International

• 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.

• Thursday, December 2nd 2010 - 04:19 UTC

  WTO warns rich countries stimulus can jeopardize trade and investments

  

  Stimulus and bailout packages undertaken to cope with the economic crisis can have an impact on trade and investment and need to be managed carefully, according to the head of the World Trade Organization.

• Thursday, December 2nd 2010 - 04:15 UTC

  Cruise industry blasts latest IMO environmental rules

  

  One of the cruise industry's top executives this week openly criticized new environmental rules that he says will have a profound impact on cruise lines.

• Wednesday, December 1st 2010 - 22:38 UTC

  Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Caruana entangled over the Andorra status

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana has moved to lance the bubble of speculation that followed reports of his mention of the Andorra (*) status at a talk to political and business leaders in Seville last week.

• Wednesday, December 1st 2010 - 07:51 UTC

  China opens market to Argentine beef, barley, dairy produce and apples

  

  China and Argentina have signed agreements to allow the import to China of de-boned beef, dairy products, apples, bamboo and barley, China's quarantine administration said on Wednesday. However no mention was made of an expected deal on corn.

• Wednesday, December 1st 2010 - 07:27 UTC

  Euro at 11 month low and Portuguese banks face “intolerable risk”

  

  The Euro remains near 11-month lows against the US dollar as European debt concerns continue to focus on Portugal. With the Portuguese government due to auction 500m Euros of bonds later, analysts are waiting to see the extent of market interest.