As Greece erupts, Italy is moving into the eye of the storm. Its economy is contracting at speeds not seen since the depths of the slump in 2009 as draconian austerity bites, greatly increasing the risk of social revolt and a banking crisis. With the world’s third largest debt after the US and Japan at [...]
Hundreds of Russian opposition supporters have for a week staged an indefinite sit-in protest in central Moscow against Vladimir Putin’s rule, a sight unprecedented in his 12 years of dominance. The activists set up camp in the Chistye Prudy district, one of the most prestigious areas in the capital, on May 8 two days after [...]
ATHENS: Greek political leaders on Sunday ignored a final plea from the president to form a coalition government to avert a repeat election, pushing the debt-stricken nation closer to bankruptcy and a possible exit from the euro zone. Leaders of the three biggest parties met at the presidential mansion for a final attempt to bridge [...]
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a device which can be used as a “sonic weapon” will be deployed in London during the Olympics. The American-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) can be used to send verbal warnings over a long distance or emit a beam of pain-inducing tones.The equipment was spotted fixed to a [...]
LONDON: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday launched a Trade and Investment Roadmap, setting out the steps both governments would take to promote investment, support business and achieve the target of increasing bilateral trade to 2.5 billion pound sterling by 2015. The UK vowed to build on a [...]
An estimated 400,000 public sector workers are expected to join a 24-hour strike in a dispute over proposed changes to pensions. Airports, jobcentres, tax offices, colleges, driving test centres, museums and military sites will all face disruptions.Despite the action the Government made it clear in the Queen’s Speech that the changes would go ahead.Off-duty police [...]
The leader of Greece’s left-wing Syriza bloc has said he will try to form a coalition based on tearing up the terms of the EU/IMF bailout deal. Alexis Tsipras, whose bloc came second in Sunday’s vote, said Greek voters had “clearly nullified the loan agreement”.He has three days to reach a coalition deal and has [...]
French President-elect Francois Hollande is to start work on forming a new government, after telling supporters his victory gave hope of an end to austerity. Hollande has vowed to rework a deal on government debt in eurozone member-countries to focus on promoting growth.The Socialist leader won just under 52% of votes in Sunday’s run-off election.Centre-right [...]
The stunning victory of the French Socialists and wipe-out of mainstream parties in Greece sent shock waves on Sunday night crashing throughout the continent of Europe. François Hollande’s election threws down the gauntlet to Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, who has railroaded the eurozone into agreeing a new “fiskalpakt” treaty enshrining Germany’s austerity doctrine.The economic [...]
France voted in a presidential run-off election Sunday that could see Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by capitalizing on public anger over spending cuts and a Europe-wide push for austerity. The election outcome will impact efforts to fight Europe s debt crisis, how long the nation s troops stay in Afghanistan and [...]
