Eurozone finance ministers agreed to bail out Spain by giving a first payment of 30 billion euros (37 billion U.S. dollars) to its reeling banks by the end of July, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said here early Tuesday.

Russia on Sunday scrambled to deal with the aftermath of devastating flash floods that killed at least 152 people and swept away homes in the southern Krasnodar region's worst natural disaster in recent history.

China rebuffed on Saturday U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's accusation that Beijing and Moscow have hindered the resolution of the crisis in Syria, saying any attempt to "slander" China was doomed to fail.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the third meeting of the "Friends of Syria" group in Paris July 6, 2012.

Severe flash floods in Russia's southern Krasnodar region have killed at least 99 people and affected nearly 13,000 in the area's worst natural disaster in decades, officials said Saturday.

Tehran has lost more than US$3 billion in revenue per month for Western sanctions

Black smoke rises from reactor number three at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 21, 2011.

Israel has hinted it may attack Iran if diplomacy fails to secure a halt to its disputed nuclear energy programme. The United States also has mooted military action as a last-resort option but has frequently nudged the Israelis to give time for intensified economic sanctions to work against Iran.

Russia on Monday unveiled the world's longest cable-stayed bridge as it put the finishing touches on a troubled multi-billion investment aimed at revitalizing the country's distant Far East, according to AFP.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Monday extended her welcome to Jim Yong Kim, new President of World Bank Group, the sister agency of IMF, and looked forward to a close partnership between the two agencies.

Preah Vihear Temple

Leaders of eurozone economies agreed early Friday to use funds from a permanent rescue mechanism that will come into force next month to recapitalize troubled banks in the single-currency region. Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (2nd L), European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (2nd R), and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (1st R) attend a press conference during the EU summit at EU's headquarters in Brussels, capital of Belgium, late on June 28, 2012. Top leaders of the European Union (EU) have not agreed on a compact for growth and jobs yet, but a package of growth initiatives worth 120 billion euros (about 150 billion US dollars) to help the most vulnerable economies in the bloc, Van Rompuy said Thursday night. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

Turkey on June 25 accused Syria of opening fire on a second Turkish plane that was searching for the wreckage of a jet earlier shot down by Syria.