Acquittal in The Hague Sparks Controversy

Stojan Kovacevic spent last weekend going about his usual routine in his tiny dwelling in the village of Grocka, near Belgrade: cleaning the kitchen and bedroom, going to the local green market and watching TV.

Reconsidering Policies and Strategies in the South

There are numerous reasons to believe that the forces that have been driving growth in developing and emerging economies since 2009 cannot be sustained over the medium term. At the same time, it is impossible to return to the extremely favourable international economic conditions that prevailed before the eruption of the global crisis.

Hunger Strike Is Over, but Kurdish Unrest Is Not

There was a sigh of relief in Ankara as Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), on Sunday put an end to the 68-day hunger strike of 682 Kurdish prisoners and nine members of the Turkish Parliament.

How Austerity Plans Failed the European Union

The austerity programmes being rolled out in virtually every member state of the European Union (EU) - particularly in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy - have failed to reach their stated objective of consolidating public finances in order to solve sovereign debt crises.

Unsafe Abortions Threaten Thousands in Eastern Europe

Pressure from the Catholic Church, social stigma, a lack of information about sexuality and reproductive health and limited access to reproductive healthcare services are putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of women across Eastern Europe at risk.

Soup Kitchens Overwhelmed in Crisis-Ridden Spain

A huge pot of rice steams on the stove at the soup kitchen run by Emaús in the municipality of Torremolinos, on the outskirts of this southern Spanish city. This morning, like every other, Pepi, Adriana and Diego are cooking for over a hundred people who can no longer afford to feed themselves.

Faces of the Crisis in a Protesting Europe*

Out-of-work engineers, family businesses that are falling apart, people working in precarious conditions in an ailing labour market – it’s a description of Spain, but it could just as easily be Portugal, Greece or Italy…

Missing Themes in the U.S. Election

The media did their best to make the U.S. presidential election look important, the altar on which democracy is built. But there has been a problem ever since the Supreme Court legalised unlimited campaign spending (six billion dollars this year), thereby authorising one more freedom of expression, called "commercial speech" even though much of this speech is libellous, often neither true nor relevant.

Creditors’ Stalemate Brings Greece to Knife Edge

Ignoring the thousands of protestors gathered outside the Greek parliament on Wednesday, the government voted in public spending cuts amounting to 17 billion dollars in an economy already on its knees from a lacerated budget.

Bankers, Swindlers

For anyone who might not have realised it yet, the current crisis is demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt that the financial markets are the lead players in the current economic situation in Europe. Power has passed from the politicians to speculators and crooked bankers. This is a fundamental change.

Serbia Sinks Into Depression

Renato Grbic is a simple Belgrade fisherman, who grew up on the shores of the Danube River in Belgrade, but he performs an additional job that he is not paid for.

Migrants in Poland Find a Voice At Last

It took hunger strikes and a case like Layla Naimi’s to push authorities in Poland to amend laws dealing with irregular migrants.

Q&A: Press Ethics Under Scrutiny in the UK

Upheaval over a new system of press regulation, which envisages stronger government intervention in the media, is posing a growing threat to Britain's age-old press freedom and to that same freedom worldwide.

Defying Foreclosures in Spain

Shouting slogans against bank foreclosures, dozens of protesters in this southern Spanish city gathered Wednesday to prevent the eviction of a Moroccan family who couldn’t afford to meet their mortgage payments.

CENTRAL ASIA: Disabled Citizens Find Avenues to Advancement Blocked

As a child, Feruza Alimova dreamed of becoming a lawyer so she could help disabled people.

Migrant Women Trapped in Sex Trade

When French police broke up a Nigerian human trafficking ring that allegedly forced young migrant women into prostitution, the arrests cast a sharp light on the plight of what the authorities called “modern-day slaves”, here and throughout Europe.

EU Crisis’ Ripple Effects in Latin America

The crisis in Europe may provide an opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean to recast the bi-regional relationship based on higher education and investments with a social and environmental focus, according to the ministerial Council of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System.

Brazil Frustrated with European “Backtracking” on IMF Reforms

In the aftermath of last week’s elections to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s executive board, Brazil and others are expressing frustration that a reforms process aimed at increasing the representation of developing countries is being stymied by European countries.

AZERBAIJAN: Baku Mulls “Green Tax” on Corporate Polluters

Azerbaijani officials appear to buy into the idea that taxation policy can be an effective way of managing the environment.

TAJIKISTAN: Journalists Push Back Against Mounting Media Restrictions

In a country with no daily newspapers and soft-hitting state media outlets, the Internet is where an increasing number of curious Tajikistanis go for news and information. That’s apparently got officials worried.

Local Money Sets Its Own Stamp

Bristol, the eighth most populous town in the UK, has launched a local currency - the Bristol Pound. That makes it one of the largest localities to embrace a complementary currency among more than 2,500 worldwide.