European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger The European Union (EU) has warned of winter gas shortages after Russia and Ukraine failed to reach an agreement over their price dispute. European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger warned on Monday that the 28-nation bloc could face gas shortages during the coming winter after Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine earlier in the day... 

America, its government, businesses, and people are nearly $60 trillion in debt, according to the latest economic data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve. And private debt, not government borrowing, is the biggest reason for the huge deficit. Total US debt at the end of the first quarter of 2014, on March 31 totaled almost $59.4 trillion – up nearly $500 billion from the end of the fourth quarter... 

The powerful regional organisations created in Latin America, an important legacy of the late Hugo Chavez, have forced cracks in Washington’s 50-year economic blockade of Cuba. Senior US regime figures have called on President Barack Obama to loosen the blockade. Obama loosened a few of the additional measures imposed by Bush the Second (lifting some severe restrictions on family member visits)... 

Russia has set a deadline for Kiev to pay part of its debt to Moscow or the flow of Russian gas to Ukraine will be halted. The acting Kiev government has until June 3 to pay part of its debt or face cuts in natural gas supplies from Russia. According to Russia’s Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, with last month’s consumption included, Ukraine’s debt will rise to USD 5.2 billion by June 7. Russia has... 

China is calling on banks to stop using IBM servers and replace them with local-made machines amid fears that the nation’s financial security might be compromised via the US-based company’s servers, a Bloomberg report has revealed. The new request comes amid an intensified spy scandal between China and the US. The People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance have been asking banks to suspend... 

Britain’s military involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost UK taxpayers almost £30 billion, a think tank says. In a book published on Tuesday, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said that the UK’s contribution to the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was £19.59 and £9.56 billion respectively. The think tank described the invasions as “strategic failures” despite... 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report recently which details changes in food price indexes for the years 2012-2014. Astonishingly in the report, the U.S. is headed for a massive increase on certain foods in the coming months. For example in 2012 there was a 2.6% increase in for the cost of consumer foods as a whole, raising 1.4% more in 2013. However, with farmers and meat producers... 

Thousands of Australian students continue their protest marches against government cuts to higher education. On Wednesday, a student gathering in front of the University of Technology in Sydney led to clashes with security forces. Sources say Australian police also arrested at least two students there. After the rally broke up, dozens of angry students staged a sit-in at an intersection, blocking... 

Thousands of activists took to the streets of Germany and Spain on Saturday to protest the EU’s policies as the union prepares for parliamentary elections at the end of May. In Germany, the EU’s powerhouse, people participated in a day of anti-Brussels protests in Hamburg and the capital Berlin. A rally in Berlin broke out into clashes between protesters and police. Around 1,000 people marched... 

Briton’s wealthiest people own a third of the country’s GDP, with a combined fortune of 874 billion dollars, which is an increase of 15.4 percent on last year’s total, according to an annual survey. The Sunday Times Rich List shows that the United Kingdom’s richest are richer than ever before, which is in sharp contrast with many ordinary Britons who are struggling after five years of austerity. “I’ve... 

​Russia and China are set to sign a long-awaited 30-year gas contract during a two-day meeting, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Shanghai on May 20-21. Gazprom, Russia’s largest natural gas producer, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are set to sign a gas deal that will send 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year eastward to China’s burgeoning economy, starting... 

Tens of thousands of Australians are out on the streets nationwide to condemn the government’s envisaged budget cuts in the education sector. On Sunday, tens of thousands of Australians hit the streets in several cities to show their anger at the government’s economic and social policies. The protest rallies were held in Sydney, Adeline, Brisbane and Melbourne. They slammed the government... 

As the price of meat continues to skyrocket, will it soon be considered a “luxury item” for most American families? This week we learned that the price of meat in the United States rose at the fastest pace in more than 10 years last month. Leading the way is the price of shrimp. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of shrimp has jumped an astounding 61 percent compared to... 

Demonstrators hold a banner that reads “No to the austerity, yes to the social Europe” during a rally in Paris on September 30, 2012. Thousands of civil servants in France have held a one-day strike over pay and work conditions. The demonstrators marched in several cities on Thursday to protest against the government’s planned spending cuts. The strike came after the government last month... 

Unionists have held a massive demonstration in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, demanding that the government address economic and social problems, Press TV reports. According to estimates by security forces, around 50,000 people participated in marches leading to Argentina’s Presidential Palace on Wednesday. The demonstrators condemned the growing inequalities fuelled by the economic crisis...