This week’s events include:

• Chinese bank could be biggest IPO in history
• Reports of a prisoner swap for the Russian spies
• 235 people killed by a Congo petrol tanker explosion
• The World Cup final is set for a first-time winner

Chinese bank could be the biggest IPO in history

On Tuesday and Wednesday, a 14% chunk of the Agricultural Bank of China was floated (put up for sale through shares) on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong share markets by its current owner the Chinese government.

Appeals for donations seem to come from every direction these days – in an email, a knock at the door or a collector on the street.

The cause might be starving children in Africa, human rights abuses in China or rehabilitating prostitutes in India.

World Vision, Oxfam and Amnesty International are just a few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating internationally.

Other big players that may sound familiar are Greenpeace, Save the Children and the French-based Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).

This week’s events include:

• US Government accuses Russians of being ‘illegal’ spies
• Hurricane Alex threatens American coast and oil spill
• Popular Mexican singer and governor candidate assassinated by drug gangs
• Football World Cup enters quarter finals with strong South American showing

US Government accuses Russians of being ‘illegal’ spies

Every day trillions of dollars get moved about electronically on the world’s financial markets, the nature of which acts as a heart rate monitor for our global economic health.

In the past couple of years, the world has been obsessed with this heart rate as it has tried to climb out of recession.

So what exactly are these financial markets that play such a crucial role in the economic world?

The financial markets

Brazil, Russia, India and China – collectively known as the BRICs, or BRIC countries – now feature in almost every conversation about the global economy.

They are often described as the eventual pillars of the world economy and it’s easy to see why.

They are big, together representing around a quarter of the world’s territory and 40% of the world’s population.

Each country has an annual GDP (gross domestic product, meaning total economic output) of over US$1 trillion, far outstripping any other developing country.

While the business end of the Football World Cup continues this week in South Africa, the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is in full swing.

Due to a continental rotational policy that was implemented in 2000 by world football’s governing body FIFA, only Africa could host this year’s event and similarly South America will host in 2014 (Brazil).

This policy has since been withdrawn by FIFA. However, Africa is still ineligible to bid for 2018, while South America is ineligible for both 2018 and 2022.

This week’s events include:

• Afghanistan’s top US General fired over criticism
• Crucial whaling meeting fails to produce an agreement
• Australia has its first female prime minister as Kevin Rudd steps down
• Jamaican drug lord Christopher Coke turns himself in

Afghanistan’s top US General fired over criticism

America’s highest military official in Afghanistan General Stanley McCrystal has been dismissed by President Obama over comments made in a magazine article.

‘Witness protection’ is where governments relocate and provide new identities to a witness and their family in exchange for testimony.

It’s done because the prosecutors believe that without being protected, the witness would be at severe risk of intimidation or even death at the hands of those being prosecuted.

But the process has many flaws, both in the rich and poor world.

Witness protection in America

We pump our cars (and our oceans) full of it, we fight wars over it and complain about the price of it.

It’s everyone’s nasty little addiction, although we can’t live without it. But how much do we really know about the oil process and where it comes from?

Oil is a hydrocarbon formed from the fossils of plant and animals which have been subjected to immense heat and pressure over millions of years.

In the form of liquid, gas or coal, oil deposits are often found alongside porous rock, non-porous rock and gas.

For centuries, priests entering the Catholic Church have been required to swear an oath of celibacy – to never marry or engage in sexual activity.

But now as the Church’s international year of the priest comes to an end this month, the reality is that priest numbers are dwindling.

This has led many to question the effect the celibacy requirement has on would-be priests, and whether the rule has its place in today’s world.

The tradition of celibacy