Germany lifts freeze on Iceland’s Kaupthing Bank accounts; payments to restart this week

October 2nd, 2009 TD Bank says glitch better, not fixedCHERRY HILL, N.J. — TD Bank officials say they have not completely solved a computer glitch that has been confounding online banking customers all week.

September 4th, 2009 Moussa: no to settlement freeze without JerusalemCERNOBBIO, Italy — The Arab League chief says any Israeli offer for a settlement freeze that doesn't include east Jerusalem is unacceptable and "will suspend the peace process." Amr Moussa spoke Friday at a conference on Italy's Lake Como. Moussa said a freeze of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians hope to make their capital, is a precondition for any meaningful talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

September 2nd, 2009 Spending lifts euro economy in 2QBRUSSELS — Higher household spending supported the euro zone economy in the second quarter, the European Union statistics agency said Wednesday, in another upbeat sign for growth prospects. Eurostat confirmed an earlier estimate that the economy of the 16 nations that use the euro shrank by just 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter, far less severely than officials had forecast, due to growth in the two biggest euro nations Germany and France.

August 28th, 2009 Egypt: Israeli freeze must include east JerusalemSTOCKHOLM — Egypt's foreign minister says east Jerusalem must be included in a freeze of Israeli settlement activity before Middle East peace talks can restart. Ahmed Aboul-Gheit told reporters in Stockholm on Friday that Jerusalem is Arab "and it will continue to be so." He said the Arab world expects the area to be included in a moratorium on Israeli settlements.

August 4th, 2009 Iceland court lifts gag order after public outrageREYKJAVIK, Iceland — A court in Iceland lifted a gag order Tuesday that allowed Kaupthing Bank to prevent media coverage of a leaked file that discloses details of the bank's weak position shortly before it collapsed in October. The Reykjavik district magistrate lifted the order only hours after Kaupthing itself yielded to public pressure to stop pushing for the ban.

July 27th, 2009 Report: Israeli settler population crosses 300,000JERUSALEM — An Israeli paper is reporting that the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank is now over 300,000. The daily Haaretz says the number of West Bank settlers is 304,569 — a 2.3 percent increase since January.

July 20th, 2009 Iceland gives kick start to banking systemLONDON — Iceland unveiled plans Monday to get its collapsed banking system back on its feet, including a 270 billion krona ($2 billion) recapitalization and the sale of significant equity stakes to creditors. The Finance Ministry said the deal is a significant step on the road to recovery for the tiny North Atlantic nation, which became one of the earliest and hardest hit casualties of the global financial crisis thanks to a pile of debt amassed during years of light regulation of the banking sector.

June 19th, 2009 Lawmakers criticize UK government for Iceland spatLONDON — An influential committee of cross-party lawmakers criticized the British government on Friday for its handling of the Icelandic banking crisis, when the Treasury froze assets using anti-terrorist law, prompting a diplomatic spat between the two countries. London infuriated Reyjkavik last year when it used the anti-terrorist legislation to freeze U.K.

June 6th, 2009 UK gov't secures cash from Iceland over IcesaveLONDON — Iceland will reimburse the British and Dutch governments for compensation paid out to depositors of the failed Icesave Internet bank, the British Treasury said Saturday. In a statement, the Treasury said the British government will be repaid 2.3 billion pounds over the next 15 years with interest.

June 4th, 2009 Iceland cuts interest rates to 12 percentLONDON — Iceland's central bank cut official interest rates by 1 percentage point to 12 percent on Thursday as it attempts to bolster the tiny island nation's recession-struck economy, defying warnings against further trims from the International Monetary Fund. Sedlabanki said the cut — the fourth in as many months, bringing the policy rate down from a high of 18 percent — was justified to move the Icelandic economy toward a recovery.

May 9th, 2009 Iceland cuts interest rates to 13 percentLONDON — Iceland's central bank has cut official interest rates by 2.5 percentage points to 13 percent to help the country's troubled economy. It is the third cut in rates this year by the central bank, called Sedlabanki.

April 20th, 2009 UN says NKorea could restart nuclear facilityBEIJING — The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says North Korea could restart its nuclear facility within months, but that he hopes negotiations on halting Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions can be revived. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei said Monday "it could be a question of months" when asked how soon North Korea could restart its nuclear facility.

February 26th, 2009 KOCHI - The South Indian Bank, one of the oldest banks in south India, will collect insurance policy renewal payments on behalf of ING Life, part of the ING Group, it was announced Wednesday. Customers of ING Life can now pay their policy renewal premium at any of the 530 South Indian Bank branches spread across the country.

January 18th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - A lightning strike on an electric transformer knocked out power to a goldmine, leaving 167 miners trapped 2,200 metres underground Sunday, a spokesman for the mine said. The miners in the Blyvooruitzicht goldmine near the village of Carletonville have been underground for 24 hours, the spokesman said, adding that power has been restored to the mine but lifts had first to be connected and tested.

January 13th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - An accountant of Union Bank of India has allegedly robbed his organisation of Rs.870,000 during his stint at two Chandigarh branches of the bank in 2004, a police officer said Wednesday. A case of cheating was registered against the accused, H.K.