Barring further political hiccups, the euro zone's bailout fund will take over the task of buying distressed euro zone debt by the end of October, bringing with it new risks for governments struggling with rising borrowing costs. The European Central Bank will be happy to hand over responsibility for a bond-buying programme that it has

Britain is releasing a further 600 million pounds' ($944) worth of Libyan assets, a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron's office said on Thursday. "We are unfreezing their assets. They need to do things like pay public sector workers and the police force," the spokesman said in London as Cameron visited Tripoli with French President

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plans to open doors for its key corporate customers using a decade-old technology most in the smartphone industry eye as a way to turn phones into wallets. Everyone from Nokia to Android developer Google plans to include near-field communications (NFC) technology in future devices as they seek to replace cash

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Israel could not do whatever it wanted in the eastern Mediterranean and that Turkish warships could be there at any moment. "Israel cannot do whatever it wants in the eastern Mediterranean. They will see what our decisions will be on this subject. Our navy attack ships can

Director Roman Polanski is to collect an award from the Zurich Film Festival intended for him in 2009, when he was arrested en route to the ceremony on charges related to a sex crime more than 30 years ago, organisers said on Thursday. The Oscar-winning director, who holds dual French and Polish citizenship, was arrested

The international economy suffers losses amounting to 12 billion US dollars annually due to piracy at sea, an increasing problem especially in the Western Africa coasts. President of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber Capt Eugen Adami told CNA that piracy is a problem, which not only affects Cyprus, having one of the biggest registry in the

Stock markets rose for a third day on Thursday and the euro steadied, helped by signs that euro zone leaders are committed to keeping Greece afloat for now. European markets rose by almost 2 percent before trimming gains, with banking shares recovering from an initial dip on news of a $2 billion loss for Swiss

* Trader lost money in unauthorised positions * Trader arrested in London early on Thursday * UBS says might make third-quarter loss * UBS shares down 5.5 percent * Deals blow to efforts to rebuild investment bank UBS said a trader had lost about $2 billion in unauthorised dealing and warned it might post a

– Peruvians, 5 Spaniards among 23-member crew  – Spain trying to locate vessel, negotiate its release A Cyprus-flagged tanker hijacked off the coast of Benin in West Africa on Wednesday is Spanish-owned and has Spaniards and Peruvians among its 23 crew members, government and company officials said on Thursday. The Mattheos 1 tanker was taken by

Greece told France and Germany on Wednesday it was determined to meet all obligations agreed with international lenders in exchange for an EU/IMF bailout. "Despite recent rumours, all parties stressed Greece will remain in the euro zone," Greek government spokesman Ilias Mossialos said in a statement following a 25-minute telephone call between French President Nicolas