Atos Origin, an international IT services company, today announced that it has won a new contract with the Gambling Commission to implement the IT systems that support the Commission’s licensing and compliance work for arcades, betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, gaming machine suppliers and lotteries, as well as British-based gambling websites.

 The Department for Transport today announced the list of shortlisted bidders for the new South Central franchise. They are:

 The Competition Commission (CC) has provisionally found that there are competition problems at each of BAA's seven UK airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton in England, and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen in Scotland) with adverse consequences for passengers and airlines. A principal cause is their common ownership by BAA. There are also competition problems arising from the planning system, aspects of Government policy and the system of regulation. The detailed provisional findings of its investigation into the market for the supply of airport services by BAA in the United Kingdom are published today at http://www.competition-commission.org.uk.

World Bank asssistance has played a significant role in the successful reconstruction of and early reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH).  Since 1996, the World Bank has committed over US$ 1.27 billion to BH through 61 projects. The World Bank and the European Commission successfully organized three donor conferences raising about US$ 5.1 billion for post-conflict reconstruction of the country. The World Bank's assistance in BH has ranged from rehabilitation of basic services (water supply, electricity, sewage, heating, housing, roads and bridges), and establishing an accessible health care and education system, to job creation, financial sector reform (banking sector and microfinance) and assistance to BH in the process of the EU integration. In per capita terms, the World Bank assistance program in BH, which consisted of International Development Association (IDA) interest free loans and grants, has been the largest in the history of the organization in any post-conflict country.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness MP, MLA has told graduates of the University Of Ulster’s Step-Up programme that qualified employees are the key to a dynamic innovative economy.

Latest labour market figures published today by the Office of National Statistics show that total employment in Wales has reached a record high at 1, 367,000.

Latin American and Caribbean countries should strengthen social programs to alleviate the impact of higher food prices among 71 million poor people in the region, newly-released numbers on the potential impact of food prices by Inter-American Development Bank show. More than 26 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean could fall into extreme poverty if food prices remain high, according to the IDB.

rgentina will promote sustainable development in its Northern region by making select industry clusters more competitive with support from a US$16 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), acting on the recommendation of President Haruhiko Kuroda, approved the appointment of Zhao Xiaoyu as Vice-President (Operations 1).

Technology Strategy Board to invest in UK manufacturing to help companies maintain and develop their international competitiveness.