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Washington  – In one of the most dire global forecasts yet, the World Bank on Tuesday predicted that the global economy will shrink 1.7 per cent this year as trade collapses and the banking crisis strikes even the world’s poorest countries.

Stuttgart  – German sports carmaker Porsche reported Tuesday that its first-half profits rose more than threefold, mainly as a result of gains in Volkswagen shares.

Munich  – Luca Toni is set to return into Bayern Munich’s lineup for Saturday’s big Bundesliga match at VfL Wolfsburg from a five-week injury layoff.

San Sebastian, Spain  – Spanish police Tuesday arrested eight people on charges of staging acts of street violence in support of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, police sources said.

Berlin  – Germany banned an extremist right-wing youth group on Tuesday and conducted searches of property used by its leaders, the interior ministry said.

Los Angeles  – On a special night immortalizing Alonzo Mourning, the Miami Heat was victimized by Dwight Howard.

Washington  – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters late Monday while flying to a London conference on Afghanistan that the new US government has stopped referring to the “global war on terror.”

Jerusalem  – Completing a period of intense coalition negotiations, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu was set to present his government Tuesday afternoon, seven weeks after Israel’s elections.

London  – US President Barack Obama will make his first major foray onto the global stage Tuesday when he arrives in London for the Group of 20 (G20) summit of the world’s big economic powers.

Berlin  – German unemployment edged up again in March, data to be released Tuesday is forecast to show, amid signs that the sharp downturn in Europe’s biggest economy is beginning to bite.