SPAIN: Protest Movement Chalks Up Victories

"I want to thank the 15-M. I will not forget them," Algerian immigrant Sid Hamed Bouziane, whose deportation order was revoked after a group of activists from this burgeoning Spanish protest movement held an 11-day demonstration on his behalf, told IPS.

ROMANIA: Fixing the Economy, Not Lives

The economic crisis has led Romanian authorities to take some of the toughest austerity measures in Central and Eastern Europe. While no big opposition movement emerged as a result, a special kind of protest has taken place: some have committed suicide to get their messages across.

GREECE: Social Media Advances Against Elite Owners

An unflattering report on Greece’s media by a former United States envoy to this country, revealed by Wikileaks, evoked little public reaction because it was taken as a faithful portrayal.

Despite Exploding Volcanoes, Iceland World’s Most Peaceful Nation

When Johanna Sigurdardottir was sworn in as Iceland's head of government back in February 2009, she was described as the world's first openly gay prime minister.

KOSOVO: EU Cornered by UN Jurisdiction – Part 2

European investigators had a hard time dealing with cases of misuse of European Union funds in Kosovo due to the complex bureaucracy that regulated the relationship between the EU and the United Nations administration, which was the only official international decision-making authority in the former Serbian province.

KOSOVO: Probes into Misuse of EU Money Stall – Part 1

This year the European Union plans to spend an additional 70 million euros to help Kosovo work its way towards the goal of becoming a member state. But it has no plan to dig further into the alleged misuse of European taxpayers' money that has been unresolved for the last 10 years.

‘EU Needs to Tell Itself More About Development’

There is increasing political will now for a globalised strategy for the European Union to raise awareness about development, experts say. But at the same time, the European budget for education on development issues remains strikingly low.

EUROPE: Some Rich Want to Get a Little Less Rich

In the face of the severe sovereign debt crisis in most industrialised countries, some extremely rich people are urging governments to increase taxes on wealth.

Aiming a Kick at Homelessness

Loud bursts of cheering startled the throngs of tourists posing for pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower here last weekend.

BALKANS: Prison Literature Blossoms

A new literary trend is gaining momentum in Serbia. It revolves around a phenomenon sociologists are describing as "prison literature".

Turks Police Own London District Amid Rioting

As London simmered under a heavy police lid last night, there were some areas of the city that had no need for flashing blue lights and riot shields to maintain the ragged sense of calm.

EUROPE: ‘Fat Tax’ May Hurt Poor

The introduction of some of Europe’s most far-reaching taxes on unhealthy foods has sparked renewed debate about the effect of such levies on poor people.

PORTUGAL: Food Aid for “New Poor”, Extra Wealth for Nouveau Riche

"The crisis is only for some of us" has become a commonly heard phrase in Portugal, following the drastic fiscal adjustment policies imposed in May by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund as the condition for a 112 billion dollar financial bailout.

SPAIN: “Indignant” Demonstrators Marching to Brussels to Protest Effects of Crisis

Protesters from several European Union cities have begun to follow the example of hundreds of demonstrators from Spain who are marching from Madrid to Brussels, the bloc's de facto capital, in a growing protest against the effects of the economic crisis and the fiscal adjustment policies adopted to combat it.

ICELAND: New Push to Get Whales Off the Table

Down by the old harbour in Reykjavik, a small group of volunteers in pale blue T-shirts can be seen handing out leaflets that say "Meet us don’t eat us". Beneath the slogan is a picture of a whale, followed by "Whales are being killed to feed tourists. Don’t let your visit leave a bad taste in your mouth."

OP-ED: Germany Shows the Green Path

The decision was expected, yet it shook the world’s nuclear establishment. On May 29, some two and a half months after disaster struck at Japan’s Fukushima- Daiichi nuclear complex, Germany’s right-wing government of Angela Merkel announced that Germany is exiting from the nuclear era.

BELARUS: Clap Again This Wednesday

For the past nine weeks, Belarusians have been getting out in the hundreds into the main squares of big and small cities across the country on Wednesdays at seven in the evening. They clap, or let their mobiles ring all at once. The ‘Revolution through Social Networks- movement’ started by five students, and growing on the Russian equivalent of Facebook, Vkontakte, is posing a new threat to the Lukashenko regime.

Europe Headed for Water Crisis

Future glacier retreat in the Alps could affect the hydrology of large streams more strongly than previously assumed, a new study shows. Water shortages in summer could become more frequent.

Eurozone Leaders Reach Greek Debt Agreement

Eurozone leaders have agreed in a crucial summit to find a way out for Greece to manage its debt crisis.

Urban Farming Takes Root in Europe

Since the end of World War II, and especially since the 1960s, the Kreuzberg district in Berlin has been a melting pot of cultures, with residents hailing from the Balkans, Central Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

World Warned Over Greek Debt Crisis

Eurozone leaders must find a solution to Greece's debt crisis or the global economy will pay the price, the European Commission president has said.