France 2017 - Marcon vs Le Pen and a Warning

By: Stewart Brennan

The stage is set for a showdown in France between the European Union, French deep state candidate “Emmanuel Macron” and ultra nationalist candidate “Marine Le Pen”…

Here are my thoughts on the French election:

The Euro dictatorship in Brussels has their deep state candidate running in the French Elections, Mr. Emmanuel Macron -“ni” or “nyet”?

The question is, “What do French citizens want?” Do they want to lose their cultural identity, their social programs and social reforms through EU dictates and austerity or do they want to save their cultural identity and their way of life by returning to a national state of economics?

All the chips are in the pot at this poker game and it looks like Macron’s pair of Queens bluff will be called by Le Pens and her Full House…

Warning!

If Macron wins this high stakes poker game, France will be history… the people of France will lose everything they've gained socially and go down the path of an EU bankruptcy…a bankruptcy filled with austerity that will continue to rip France apart and bleed jobs away from the country the way they did to Greece…and of course, we must not forget that the EU also has a belligerent US economic foreign policy driving it. The USA does NOT like Socialist countries and is doing its best to destroy every single one of them…that is one of the reasons why the EU was created in the first place…to end European Socialism.

“One Bank to rule them all, one Bank to fine them, One Bank to in-debt them all and in austerity bind them…”

The US foreign and economic policy is against socialism of any kind because it is practiced by nations that have their economic independence; nations that don’t like being told what to do…and we all know how the USA responds to nations that seek their economic independence…

France and all other European nations have been held hostage to an unelected executive EU governance which has held them in an iron grip of economic obedience…is it any wonder why we are hearing the sounds of revolt and revolution reverberating across Europe…Le Pen has the Eurocrats freaking out because if she wins, the dictatorship of the European Union will be over and so the European, US and French Deep State are going to do everything they can to stop Le Pen from winning…

The French and European Deep State are warning of an economic catastrophe if Marine Le Pen wins the French election in May 2017…yet in reality, no matter who is elected, the economy is going to crash anyways. But if France wants to save itself, then they should circle the national wagons and protect their culture and way of life.

France needs to drop out of the Euro to regain its national sovereignty if they are going to survive down the road when the European Union crashes under deeper austerity measures through the American economic de-socialism agenda.

In fact, I would warn the people of France that if they vote for Macron, they will lose their nation to wealthy speculators in a privatization blitz that will leave the people of France impoverished without their social and health programs, which of course will be whittled away under Euro austerity and deep budget cuts due to having to “Borrow” its budget money with interest to provide the goods and services the country needs.

Macron is all for de-nationalizing industry and selling it to special interests, which is one of the ways in which a country is taken apart economically…that is what Macron has done in the past and will do in the future if he is elected. In reality, Emmanuel Macron is anti-national and anti-France…

The people of France have to realize that no matter what candidate they choose, the economic picture is going to be very bad…however, it would be in the French peoples best interests to not go down with the European ship and instead regain their national identity…get out from under the EU before France is crushed by a crippling debt and austerity…Protect yourselves with your own national central bank and monetary system…a monetary system owned by the French people…money that would not be borrowed for budget expenditures but created by the government OF the French People and spent into existence without debt or interest…regain your Industries and make your own trades…don’t let the USA / EU dictate who you can trade with…the election is in 2 weeks, so you can either choose the status quo candidate and Eurocrat “Macron” and fade away into a global soup of anti-culture, debt and austerity OR choose the nationalist candidate “Le Pen” and retain your historical, political and economic identity…the Future is yours to decide…What have you got to lose? Everything…

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CrossTalk - Le Pen vs Macron



Video Source: RT

Credit markets close doors to Spain as banking crisis grows

Spain’s Minister of Finance and Public Administrations Cristobal Montoro (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/05/244788/credit-markets-close-doors-spain-banking-crisis-grows/

The Greek stock market has plummeted 5.9 percent after Standard & Poor's credit rating agency warned that the country has a one-in-three chance of leaving the eurozone.

