New Delhi  - India's central bank announced Tuesday that it would keep key short-term interest rates at their current record lows to support the economic recovery process while trying to ensure price stability.

The Reserve Bank of India also retained its growth projection for the 2009-10 fiscal year at 6 per cent while raising the inflation forecast to 6.5 per cent from 5 per cent in its mid-yearly review of monetary policy.

Reykjavik - Financially battered Iceland could benefit from introducing the European currency, the euro, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday.

The Paris-based OECD said in a new economic survey of Iceland that there was a need for tax hikes but also "substantial scope to reduce health and education expenditure" to tackle budget deficits.

Reykjavik - Iceland's government survived aother key vote when parliament Friday approved a plan to compensate mainly British and Dutch savers in a failed Icelandic bank.

Parliament, the Althing, has for 10 weeks debated the plan to give an Icelandic state guarantee for the Icesave savings accounts of Landsbanki totalling some 5.5 billion dollars.

"This is one of the largest financial and economic issues ever faced by Iceland," Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said Friday.

Reykjavik - Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has broken his left shoulder in a horse-riding accident, news reports said Thursday.

Grimsson was riding Wednesday with a group of people including his wife at Hunavellir in the north-west part of Iceland when his horse tripped and he fell off, the reports said.

The president was taken to a hospital in Reykjavik where X-rays indicated that he had sustained a broken shoulder. Some 10 years ago the president sustained a similar injury.

Reykjavik  - Iceland's government Monday presented a plan to issue bonds worth 2.1 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros) to capitalize three major banks and "re-establish" its banking system.

Islandsbanki, New Kaupthing and New Landsbanki were launched after the main Icelandic commercial banks in October 2008 collapsed over the global finacial crisis.

The plan was to be concluded by August 14 and hinges on approval

from among others the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority.

Reykjavik  - The parliament of Iceland Thursday assembled to vote on the government's planned bid to join the European Union, ending a marathon debate that began last week.

Prime Minister Johannna Sigurdardottir's government had argued that seeking membership of the 27-nation bloc is the best way to stabilize the North Atlantic nation's economy.(dpa)

Reykjavik  - A marathon debate on the Icelandic government's planned bid for European Union membership resumed Wednesday, with issues including the size of Iceland's debt and government obligations to foreign nationals with deposits in the main banks that collapsed in the autumn.

Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir's government has decided that membership is the best way to stabilize the North Atlantic nation's economy.

Parliament officials said a vote could possibly take place late Wednesday.

Reykjavik  - Legislators in Iceland's parliament Tuesday resumed their lengthy debate on the government's plans to bid for European Union membership.

The debate that began last week has also reflected divides within the coalition headed by Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir.

Issues debated include the size of Iceland's debt and obligations the government has concerning payments to foreign nationals with deposits in the main banks that collapsed in the autumn.

Reykjavik - Iceland should turn in its application for European Union membership by the end of July, Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir told the nation's legislature Saturday.

Speaking before the parliament, or Althing, Sigurdardottir said she plans to make the application during a July 27 meeting of EU foreign ministers. She urged members of the 63-seat legislature to move quickly so that the application could be filed as planned.

Reykjavik  - Iceland's government was preparing to ask parliament to vote on applying for membership in the European Union at the end of the week, reports said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir was hoping the foreign affairs committee would hand over the proposal to parliament for a debate and vote, perhaps on Friday, according to sources close to the government.

Reykjavik  - Iceland's economy shrank 3.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the final quarter of 2008, Statistics Iceland said Monday.

The estimates also indicated that domestic expenditure declined 3.3 per cent in real terms, and exports dropped 1.9 per cent. Imports increased 7.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, the agency said.

The North Atlantic nation has since mid-October suffered from the ramifications of the global credit crunch that saw its three major banks taken over by the state. Unemployment has also surged as a result of the crisis.

Reykjavik  - There are no immediate prospects for interest rate cuts in Iceland, the head of a visiting delegation from the International Monetary Fund said Friday.

Mark Flanagan's remarks were made at the end of a review visit to Iceland that lasted more than a week.

In November, the fund approved a 2.1-billion-dollar loan to the North Atlantic nation, which was badly impacted by the global credit crunch. Reykjavik said the central bank, or Sedlabanki, has so far received 830 million dollars.

Reykjavik - Icelandic whalers on Tuesday began the new whaling season, local media reported.

The official whaling quota is 100 minke whales, according to a decision in February.

About half of the quota is intended for Japan. Minke whales are the smallest of the seven great whales. They are up to 11 metres long, and can weigh about 8 tons.

The quota also includes 150 fin whales.

Reykjavik  - Iceland's new social democrat Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir unveiled her coalition cabinet on Sunday, which sees the island state ruled in partnership with the Green party.

The announcement of the new government comes two weeks after elections which saw Sigurdardottir beat the long-ruling centre-right government after the implosion of the country's banking sector and economy.

Reykjavik - Iceland's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 13 per cent, citing that "conditions for continued monetary easing are in place."

The North Atlantic country in March made its first cut since mid- October when the country was hit by the global credit crunch that saw its three major banks taken over by the state.

Interest rates at the end of October were hiked to 18 per cent, and Iceland in November secured a 2.1-billion-dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Reykjavik - Iceland got the first-ever leftist majority in its history in Saturday's parliamentary elections, with final returns giving the Social Democrats and Greens over half the vote and inflicting punishing losses on the conservatives. In the final count, Social Democrats of interim Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, 66, and her Greens coalition partner had garnered 51.5 per cent of the vote. This was a gain of 10.4 percentage points from their showing four years ago.

Reykjavik - Iceland was set to get its first leftist majority government since its founding 65 years ago, latest election returns early Sunday showed.

With 82 per cent of the ballots counted, the Social Democrats and Greens had gained 52.7 per cent of the vote in Saturday's parliamentary elections.

This would give the coalition 34 seats in the 63-seat Althing parliament.

In the last elections four years ago, the Social Democrats and Greens had garnered 41.1 per cent of the vote.

Reykjavik  - Iceland's leftists were winning Parliamentary elections Saturday in Iceland, according to initial counting of 30 per cent of the vote.

Amidst the ravages of the global economic meltdown, the current interim government of the Social Democrats under Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and Green Party had taken 52.8 per cent of the vote, bettering their 41.1 per cent received in the last elections two years ago.

The coalition had been expected to win.

Reykjavik - Voting began Saturday in the general election in Iceland, one of the country's most ravaged by the global economic meltdown amid survey indications of a strong shift to the left in the country's electorate. The current interim government of social democratic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is favourite to retain power, in coalition with their Green party partners.

The Morgunbladid newspaper published a Gallup poll showing that more than 57 per cent of those surveyed aimed to support the social democrats and Greens. Two years ago, the two parties won only 41 per cent of the vote.

Reykjavik - Voting began Saturday in the general election in Iceland, one of the country's most ravaged by the global economic meltdown. The current interim government of socialist Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir is favourite to retain power, in coalition with their Green party partners.

The previous government resigned in January, after Iceland's

economy imploded under the pressure of the collapse of three of its over-stretched banks, and mass street protests.