Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden shown in photo on the paper. France has urged the European Union to postpone talks with the United States on a major free trade agreement due to the recent allegations about US spying on EU offices. The EU-US trade talks are set to begin in Washington on July 8, but the revelations of US spying on European diplomatic missions have cast them... 

A homeless sleeps at the entrance of a bank in Milan, Italy on June 27, 2013. Recent figures released by the Eurostat data agency show the eurozone unemployment rate has hit its previous record-high of 12.1 percent in May. According to the data, the jobless rate rose 0.1 percentage in May after the previous months’ figures were amended down from 12.2 percent to 12.0 percent. Approximately 19.22... 

Italy’s unemployment rate has risen to a new record high in May as the country is struggling with a recession-hit economy following implementation of tough austerity cuts. The Rome-based national statistics office, Istat, said on Monday that the jobless rate rose to 12.2 percent in May from 12 percent in April, the highest since the institute started collecting data on Italy in 1977. The eurozone’s... 

The global banking crisis of 2008, caused by the reckless behaviour of American lenders, spread shockwaves around the world that are still being felt today. Banking giants such as Lehmann brothers & Bear Stearns collapsed and other banks scrambled to secure ‘bailouts’ from their governments to avoid going the same way. In Ireland, the downturn in the property market caused the Anglo Irish... 

Public service workers in Portugal have engaged in a general strike to protest government austerity measures that have led to the nation’s worst economic slump since the 1970’s. The Thursday protest effort, which was called by Portuguese trade unions, began peacefully although it brought the nation’s public transport system to a halt, prompting anger and despair among those who decided to go... 

At one time, it seems decades ago now, the general thinking in the USA was that President Barack Obama would jolt the American political system into actually doing something beneficial for its citizens rather than spying on them, building F-35 aircraft, upgrading nuclear weapons, spending trillions of dollars (US) on national security, cutting unemployment benefits/food stamps, fomenting war with... 

Italian students protesting against austerity measures Tens of thousands of workers and jobless people have taken part in a rally in the Italian capital, Rome, in protest against the country’s rising unemployment rate and unfair taxes. Italy’s three largest labor union confederations, the CGIL, CISL, and the UIL, organized the Saturday rally. The protesters slammed the government of Prime Minister... 

Protesters attend an anti-government protest in downtown Sofia on June 16, 2013. Thousands of people have demonstrated in the Bulgarian capital for the eighth straight day, demanding the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski. Up to 10,000 protesters gathered in front of the government headquarters in downtown Sofia on Friday, shouting slogans against the government. The... 

Thousands of Spaniards attend an anti-austerity demonstration in the capital Madrid, on June 16, 2013. Thousands of Spaniards have staged rallies across the country to express resentment against austerity measures, recession and the soaring rate of unemployment in the country. The protests took place on Sunday in 29 cities including the capital Madrid, the country’s second-largest city, Barcelona,... 

Why investors are sometimes misled? Perhaps, the goal is to further scare and disorient the investment funds and individuals so that they quickly get rid of their gold (and earlier – silver) because the gold has allegedly lost its former appeal and reliability, and stock quotes have sharply declined. Likely, someone needed them to fall. Where else if not at the George Soros exchange various... 

At least one in six children in Britain lives in relative poverty. At least one in six children in Britain lives in relative poverty, new figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have revealed. In 2011-12, 2.3 million or 17 percent of UK children were recorded as “living in homes with substantially lower than average income”. The figure rises to 3.5 million or 27 percent when... 

Italy’s economy shrinks more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2013. Italy’s economy has contracted more than initially estimated in the first quarter of 2013, marking the seventh quarterly contraction in a row, the country’s statistical agency says. Figures from the national statistical agency, Istat, showed on Monday that Italy’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by... 

The German government has struck a deal with the “Jewish Claims Conference” that will pay 772 million Euros (1 billion dollars) over 3 years as additional reparations to solely Jewish individuals that lived in German occupied territories in World War II. This money is not only for Jews that were imprisoned in concentration camps, but also applies to Jews who lived in open Ghettos within the German... 

The European Union has imposed anti-dumping duties on biodiesel imports from Argentina in a move dubbed by Buenos Aires as “aggressive protectionism,” Press TV reports. The decision by Brussels to levy 10.6-percent tariff on biodiesel took effect on Friday and will be in force for six months. Argentina’s Foreign Ministry slammed EU’s decision, saying, “The measure is due to the inability... 

South African President Jacob Zuma addresses striking miners at a platinum mine in the town of Marikana. South African President Jacob Zuma says problems including strikes and deadly clashes faced by the mining industry have affected the country’s economy. “When our mining sector is in difficulties, this affects the wider economy, leading to industrial slowdown,” Zuma said on Thursday. Reports...