The minister made the remarks on Tuesday, admitting that Spain’s high borrowing costs have shut out bond markets at a time when the country seeks to refinance its debts.

"The risk premium says Spain doesn't have the market door open," Montoro says, adding that “as a state we have a problem in accessing markets, when we need to refinance our debt."

The interest rate on Spain's 10-year bonds rose to 6.703 percent.

Spain plans to raise up to 2 billion euros at a bond auction on Thursday, issuing medium- and long-term bonds.

This comes as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has voiced concern that Spain cannot continue to finance itself indefinitely, a departure from the previous government line that it could raise the money on its own.

Rajoy, in power since December, has implemented more than 30 billion euros of austerity cuts as well as tax increases to reduce the country's deficit and to avoid seeking a financial bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Spain is estimated to need 50 to 150 billion euros to bailout its entire banking sector, a figure far beyond the 5 billion euros left in the bailout fund the country established in 2009.

It is also facing a record eurozone unemployment rate of 24.4 percent.

Greek euro exit on agenda if bailout deal violated: France

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici pictured on May 21, 2012at a press conference in Berlin, Germany

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/04/244523/greek-euro-exit-on-agenda-france/

French Finance Minister has warned that Greece’s exit from the eurozone will be on the agenda if Greek authorities do not respect the bailout deal after parliamentary elections in mid-June.

"The question would be raised without a doubt.... if the Greeks themselves do not respect their commitments," Pierre Moscovici said on French Television on Sunday.

"We sincerely hope that Greece remains in the eurozone," he said. However, Athens should impose required austerity measures if it planned to remain in the euro bloc, he added.

His remarks were in response to a pledge by the Greek radical left leader, Alexis Tsipras, who promised on Friday to cancel the European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout deal if his party garnered enough votes to form a government.

Moscovici said the situation would be “infinitely more complicated," and admitted that there were “reflections here and there” about the possibility of Athens exiting the single currency area.

Tsipras’s Syriza party came in second on May 6 elections partly due to his pledge to overturn the austerity measures. In the first parliamentary elections, no party could either win a majority of votes or form a coalition government.

Greek voters were outraged at two years of harsh austerity measures, which have been imposed in return for financial assistance. They abandoned the centre-right-centre-left coalition that had governed the country, and voted for more radical parties.

Meanwhile, opinion polls released on Friday showed that Syriza and its rival the conservative New Democracy party could not gain a majority of votes in the repeat elections.

The decisive June 17 votes, could determine whether the country would continue to comply with the austerity measures it agreed to with its European neighbors in exchange for endorsement of the second financial bailout.

Investors flee Spain as financial crisis worsens

A man shouts slogans during a protest outside the headquarters of Spain's fourth largest bank Bankia in Madrid on May 24, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/30/243874/investors-flee-spain-as-crisis-deepens/

Investors are fleeing Spain as the financial crisis worsens while Madrid battles to contain fears of an economic collapse.

The European Central Bank said on Wednesday that private individuals and companies are withdrawing their money out of Spanish Banks.

Data shows private deposits at Spain's financial institutions fell by more than 30 percent in April.

The interest rate on Spain's 10-year bonds rose to 6.703 percent as the country battled to avoid being the next victim of the eurozone crisis.

Stock prices fell all over the world and Madrid's IBEX-35 index slumped 2.58 percent to a nine-year low at 6,090.4 points.

The euro slumped to a two-year low versus the US dollar amid fears that Spain could be forced into asking for a bailout for its ailing banks.

The European single currency sank below USD1.24, touching a low point last seen on July 6, 2010.

Also on Wednesday, the European Commission said Spain is on top of the list of the eurozone 12 critical economies due to the countries’ deepening financial crisis.

