The London Olympics will be a "great Games" and will not be affected by poor weather or last-minute disruptions, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said on Friday after arriving a week before the opening ceremony. London will be hosting its third Olympics after 1908 and 1948 from July 27-Aug 12 with organisers dealing with
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The apartment of the man suspected in the mass shooting at a Denver-area screening of the latest Batman movie is "booby-trapped" with an array of sophisticated material, the local police chief said Friday. Speaking at the scene where police were working to gain access to the apartment, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said: "His apartment
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Italy forward Antonio Cassano has been fined 15,000 euros ($18,250) by UEFA for saying during Euro 2012 that he hoped there were no homosexuals in the team. UEFA said the controversial player had been penalised for a "discriminatory press statement" and had three days to appeal. Cassano has already apologised for his comments. Asked at
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A fourth member of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle died on Friday from wounds sustained in a bomb attack this week and troops struggled to recapture border posts and parts of Damascus from rebels targeting the heart of his power. In the latest of a series of attacks this week on high profile targets,
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The European Central Bank said on Friday it would stop accepting as collateral Greek sovereign bonds and other assets backed by the country's government from July 25, though it would review the situation once the country's lenders had completed a visit. The ECB move will force Greek banks to turn to the national central bank
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Euro zone finance ministers approved the terms of a loan of up to 100 billion euros ($123 billion) for Spain to recapitalise its banks on Friday, but the exact size of the support will only be determined in September. In a conference call, ministers signed off on a detailed memorandum of understanding with Spain spelling
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Cash-strapped Cyprus, which applied for a bailout from its European partners last month, is keeping its options open on whether to seek exclusion from an obligation to contribute to rescue funds for other crisis-hit countries, its finance minister said on Thursday. Cyprus, one of the euro zone's smallest members, applied for a bailout on June
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Asian shares were poised for their biggest weekly gain since January, though they eased on Friday as worries about the euro outweighed strong U.S. corporate earnings that lifted the S&P 500 to a 2-1/2 month high. European stock futures were indicating a weak open with the Eurostoxx 50 futures and the DAX futures down 0.1%
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Euro zone finance ministers are expected to approve an agreement on Friday to lend up to 100 billion euros to Spain so it can recapitalise its banks, but the exact size of the loan will probably only be determined in September. Ministers are expected in a conference call to sign off on a lengthy memorandum
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The chief executive of Greece's privatisation agency, Costas Mitropoulos, has resigned. The new conservative-led government has made reviving the long-delayed privatisation drive a key part of its efforts to turn around the recession-hit economy, but has admitted delays stemming from repeat elections held this year. "He has submitted his resignation," one senior government official said
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