The Elephant in Spain’s Royal Counting House

The budget for maintaining the Spanish royal household, and the use made of these public funds by King Juan Carlos, are fuelling ongoing debate as Spain endures a severe economic crisis accompanied by severe cuts in social spending and soaring unemployment.

Economic Crisis Takes a Bite From Military Spending

The global economic crisis - which had its origins back in 2008 - has had a spreading negative impact on military spending worldwide, according to a new study released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Q&A: Increasing Investment Opportunities in Africa

More than three years after the start of the global economic crisis, which has had a considerable impact on African trade, investments and gross domestic product, investment prospects on the continent are increasing.

Speaking Out in Defence of UNCTAD

The reason the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is under attack is that rich countries do not want an organisation that carries out independent analysis, Rubens Ricupero, UNCTAD secretary general from 1995 to 2004, told IPS.

Spain Slashes Funds for Integration of Immigrants

The Support Fund for the Integration of Immigrants in Spain has been drained of resources, and as a result there is no funding for social insertion, employment and education programmes for the immigrant community.

Rising Inequality Could be Asia’s Undoing

While developing Asian countries have experienced robust growth – lifting living standards and reducing poverty – increasing wealth is fuelling income disparities and inequality, posing a major threat to the region’s stability, warns the Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s flagship report released Wednesday.

Austerity Plan Decapitates Greek Cultural Heritage

The broken display cases at Greece’s Museum of Olympia, the site where the first Olympic Games were held thousand of years ago, have stunned members of the Archaeological Service who have been registering a stream of missing cultural artifacts.

The Battle over Development-Led Globalisation

Industrialised countries have mounted an unprecedented campaign to stop the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development from providing policy advice to the poorest countries in Africa and across the globe.

European NGOs Put IFIs Under Microscope

European civil society organisations continue to demand that international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund apply the same standards of transparency and accountability to their internal affairs that they demand for governments across the world.

Europe’s Austerity Programme Spawns ‘Lost Generation’

The recent dramatic rise of youth unemployment across Europe – particularly in the Mediterranean member countries of the Eurozone most affected by the sovereign debt crisis and so-called ‘remedial’ austerity programmes – indicates that the continent is sacrificing its future on the altar of short-term budget consolidation.

The Downside of China’s Lifeline to Brazil

Over the last decade, China has become Brazil’s main trading partner and source of foreign investment. But this apparent lifeline at a time of global crisis could actually aggravate longstanding problems faced by Latin America’s biggest economy.

U.S. Occupy Activists Hit With Stay-Away Orders

A dozen or so people in the Wednesday night crowd of around 150 at the amphitheatre in the public plaza at Oakland City Hall covered their faces with masks or bandanas.

Winter of Crisis Killing the Elderly in Portugal

This winter the mortality rate in Portugal has grown alarmingly, to a level far higher than the seasonal averages of previous years. And the brunt of the death toll is being borne by low-income elderly people.

Banking “Leprechauns” Steal Irish Taxpayer Money

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, activists dressed up as leprechauns appeared in front of the Embassy of Ireland to protest Irish taxpayer money being used to pay debts of the Anglo-Irish Bank and the Irish Nationwide Building Society (Anglo/INBS).

Spain’s Jobless Unite for Solutions and Survival

Unemployed people's movements and associations in Spain are proposing alternatives to official job seeking channels, in the midst of an economic crisis that so far has left more than five million people out of work.

Frustrated by the Euro, Greece Turns to Alternative Currencies

"Watch out! The caustic soda is dangerous," shouts Rea Pigiaki, while she blends the soda with lavender to prepare her scented soaps, which are very famous in Ierapetra, a small town in Southeast Crete.

For Caribbean Bloc, It’s Adapt or Perish

More than a decade of efforts to promote closer socioeconomic cooperation among the 15 nations of the Caribbean Community are threatened by stagnant funding and a grim global financial situation, experts warned here.

Euribor Under Scrutiny by People’s Campaign in Spain

Two Spanish lawyers have launched a campaign on social networking sites to prise out information about Euribor, the reference interest rate used for calculating mortgage payments in Spain, and to draw attention to the lack of transparency surrounding the way the rate is set.

Indian Farmers Hostage to Middlemen

Agriculture experts blame the crisis faced by India’s small farmers on a highly inefficient supply chain for perishable farm produce, a situation exploited by traders and middlemen.

Q&A: “Social Unrest Can Be a Creative Force”

Social unrest and demands for change are not a negative thing during times of crisis like today, says Rubens Ricupero, a prominent Brazilian diplomat and intellectual.

Q&A: “Social Unrest Can Be a Creative Force”

Social unrest and demands for change are not a negative thing during times of crisis like today, says Rubens Ricupero, a Brazilian diplomat and thinker.