Spain’s central bank reported on Tuesday that Spain’s economy would shrink in the second quarter of 2012, with the recession expected to continue until at least mid-2012.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Spanish economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

The worsening eurozone debt crisis has raised Spain's financing costs and raised concerns that the country might have to seek a European Union bailout, like Greece.

UK braces for immigration boom if euro collapses

Demonstrators cheer during the migrant's day march for immigrant rights in Trafalgar Square, London, May 7, 2007. (Reuters / Luke MacGregor)

Source; Russia Today
http://www.rt.com/news/uk-immigration-boom-euro-collapse-298/

Britain’s Home Office is drawing up contingency plans to restrict the number of economic migrants from Greece and other European Union nations in case the euro collapses.

EU rules allow citizens to work anywhere in any country in the single market, including the UK, with the exception of new members Romania and Bulgaria. People looking for work abroad may see Britain as an attractive option as it is a non-eurozone country.

Home Secretary Theresa May told the Daily Telegraph that “work is on-going” to restrict European immigration in the event of financial collapse.

May didn’t go into detail, but the British government has some room for manoeuvre, as rules are in place to restrict immigration in extreme situations.

May said there was no evidence that immigration was on the rise, and that it is difficult to say how the situation is going to develop in the coming weeks.

Her statement appeared to contradict official figures this week showing that net migration to the UK in the 12 months to last September stood at 252,000, more than double the government’s target of fewer than 100,000 people a year.

At the same time, the number of people emigrating from Britain to work abroad has plunged in the wake of the credit crunch.

With unemployment rates running at over 8 per cent, immigration is seen as putting huge pressure on an already-saturated job market.

The number of people unemployed for more than a year is also at its highest level since the Conservatives were last in power in 1996.

Britain’s limping economy will find it tough to withstand a deteriorating situation in Europe, as figures show that output shrank by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.

But the country’s Migration Advisory Committee said EU migration had little or no impact on the native employment rate.

The number of asylum seekers entering the UK also rose in 2011, with a marked increase in applications from Libya and Syria, and the number of illegal immigrants is estimated at up 1 million.

Mrs. May said that work was underway to deny illegal immigrants access to work, housing and even bank accounts.

“The aim is to create here in Britain a really hostile environment for illegal immigration,” she said.

European governments have been preparing secret action plans if Greece descends further into crisis, which could be precipitated if there are no clear winners in next month’s election.

If Greece does leave the eurozone, economists say it’s likely to make matters much worse for other debt-troubled members such as Portugal, Spain and Ireland.

British Prime Minister David Cameron appeared to cast doubt on the future of the euro in comments last week. He told MPs, “It [the eurozone] either has to make-up or it is looking at a potential break-up.”

Free to be wrong: European elections spell economic doom

Alexis Tsipras celebrates his victory in the May elections. He may be set for an even bigger party in June. (AFP Photo / Louisa Gouliamaki)

By: Igor Ogorodnev

http://rt.com/tags/igor-ogorodnev/

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/greece-eu-democracy-euro-421/

Greece has failed to forge a coalition out of a motley crew of impractical and irreconcilable parties and now faces a fresh election. As another wave of the continent-wide crisis looms, it’s time to face up to the flaws of Europe’s political systems.

On May 6 Greeks turned out en masse to vote for the most unworkable parliament in their history. The two mainstream center-left and center-right parties, which occupied more than seventy per cent of parliament after the last election in 2009, were reduced to less than 30 per cent. No party climbed above 20 per cent. The hard-right Golden Dawn party, which harkens back to an idyllic age of an immigrant-free pure Greece and wants to return to it by putting minefields around the borders, received 7 per cent of the votes, up from less than one per cent.

What followed was a farcical nine days when the job of forming a coalition was handed down the winners’ list, as one leader after another failed to strike enough alliances. Fully aware that no coalition was likely, politicians alternated between absolving themselves of responsibility for the gridlock and grandstanding. In this vein, Alexis Tsipras, the youthful leader of the fast-rising Radical Left Party, asked the fallen mainstream leaders to sign a “letter of repentance” for agreeing to EU bailout conditions.

