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Highs and lows of European salaries
Last year, the smallest wages in Europe were paid in Ukraine, Moldova and Albania. The most highly paid professionals live in Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. However, the “low-income” Ukraine lives on labor migration. The Ukrainian citizens working in other countries, send billions of dollars to their home country every year.
In Ukraine, the State Statistics Committee reported a decline...
1000s stage anti-austerity demo in Portugal
Thousands of people hold a demonstration outside the Portuguese parliament in the capital Lisbon on October 31, 2012.
Thousands of people have gathered outside the Portuguese parliament in Lisbon to protest against the assembly’s approval of the government’s 2013 draft austerity budget.
The demonstration was staged on Wednesday after the parliament approved the draft bill, which proposes substantial...
Swiss banking giant UBS AG to cut about 10,000 jobs worldwide
Swiss banking giant UBS has announced plans to slash some 10,000 jobs worldwide.
The largest bank in Switzerland, UBS AG, has announced plans to cut about 10,000 jobs worldwide, as the economic crisis in the European country continues to worsen.
“This decision has been a difficult one, particularly in a business such as ours that is all about its people. Some reductions will result from natural...
Two Muslim candidates win seats in Belgium local elections
File photo shows veiled women holding signs during a protest by Muslim men and women in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean), in Brussels.
Two candidates from Islam Party have won their way to the local councils in two major districts of the Belgian capital Brussels.
The local elections were held in Anderlecht and Molenbeek on Sunday.
The party reportedly plans to field candidates for the regional...
Russia promises to make Greece a prospering state in 1 year
Two years ago, Greece missed the chance to extricate from the crisis with Russia’s help. Nowadays, Russian investments in the country grow and give air to breathe to economies of several regions of Greece, such as the north-east. Russian investors are especially attracted by cheap real estate, tourism and the property that they can buy from the state.
“Greece should only give Russia the...
Commonwealth nations oppose UK monarchy
There is a high level of public support for abandoning the monarchy in some of the nations of the Commonwealth.
Along with Britain’s anti-monarchy campaign group Republic that campaigns for a democratic country consisting of an elected head of state, there seems to be a high level of public support for abandoning the monarchy in some of the nations of the Commonwealth.
In 16 of the total of 54 Commonwealth...
Has VAT doomed UK high streets?
We were recently given the news that over 30 retail shops close every day – suggesting that the demise of the High Street is gaining momentum.
Many reasons are put forward for this demise but the reason we see so many empty shops is really very simple – and the reason incidentally, I got out of retailing many years ago.
That reason being Value Added Tax. VAT is an accountant’s tax and as such,...
Field of rocket wreckage discovered in low Earth orbit near ISS
New space debris could threaten the International Space Station and other space missions after Russian rocket ‘Briz-M’ recently exploded into some 500 fragments, most of which are now floating in low Earth orbit.
The rocket was previously floating inert in space after it failed on a mission to deliver two satellites to its intended orbits in a botched August launch. The rocket engine stalled...
Switzerland Does Not Support Sanctions Against Iran
Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter (L) and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, met in Moscow on October 25, 2012.
Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter says his country does not support any unilateral sanctions imposed against Iran over its nuclear energy program.
Burkhalter told reporters after a Thursday meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in...
Spain jobless rate exceeds 25 percent in 3rd quarter
People wait in line at a government employment office in the center of Madrid on September 4, 2012.
Official data show that Spanish unemployment rate has exceeded 25 percent in the third quarter of 2012 as the country continues to grapple with economic woes.
New figures released by Spain’s National Statistics Institute on Friday showed that the country’s unemployment rate climbed to 25.02 percent...
UK: Want a state pension? Then do voluntary work!
First of all we were told, British workers are “among the worst idlers” now it’s suggested when you retire, you could do voluntary work to qualify for a full state pension!
Members may remember some months ago, we were told that British workers are “among the worst idlers in the world” according to a report called Britannia Unchained.
Tory MP’s Priti Patel, Chris Skidmore, Kwasi Kwarteng,...
Arctic plastic debris doubled in past 10 years
The traffic of commercial, private and fishing ships has increased enormously since the ice cover has been getting thinner.
A recent study has revealed that the amount of plastic debris and litter piled up on the Arctic Ocean’s seabed has doubled in the past ten years.
German researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research studied more than 2,000 photographs of the Arctic...
S&P downgrades credit ratings for three French banks
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services has downgraded the credit ratings for three French banks, including BNP Paribas, citing growing risks facing the banks from potential prolongation of the eurozone recession.
“In our view, the economic risks, under which French banks operate, are increasing, leaving French banks moderately more exposed to the potential of a more protracted...
UK Driver Jailed for Beating 81-year-old then Freed after 5 Days
Usman Yasin, 30, pictured laughing as he attended an earlier court appearance, has been released from jail on unconditional bail while he awaits the verdict of his appeal
A driver who was jailed for beating up an elderly woman who told him to watch his language has been freed on bail after serving just five days.
Usman Yasin, 30, a Muslim immigrant, received a 16-week sentence after being found guilty...
Harlem Désir, France's first black president?
France’s ruling Socialist Party has officially appointed Harlem Désir as its new leader, a move that potentially puts the former anti-racism activist on track to becoming the country’s first black president.
Members of France’s ruling Socialist Party overwhelmingly picked Harlem Désir as party chief during the group’s congress in the southwest city of Toulouse on Thursday. The vote made...