WORLD

Government policies all over the world are distorting the market for agricultural products and discouraging their production at a time when there is a global shortage of them.

Germany has strongly condemned the Russian government move, what they call as “reciprocating”, to make visa norms “strict” for the EU citizens.

Indian media is now running for cover. The 2G spectrum scam, which has snowballed into a major controversy involving Indian politicians and businessmen has now become hotter for journalists to handle as it allegedly involves two of their senior members.

The U.S. economy grew a little more than expected in the third quarter, helped by a sharp drop in imports and a rise in private inventory investment, according to the second estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

It's nothing short of a bizarre twist to one of the most polarizing debates in the U.S. in recent times. The developer of the 'Ground Zero Mosque,' which triggered angry protests from Americans, has requested federal aid for the project, and if his request is granted, money to fund the mosque could come from a federal program intended for the reconstruction of the area hit by the 9/11 attacks.

Special representatives of China and India are scheduled to discuss Sino-Indian border issue in Beijing later this month.

Greece's international lenders have agreed to provide the debt-ridden country with the third installment of a loan – valued at 9-billion euros -- but warned that the Greeks must make an extra effort to address its deficit next year.

North Korea said that it was South Korea which fired first and they had to fire in retaliation. The South Korean enemy, despite our repeated warnings, committed reckless military provocations of firing artillery shells into our maritime territory near Yeonpyeong island beginning 1pm (1500 AEDT), the AFP quoted a statement from the North's military supreme command.

Rare earth elements are not exactly rarefied minerals, but the rest of the world played into China's hands by going easy on their exploration and production as environmental priorities complicated a game they were already losing to China on the labor cost front.

Whistleblowing website WikiLeaks is planning a mega-release of nearly 2.8 million secret documents.

The Irish government is busy finalizing an austerity plan that is expected to save about 15 billion euros, even as the opposition called for early elections in January.

Gold and silver that bounced off key short-term support levels on Tuesday, dropped again as a sudden North Korean attack on South Korean territory sparked dollar buying by cautious investors but an appeal for peace by China and South Korea has helped the commodities recoup some of the losses.

At least two South Korean soldiers have been killed and 14 others are injured in the North's shelling, according to South Korean media reports. The ministry of defense in Seoul is yet to confirm the reports and causalities on the other side remain unknown. Tensions are escalating in the region as fighter jets have been deployed on the South Korean side of the border for retaliatory action.

The US dollar jumped against its major counterparts in Asian trade on Tuesday, hitting a 1-1/2-month high against the yen, after North Korea shelled a South Korean island, leading worries that the lingering tensions between the countries could worsen. The North Korean move triggered a flight from risky assets into the greenback, which is widely considered a safer bet.

Germany's economy grew in line with expectations in the third quarter, but remained sluggish compared to the growth in the previous quarter, according to a report from Destatis, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany.

Hate crimes in the United States decreased by over 15 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to the annual Hate Crimes Statistics, released today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Obama administration is trying to address one of the biggest fears potential small business exporters face: Worry that it's too complex.

A BIS study found the market judges risks of uncontrolled inflation to be relatively low for the U.S and euro zone, despite the expansion of their central banks' sheets and soaring gold prices.

Another section of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration’s massive overhaul of the American healthcare system, was wheeled out today, when Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius introduced a new regulation that will require insurers to spend between 80 and 85 percent of their customers’ premiums directly on their customers’ health care.

It’s now as plain as the beard on Lincoln’s chin. The Republican Party that Honest Abe helped to found – that is, in its current Limbaughian form -- does not give a hoot about American global security. All it wants to do is remove Barack Obama from the White House, and it does not care if its actions – that is, its inaction – wrecks the painstakingly constructed goodwill between the U.S. and Russia and pushes the entire world back toward the shadow of possible nuclear annihilation.

The most serious [economic] challenge today is that of unemployment, said Pascal Lamy, the director-general of the WTO. Lamy urges countries to expand global trade, instead of clamping down on it, to create more jobs for everyone.

Despite signs that the government of Ireland will receive a huge bailout package from the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Irish banks that trade in the U.S. as ADRs are getting hammered this morning in early trading.

Myanmar's Junta backed government has granted a visa to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's son. Thirty-three-year-old Kim Aris is expected in Yangon on Tuesday and Suu Kyi herself is likely to receive him at the airport. This will be for the first time in 10 years that Kim would get to see his mother.

The U.S. economic growth is expected to remain sluggish over the next couple of years, as inflation heads towards zero and unemployment remains high. Official U.S. GDP figures are due on Tuesday, along with sales information of existing homes.

South Korea is considering redeploying U.S. tactical weapons in the country in response to North's fresh nuclear activity. Defense minister Kim Tae-young suggested that the plan could be proposed to Washington at the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee meeting scheduled for next month.

United States' top envoy on North Korea, on Monday, stated that the evidence of a new North Korean nuclear plant was provocative. But, he also toned down the fears that the region was on the brink of a nuclear crisis.

The Chinese government has announced a slew of measures to combat rising commodity prices, including boosting agricultural production and stabilizing supply of products and fertilizers.

The Irish government has agreed to request a bailout from the European Union and the IMF, according to official statements from Ireland and the Eurogroup.

The nation that once gloated over its ability to feed the entire world is seeing an explosion of poverty: The number of people surviving on food stamps is rising as biting unemployment refuses to abate, personal incomes have been falling while the debt bubble is inflating with each passing day and, in a more startling representation of the grim reality, tent cities are mushrooming as more and more people are pushed out of their ‘underwater’ homes.