Iran’s decision to halt oil exports to some European Union member states has caused serious concern among major European consumers of Iranian crude such as Italy, Press TV reports. Tehran threatened to halt oil shipments to EU states after the bloc reached a decision on January 23 to ban Iranian oil imports for its members. The EU decision came after Washington imposed similar sanctions against... 

Greek pensioners protesting in Athens. In Greece, angry pensioners have once again taken to the streets in the capital Athens to protest against the government’s tough spending cuts. The pensioners gathered to express opposition with lawmakers’ decision to slash another 325 million euros in wages, pensions, and jobs, as demanded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order... 

Oil refinery of Swiss firm Petroplus in Petit-Couronne, near Rouen, northwestern France. A senior Iranian lawmaker says a number of Eastern European countries have called on the Islamic Republic not to approve a bill which will stop the country’s oil exports to the European Union member states. Member of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Mohammad-Karim Abedi said on Tuesday... 

President Barack Obama revealed his 2013 budget early Monday, and in a brief address managed to summarize his plan in just three little words: tax the rich. Attempting re-election while America continues to see a worsening inequality gap and unfavorable employment numbers, President Obama once again relied heavily on attacking the country’s wealthy elite during his budget explanation Monday morning.... 

Today, Nokia announced that it’s going to cut 4,000 more jobs at its factories in Hungary, Mexico and Finland in an effort to improve the production efficiency of said plants. The company plans on moving a larger part of the production of its smartphones to Asia, which it says will help reduce the time it takes for its products to reach the market. As Nokia continues to suffer the effect of... 

Iran is ready to complete and inaugurate the proposed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project ahead of the due date, the vice president for international affairs said in Islamabad today. In a meeting with Pakistani finance officials, Ali Saeedlou said that Iran is prepared to help Pakistan establish the pipeline ahead of the date the two sides have agreed upon, IRNA news agency reported. Despite the threat... 

President of the Somali Red Crescent Society has expressed gratitude to Iran for Tehran’s significant contribution of humanitarian aid to the famine-stricken African nation, Press TV reports. “[We are here] to express our appreciation and thanks to the Iranian Red Crescent for the assistance they have provided for the Somali people,” Ahmad Mohammad Hassan told Press TV after a meeting with... 

Gendarme forces move toward protesters in Piata Universitatii square, Bucharest January 19, 2012. Romania’s Prime Minster Emil Boc has resigned following weeks of public protest against IMF-backed austerity measures amid the debt crisis sweeping the European Union. Announcing his resignation on Television on Monday, Boc said that he wanted to “defuse political and social tension” and... 

Indian business delegation will visit Tehran in the end of February to boost oil imports from the Islamic Republic. India plans to send a business delegation to Iran to hold talks aimed at increasing the volume of Tehran’s oil exports to New Delhi, a report says. “We will need to lead a business delegation there, taking potential exporters across a range of sectors, and go out there and... 

Russia has lost $4 billion due to the loss of arms contracts with Libya as a result of the UN’s arms shipments embargo. Anatoly Isaikin, the General Director of Russia’s defense export giant Rosoboronexport, said that Russia had concluded arms contracts worth $2 billion with the previous administration of Libya. “We could conclude more contracts for the same amount,” the official... 

A senior lawmaker says Iran’s Majlis is considering a plan to cut off the country’s economic transactions with South Korea’s Samsung in reaction to the company’s anti-Iran teaser. Head of Majlis Energy Committee Arsalan Fat’hipour said the double-urgency plan, aimed at imposing a complete ban on buying all Samsung products, would make the company regret making the insulting... 

A grim report just issued by the Finance Ministry that is circulating in the Kremlin today says the United States Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) has ground to a virtual halt signaling that a major global economic collapse is currently underway and could very well likely enter into the dreaded “freefall zone.” Virtually unknown to all but the global financial elite, CHIPS is the... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Despite Beijing’s outright refusal to join the EU and US-sponsored unilateral sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arranged a visit to China to convince the country to reduce Iranian oil import. A German government source told a news briefing on Tuesday that “It is in German interests that China does not raise its imports... 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ridiculed Britain once again by saying that “the United Kingdom has no industry any more”, media reports said. The recent spat was made during a prime time national TV broadcast, in which Sarkozy was trying to defend his decision to introduce an increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) in an attempt to boost France’s failing economy. By enforcing the 1.6... 

European Union leaders are expected in Brussels for their first summit of the year in attempt to reconcile austerity with growth and to approve a permanent rescue fund for the crisis-hit eurozone. The half day summit on Monday is meant to focus on ways to generate growth and create jobs, while having more austere fiscal measures for nations with unsustainable levels of debt. The summit coincided with...