2300 GMT: Protesters in Barcelona burn two police cars forcing officers to respond with rubber bullets. Several people injured. ­2200 GMT: A group of protesters have set a barricade on fire on Madrid’s Santa Maria de la Cabeza street, El Pais reports. 1945 GMT: At least 118 people have been detained across Spain, according to El Pais. At least 40 have been injured, 18 of them police officers. 1930... 

Reuters polls show that the global economy is expected to improve only slightly in 2013. New projections on unemployment in eurozone show that the jobless rate among member countries will hit a new peak at about 12 percent next year. The European Union’s autumn forecast on Wednesday said that unemployment would hit a new peak at 11.8 percent among the 17-nation EU in 2013 and go down slightly to... 

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... 

A team of researchers at the Centre for Neuroscience (CNC) and the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra (UC), Portugal, has developed a groundbreaking test for the detection of cutaneous chemical allergen (skin sensitization assessment), which will significantly reduce the testing animals in the cosmetics industry. Coimbra – Portugal. Pioneering test developed at the University of Coimbra... 

As predicted in this column several years ago, tropical diseases have started to appear in Europe. Among these is the dreaded Dengue Fever, which can develop into an Ebola-like haemorrhagic form, causing the patient to bleed from the nose, mouth, ears and eyes. To date there are 34 cases reported on the Isle of Madeira, Portugal. The cases were confirmed by the President of the Regional Health Service... 

Portugal Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar Portugal finance minister announces an income tax hike for the 2013 budget as the unemployment rate is expected to hit 16.4% the same year. On Wednesday, the Portuguese Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar had announced that the average tax hike would rise from 9.8 percent to 13.2 percent in 2013, adding that the unemployment rate is also expected to rise from 16 percent... 

Portuguese protesters hold banners with anti-government policy messages during a protest against austerity measures, on the day of the general strike, in Lisbon on November 24, 2011. Portugal’s main trade union, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), has fiercely condemned as a “declaration of war against workers” a new set of austerity measures introduced by the government... 

Portuguese workers protest in a demonstration against the government’s austerity measures, Lisbon, June 16, 2012. People in Portugal have staged a protest rally against the government’s austerity measures imposed to help cap the country’s public debt. Thousands took to the streets of Lisbon on Saturday following a much larger rally in the northern city of Oporto last week. They condemned... 

European Union apparatchiks are preparing to lockdown Europe following Greece’s exit. From the Associated Press today: Olivier Bailly said Tuesday that, legally, limits could be imposed on movement of people and money across national borders within the EU if it’s necessary to protect public order or public security — but not on economic grounds. “Some people are working on scenarios,” he... 

Logo of the Portuguese bank BPI The Portuguese bank BPI has reportedly asked for 1.3 billion euros in public aid to comply with the principles laid out by the European Banking Authority, as the financial crisis in the eurozone seems to be deepening. Banco BPI, which is Portugal’s third largest listed bank, said on Monday that it would also raise 200 million euros from private investors. The news... 

Angela Merkel (left) and Francois Hollande (right) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Socialist Party presidential candidate Francois Hollande have had a war of words over how to handle the European debt crisis. It is “not for Germany to decide for the rest of Europe”, Hollande, who is the favorite in France’s May 6 run-off election, said on Friday, The Daily Telegraph reported. He... 

The Portuguese Government is convinced that the ongoing austerity measures and economic restructuring will enable the country to return to the credit market in 2013, but recent projections refute this assertion. Foreign politicians and economists predict that Portugal, like Greece, will exit the Eurozone. What do the Portuguese think about this? According to Ernst & Young, if the interest rate... 

A self-made euro sign is attached to the tip of a christmas tree in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. European Commission has predicted that the eurozone currency bloc faces a deeper recession than previously anticipated, with a 0.3 percent contraction in its GDP now tipped for 2012. The commission previous forecast in November said the economic output... 

Iran says it will cut oil exports to more EU countries if they continue their hostile policies. After halting oil flow to Britain and France, Iran threatens to stop oil sales to other European Union member states if the EU continues its hostile policies. Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Qalebani on Monday hinted at the possibility of a halt in oil exports to Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany,... 

Insolvency is threatening heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain. Official figures show the rate of unemployment in the eurozone reached an all-time high of 10.3 percent in November 2011. According to the Eurostat statistics agency, by November more than 16.3 million people were unemployed in the 17 nations that use the euro as their currency. Eurostat figures...