European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi declared on July 26 that "Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro," adding that "believe me, it will be enough." Immediately, the interest rates on Spanish and Italian bonds dropped and European stock markets rose again.
Just fifteen words from Draghi were needed – ABC
The 30th modern Olympiad opens in London this Friday July 27 and will continue through to the August 12. 10,500 atheletes from 204 countries are taking part.
Get the party started – The Daily Telegraph
After the "megalomania" of the Beijing Olympics, the London Games seem a little more sober, more sustainable and on a more human scale than the Games of 2008, the Brussels daily writes.
The reasonable Games – De Standaard
The death sentence against alleged Hungarian war criminal László Csatáry, pronounced by a Czechoslovak court in 1948, has been found in the former State Security (StB) archive in Slovakia. 97 year old Csatáry was arrested in Budapest on July 18 and charged with war crimes for the mass deportations of 15,000 Jews in the then occupied Slovak town of Košice. This discovery could allow Slovak courts to demand his extradition in order to serve a life sentence.
They can punish Csatáry – SME
Belgium's intelligence chief Alain Winants has declared that radical Islamic Salafists "are creating a parallel society with their own values." They number "a few dozen potentially dangerous activists, a few hundred non-violent Salafists and several thousand supporters." Winants has asked for more expertise and staff to cope with the phenomenon.
Salafism is greatest threat to Belgium – De Morgen
Three of Northern Ireland’s main dissident republican groups are to merge and reclaim the banner of the IRA. The Real IRA has been joined by Republican Action Against Drugs, which has been running a violent vigilante campaign in the city of Derry, and a coalition of independent armed republican groups. Opposed to the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, which brought an end to the Troubles, they plan to intensify attacks on security forces and other British-related targets.
Dissident groups merge – The Irish News
The Portuguese government is shortly to decide whether to legalise online betting, currently illegal. The Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy), the state run Catholic charity that holds the national monopoly for legal gambling, is to manage the license. This charity currently earns €2 billion a year, of which €700 mllion goes to the state.
Online gambling legalised by end of year, but controlled by Santa Casa – Diário de Notícias
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