Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying China has censured the United States for the imposition of new sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Friday that her country “has consistently opposed” sanctions against Iran over its peaceful nuclear energy program. She renewed China’s call for the resumption... 

Spaniards protest against austerity measures in the capital Madrid, December 17, 2012. A jobless Spanish man has died at a hospital after setting himself on fire, only two days after another Spaniard self-immolated on social and economic grounds. The 63-year-old man, who suffered from financial problems, died in the Carlos Haya hospital in the southern city of Malaga on Friday. Police officials issued... 

President Barack Obama wasn’t lying when he said he’d raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans if reelected — but it won’t be just the top wage-earners who will be handing over more to Uncle Sam in 2013. Under a last minute Capitol Hill agreement expected to avert the much-feared ‘fiscal cliff’ disaster that has dominated politics in recent weeks, working Americans across the board will... 

The situation in the U.S. city of Detroit is critical. The city is dying out at an alarming rate. Currently, the financial condition of the former center of the American automotive industry is so bad that senators are seriously considering the possibility of dissolution of the city and distribution of its assets among other cities of the State of Michigan. In mid-December of 2012, Senator Rick Jones... 

The Euro logo outside the headquarters of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main Germany. Manufacturing sectors in France and other eurozone countries have entered 2013 in a downward trend as new data shows a decrease in demand of orders. Contractions of manufacturing in the eurozone in December included all top four economies in the bloc, according to Markit’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’... 

After Republicans dropped their demands for additional spending cuts the House approved legislation meant to avert the ‘fiscal cliff’. The representatives lined up 257 to 167 in favor of the bill. ­Earlier, the House Republicans expressed their opposition to the measure to avert the ‘fiscal cliff’ in its current form. GOP leaders were considering an amendment that would add some $330 million... 

A new poll has found that only one in four people Britons support the coalition government’s international aid policy, with over 60 percent believing the money is being wasted, local media reported. The survey commissioned by Ipsos-Mori found that only 6 percent of people strongly disagreed with the idea that foreign aid is wasted, The Daily Telegraph reported. The survey follows a series of reports... 

US President Barack Obama is to have a meeting with Congressional leaders in an attempt to break the deadlock over the looming ‘fiscal cliff.’ Obama will hold talks with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday, a White House official said. Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will also attend the meeting that... 

An explosion at a BP oil rig resulted in a devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. A US federal judge has approved a USD 7.8 billion settlement which sees the BP oil giant pay out USD 7.8 billion in compensation to people and businesses affected by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. US District Judge Carl Barbier gave his final verdict on Friday. The ruling covers nearly 100,000... 

London’s homeless rate has increaed by more than two-fifths over the past year. The number of rough sleepers on London’s streets has increased by more than two-fifths over the past year as many Britons are struggling to make ends meet within the country’s stagnate economy. The number of people classed as homeless and in need of emergency accommodation has soared 43 percent in the British... 

Demonstrators take part in an anti-government protest in Ljubljana, Slovenia on December 21, 2012. Thousands of Slovenians have taken to the streets in the capital Ljubljana to express their anger over new austerity measures imposed by the government. The demonstration, which was reportedly attended by more than 5,000 people, took place on Friday near the country’s parliament where protesters chanted... 

Thousands of Argentinean workers have streamed into the streets of Buenos Aires to demand higher pays and lower income taxes, Press TV reports. In the third anti-government rally in Argentina since August, top trade unions demonstrated against President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner government’s economic policies and the country’s spiraling inflation on Thursday. Protesters, backed by the trade... 

Demonstrators hold “No” signs while surrounding the Spanish parliament to protest against spending cuts in Madrid. The Spanish parliament has adopted a 39-billion-euro (52-billion-US dollar) austerity package as the debt-ridden eurozone country battles to reduce its budget deficit. On Thursday, the lawmakers voted for the cuts in the 2013 budget, which slashes spending for health care and education,... 

The US seeks to lift limitations on its LNG deliveries to Europe and strengthen competition in European energy markets. It’s to break the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, as “the Russians overplayed their hand”, says US Senator Richard G. Lugar. “In the past, Moscow showed itself quick to use energy as a club to punish and coerce its neighbors — but the Russians overplayed their hand,”... 

European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council Erkki Liikanen warns that the worsening financial condition in the eurozone may endanger the ‘German economy’. “Economic developments are causing us concern. No country is immune to the effects of the (EU) debt crisis. Not even the German economy,” said Liikanen on...