Greece's representative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Panagiotis Roumeliotis, on Friday was quoted as saying that the Washington D.C.-based institution has essentially approved an extension of the repayment period for Greece's 110-billion-euro EU-ECB-IMF bailout package. In a published interview carried by the Athens daily "Kathimerini" on Friday, Roumeliotis cites an extension to 2020.ana-mpa "The

Asian shares edged up while the Australian dollar and commodities pared early losses as investors bet China's latest interest rate hike would not change the optimistic outlook for the global economy in 2011. People's Bank of China raised rates by 25 basis points on Saturday, the second rate rise in just over two months, as

Call it the year of feast and famine. Many of the world's big advanced economies have pledged frugality for 2011 while fast-growing emerging markets run the risk of overheating. The global economy must withstand both forces in order to live up to growth expectations. Dictionary company Merriam-Webster ranked "austerity" as its No. 1 word of

Teams of scientists have cracked the genetic codes of the wild strawberry and a certain type of cacao used to make fine chocolate, work that should help breeders develop better varieties of more mainstream crops. The wild strawberry is closely related to important food crops such as apples, peaches, pears and raspberries, as well as

Jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky faces a verdict this week in a second trial whose outcome will test the Kremlin's readiness for reform and shape Russia's political climate ahead of a 2012 presidential vote. After an unexplained postponement that deepened suspicions of government interference in the fate of a prominent Kremlin foe, a judge

Break out the party favours and the bubbly it's almost time to ring in the New Year. To avoid another night in with the television, Men's website AskMen.com (www.askmen.com) offers its top 10 list of New Year's destinations for travellers keen to find fun out of town. Reuters has not endorsed this list: 1. Copacabana

Unemployment rate in Cyprus reached 5,8% of the labour force (males 5,7% and females 5,9%) for the third quarter of 2010, according to the Republic's Statistical Service. The unemployment rate amounted to 5,8% of the labour force (males 5,7% and females 5,9%) recording a decrease from the previous quarter, 6,4% (males 6,1% and females 6,7%).

World stocks clung near two-year peaks while oil rose towards the $92 per barrel mark on Friday after yet another burst of strong economic figures from the United States encouraged some year-end buying. The latest rally in major European and U.S. stock indices has given investors the biggest December gains in more than a decade.