The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has said it plans to sell some of its Indian assets, including its credit card and mortgage business, to a domestic bank as it disposes of more of its once sprawling empire.

RBS, now more than 80 percent owned by the British government following the 2008 global financial crisis, plans to sell its business banking, credit card business and mortgage loan portfolio to India's Ratnakar Bank, the two banks said.

An auction to privatize airports in Rio and Belo Horizonte, two host cities for the 2014 World Cup, will be held on October 31, Brazilian authorities said Friday.

Presidential chief of staff Gleisi Hoffmann announced the date for the auction to sell concessions to run

Russia's growth slowed sharply in the second quarter despite President Vladimir Putin's efforts to reverse the trend before he hosts the G20 summit next month, initial estimates showed on Friday.

The first growth reading from the Federal State Statistics Service dealt a heavy blow to the government by revealing that the economy had expanded in the second quarter of this year from the same period in 2012 at a rate of just 1.2 percent.

Iran has beefed up its oil tanker fleet with vessels from China and is selling more crude to Beijing as Tehran struggles under international sanctions, the IEA said in a report Friday.

Iran's once lucrative oil sector has been crippled by sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive. Despite Iranian denials, the West is convinced Tehran is pursuing a nuclear bomb.

Japan's eye-watering national debt has topped one quadrillion yen, official data showed Friday, a record figure that underlines Tokyo's struggle to curb its huge borrowing.

The figure supplied by the finance ministry of 1.008 quadrillion yen by the end of June amounts to about $10.42 trillion at current exchange rates.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Thursday for more growth-oriented policies in Greece, saying the austerity has not been adequate to revive the country's battered economy.

Speaking after talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Obama said he was confident in his visitor's commitment to much-needed reforms.

The Bank of England made a major break with policy on Wednesday, insisting that any rise in its record-low key interest rate would be tied to a drop in Britain's unemployment rate.

The BoE said it "intends not to raise Bank Rate from its current level of 0.5 percent at least until... the unemployment rate has fallen to a threshold of seven percent."

Sony said Tuesday it has rejected a U.S. hedge fund's proposal to spin off part of its profitable entertainment arm, but the billionaire behind the offer vowed to continue efforts to overhaul the struggling Japanese electronics giant.

Daniel Loeb, who says his U.S. hedge fund Third Point has amassed the largest stake in Sony, had called on Sony executives to list up to 20 percent of the entertainment unit, which includes a major music label and a Hollywood movie studio.

The French economy, bumping along in recession, is likely to grow by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of the year, the Bank of France said on Wednesday.

This is better than forecast at the end of June by the national statistics institute INSEE which foresaw zero growth in the third quarter.

By Giza's Great Pyramids, souvenir vendors wait restlessly in the shade, watching for the handful of tourists who still make their way down the empty street to the once-bustling landmark.

The 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak dealt a severe blow to the country's tourist industry, once a mainstay of Egypt's economy.