes in 10 major companies in 2011-2013 had been discussed and approved at a preliminary meeting chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

• Monday, July 26th 2010 - 03:37 UTC

  Surprise rebound of the UK economy in the second quarter, 1.1%

  

  The British economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.1% in the second quarter of the year, according to official data. The figure - a preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - was almost double the 0.6% growth rate expected by economists.

• Saturday, July 24th 2010 - 00:16 UTC

  Seven of 91 EU banks failed stress-tests: five from Spain

  

  Seven of the 91 European banks that underwent stress tests have failed the health-checks, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has said. They include five Spanish banks - Diada, Espiga, Banca Civica, Unnim and Cajasur. The other two were Germany's Hypo Real Estate and Greece's ATEbank.

• Friday, July 23rd 2010 - 23:50 UTC

  WTO calls for more global cooperation in natural resources trading

  

  Trading in natural resources creates a great many challenges both for importing and exporting countries and governments need to cooperate more intensively if these challenges are to be adequately addressed, according to World Trade Organization economists.

• Friday, July 23rd 2010 - 22:32 UTC

  British Deputy PM admits Gibraltar is a “sensitive topic” in the Cleggs’ home

  

  Britain's deputy prime minister, Nicholas Clegg, joked in the House of Commons this week that Gibraltar “is a sensitive topic” in his home, which he shares with his Spanish wife, Miriam Gonzalez Durantez.

• Friday, July 23rd 2010 - 22:30 UTC

  India develops 35 US dollars touch-screen laptop

  

  The Indian government announced the development of a touch-screen laptop pitched at students at a cost of 35 US dollars. The low cost device, which runs Linux, is being readied for production.

• Friday, July 23rd 2010 - 06:00 UTC

  Britain to build airport in mid Atlantic St Helena Island; vital link with Falklands

  

  Britain announced Thursday it had agreed to build an airport on the mid Atlantic island of Saint Helena, which is expected to become a vital link for the Falkland Islands air communications.

• Friday, July 23rd 2010 - 02:44 UTC

  Argentina imposes antidumping measures on Chinese and Brazilian imports

  

  In spite of the ongoing dispute with China over the soy-oil import ban, Argentina this week imposed antidumping measures in the form of ad valorem rights on multi-processors originated in China and Brazil.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 10:11 UTC

  Whale jumps and crashes on deck, almost sinking yacht off South Africa

  

  A couple of whale watchers off the South African coast got more than they bargained for. Various media outlets are reporting that a whale breached the surface of the ocean just metres away from the boat of Paloma Werner near Cape Town on Sunday.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 09:32 UTC

  IMF warns Europe must address “underlying problems”

  

  A government debt crisis that has engulfed the Euro-zone should serve as a “wake-up call” for European governments to keep a more watchful eye on their budgets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday.