Europe’s main human rights watchdog has warned that Spain’s austerity program could have a devastating impact on children, as cuts have increased child poverty, malnutrition and inadequate housing. Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, published a report on Wednesday based on a visit to Spain earlier this year. He called on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s... 

The Republican-led US House of Representatives unanimously voted to approve a bill which will see 800,000 workers furloughed during the ongoing partial government shutdown paid once the crisis ends. The 407-0 vote in the House was a rare moment of bipartisanship within the deeply divided lower house of Congress. The measure will now be sent to the Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats. The... 

Members of a Greek trade union demonstrate in Athens on February 20, 2013. Thousands of communist-backed labor union activists and their supporters have staged an anti-austerity demonstration in the Greek capital Athens. The protesters took to the streets in central Athens on Saturday and called on the government to stop the new round of cuts and measures that will slash pensions, salaries and introduce... 

US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned that a prolonged political crisis in Washington would weaken the country at a global level as a political stalemate in the US has forced the federal government shutdown to stretch into its fifth day. “If it were prolonged, or repeated, people would begin to question the willingness of the United States to stay the course and its ability to,”... 

The US stock market plummeted to its lowest level in almost a month as a federal government shutdown stretched into its third day on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 135 points after the closing bell. The 0.9 percent loss forced the Dow index to close at below 15,000 points. The broad-based Standard & Poor’s 500 index also fell 17 points, or 1 percent, to its lowest point... 

The US Treasury has warned of catastrophic effects if a political stalemate over raising the government’s debt limit forces a US default on its obligations. The federal government is expected to exhaust its cash reserves by October 17 and if US lawmakers do not reach an agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, the government will not be able to pay its bills and will default on its legal... 

Official figures show that the unemployment rate in Spain has increased again with nearly five million people out of work in the recession-hit country. Figures released by Spain’s Labor Ministry on Wednesday indicated that the number of people registered as out of work rose by 25,572 people in September. The ministry added that the total number of unemployed people in Spain remained at around 4.7... 

Financial markets in Asia and Europe have been rocked over concerns that the United States’ government might be heading for a partial shutdown. Washington should agree to a new spending bill before the end of the financial year at midnight on Monday amid political divisions that have created a stalemate. If the American lawmakers fail to agree on the budget deal, essential federal services could... 

These unscrupulous and heartless puppets of the pro-bailout coalition, are the willing servants and agents of the international loan sharks who fanatically obey the wishes of their masters and desperately fight the Golden Dawn, because they know that we are the only barrier to their unpatriotic plans. One of the most ardent supporters of foreign occupation forces, is the megalomaniac “Il Duce”... 

The White House budget director has ordered federal agencies to begin closing down after the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to reach an agreement on a budget plan to avert a government shutdown. “Agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations,” Sylvia Mathews Burwell, director Of the White House Office of Management and Budget... 

In an address from the White House rose garden Tuesday afternoon, President Barack Obama blamed Republican lawmakers for triggering the first government shutdown in nearly two decades. Pres. Obama spoke on Tuesday roughly 12 hours after a longstanding budget stalemate on Capitol Hill caused a midnight shutdown impacting a number of government agencies and initiatives across the board. “At midnight... 

As a government shutdown looms over the federal budget in the United States, stocks in the country fall sharply and global investors cut allocation to US equities and bonds. All 10 main industries of Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped on Monday. Microsoft Corp. led the declines with a 1.1 percent fall among the largest companies while shares in finance, telephone and energy tumbled the most. Dow... 

A Siemens employee works on a rotor of a gas turbine in a plant in Berlin The German powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, Siemens AG, is planning to axe 15,000 jobs over the next year as the economic crisis in Europe continues to worsen. “The ongoing and planned workforce adjustments in the context of Siemens 2014 are about 15,000 positions worldwide, of which about 5,000 are in... 

With the US debt ballooning to a new record of $16.7tln and the deadline to fix the ‘debt ceiling’ expiring on October 1, a default threat looms over the world’s largest economy. Experts agree the government will broaden its borrowing limit. The latest warning to Congress comes from the International Monetary Fund, who urged the US Congress to reach an agreement to raise its debt ceiling and... 

The Chinese plan to lease 5 percent of Ukraine’s total land to grow crops may be nothing more than a pipe dream. Ukrainian officials say they know nothing of the deal, reported in a Chinese newspaper over the weekend. Food demand in China is expected to grow along with industrialization, and China has been land-grabbing across the globe, with 7.4 million acres (3 million hectares) in Ukraine being...