Spanish Baby Theft Case Crosses the Atlantic

The mystery still surrounding the massive business of stealing and buying babies, practised for decades in Spain by the regime of Francisco Franco (1939-1975), could start to be clarified in courtrooms in Argentina.

World’s Top Chefs Cook for Change

For Denmark’s leading chefs, it’s not only the “taste” that counts. Many have an ambitious goal to “revise the relationship between people and food,” use local ingredients, produce less waste and go completely organic.

German Sun Beats Swiss Water

Water power is the backbone of Alpine countries' energy supply. Despite its important role in Europe's energy shift, further development of hydroelectric infrastructure in Austria and Switzerland is on hold.

Roma See the Writing On The Wall

The European Commission (EC) has demanded that Slovakia’s second city, Kosice, tear down a wall put up to segregate Roma – the 14^th such wall in the country and the eighth built in the last four years.

Norway Sets Example in Audit of Poor Countries’ Debts

Anti-poverty campaigners are celebrating the Norwegian government’s release of an external audit of all outstanding public debts it is owed by developing countries, the first time any country has undertaken such a process.

The Role of the State in Developing Countries under Attack from New FTAs

Two new trade agreements involving the two economic giants, the United States and the European Union, are leading a charge against the role of the state in the economy of developing countries.

Protests in Portugal Going Grey

The elderly have taken to the streets in Portugal to protest drastic public sector pension cuts announced this week by the government of conservative Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.

OP-ED: EU and Azerbaijan, Setting the Record Straight

At a cabinet meeting in mid-July, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev lashed out at the European Parliament for supposedly conducting a “dirty campaign” against Baku. The shrill tone of Aliyev’s comments indicates that European pressure on Azerbaijan to respect basic rights is stinging the Aliyev administration.

U.S.-Russian Rift May Play Out at U.N.

When the Cold War peaked in the late 1960s and '70s, the United States and the then-Soviet Union were armed with one of the most effective non-lethal weapons in their diplomatic arsenal: a veto in the U.N.'s most powerful body, the Security Council.

Spanish Workers Hit Hard by Madrid-Gibraltar Row

"The situation is messed up. Spain is on the verge of a civil uprising and the government is trying to divert attention" by tightening border controls to Gibraltar and provoking tension, complained Manuel Márquez, a delegate for the Socio-cultural Association of Spanish Workers in Gibraltar (ASTECG).

Corruption Scandal Fuels Calls for Strict Party Funding Rules

The corruption scandal enveloping the governing conservative People's Party in Spain and its leader, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, calls into question the funding model for political parties and points towards the need for strict controls, experts say.

Even Death Feels Weight of Crisis in Spain

Even in death, people in Spain cannot escape the economic crisis. Funeral services carry the highest VAT (value added tax) rate, alongside entertainment like nightclubs, and luxury products.

U.S.-Russia Rift Could Impact Upcoming Nuke Talks

The growing political rift between the United States and Russia triggered by the granting of temporary asylum to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden, who is now holed up in Moscow, is threatening to further undermine relations between the two superpowers at the United Nations.

Migrant Workers Finding Opportunity in Russian Far East

Traditionally the bulk of migrant labourers in Russia’s Far East have come from China, with a few North Koreans mixed in. But of late, workers from Central Asia have been pushing their Chinese competitors off the lowest rung on the labour ladder in eastern Siberia.

Interpol ‘Misused’ by Human Rights Abusers

The world's largest international policing organisation Interpol is being used by governments to track down political opponents and human rights campaigners, an IPS investigation reveals.

Geothermal Energy Stuck in a Hole in Switzerland

An accident in a flagship project threatens the future of geothermal energy in Switzerland. The mishap that was followed by earthquakes has come as a warning that geothermal deep drilling still has a long way to go.

Balkans Feed the Syria Battle

This holy month of Ramadan comes with a difference for some families in the Balkans. It is the first without their young sons, husbands or brothers who died far away from home fighting in Syria.

Ex-Envoy’s Account Clarifies Iran’s 2003 Nuclear Decision

Newly published recollections by the former French ambassador to Iran suggest that Iran was not running a covert nuclear weapons programme that it then decided to halt in late 2003, as concluded by U.S. intelligence in 2007.

Caribbean May Seek Reparations for Slavery

As Caribbean countries prepare to observe Emancipation Day on Aug. 1, they are also caught up in an ongoing debate over reparations for slavery.

Bulgarians Set Out to Overhaul Politics

For more than six weeks now, Bulgarians have been on the streets demanding an end to oligarchy and corruption.

Police Scramble to Adapt as Human Trafficking Goes Mobile

In the second half of June, law enforcement in Chişinău, Moldova’s capital city, received an email from a parent telling them their child had been kidnapped.