A new election has now been scheduled for next month. Meanwhile, Panagiotis Pikramenos, a senior judge, and a man no one elected, has been made interim prime minister by default after the sides failed to agree on a candidate.

All this is taking place in the middle of Greece’s economic death spiral, genuinely unprecedented for a nominally prosperous European democracy. Latest forecasts say that by the end of the year, the economy will have shrunk by an astonishing 27 per cent since the crisis began in 2008. Greek debt has passed 160 per cent of GDP and the country has borrowed more than a €100 billion in the past two months alone, just to pay its government employees. And yet the EU continues to read daily sermons about belt-tightening as it threatens to withhold further (high-interest rate) loans to a state teetering on the brink.

The parade of black shirts and flag-waving revolutionaries at the latest election is undoubtedly a response to the austerity pacts with the EU which were agreed to by both the mainstream parties. There is also little question that instead of making the Greek economy more competitive, in the short run the measures seem to have strangled it.

But beyond paralyzing Greek politics, what do these alternative parties actually suggest?

Tsipras, who has now been made favorite for the repeat election, says that he is against the Brussels-created structural reforms, but does not want to quit the euro (neither do 70 per cent of the Greeks, whoever they voted for). Berlin has already said that it will be impossible for Greece to default and stay in the eurozone, and that it will not give it any loans if it decides to do so unilaterally.

In fact, Greece’s desire to spend money it does not have and then not pay its debts is a continuation of the same fantasy politics that led the country into this situation in the first place, when Greece borrowed money to spend on its bloated public sector and generous pension schemes.

This appears to be a failure of democracy. Instead of acting as a bottom-up system that channels the wishes of the electorate into beneficial policies, it has produced a fragmented mess of radicalism united only by its penchant for delusional policies. And no one – not even Angela Merkel – can force the Greek people to make a different choice at the ballot box.

Contagious protest

While Greece has been given its own big top in the economic freak show, other European countries aren’t as rational as they like to think.

Francois Hollande has been elected on an anti-austerity program in France. A career socialist bureaucrat, he promises to avoid deep cuts in a country with a munificent welfare system that hasn’t balanced its budget since the 1970s. Hollande says that he wants “growth” instead of austerity – as if they are either/or propositions – but his underlying message appears to be that things won’t have to get worse before they get better. He hopes to finance this at least partly by taxing the rich in a country that already has a notoriously high tax burden and struggles to compete in an increasingly global economy.

Even the Germans appear to be turning away from prescribed economic policies, as the right-wing Chancellor Merkel was trounced by the center-left SDP in a regional election last week.

Once again, the excessive focus on austerity instead of growth may be to blame, and the results can be read as a reaction to this. But at the height of a crisis – the eurozone is predicting a decline in GDP this year, in contrast to 3.5 per cent worldwide growth – Europeans are choosing populism over hard-headed decisions. European democracies are looking at their neighbors writhing in pain, and then deciding to shoot themselves in the foot.

A soured dream

Yet this may not just be a state-level problem and, just possibly, Europeans are not the masochistic dreamers they appear to be. When vulnerable eurozone economies vote recklessly, they often secretly hope that richer states will bail them out. Even now, many in Greece refuse to seriously acknowledge the threat to expel it from the monetary union. Conversely, when Merkel et al make harsh demands on the Greeks, they are as much protecting their own coffers, or at least making sure the euro doesn’t collapse and start an epidemic of economic failure.

While the EU, and specifically the euro, was envisaged as a project of co-operation, it has now become a competition between European electorates to see who can grab the biggest piece of the shrinking pie. After all, these countries are still ruled by their own electorates, who demonstrably care about their national interest over the health of the European project.

Opponents of the euro have always said that integrating substantially different political entities into a single economic space could only have one outcome. Proponents hoped that political union would piggyback on the success of an economic juggernaut of a continent fuelled by a super-currency. Needless to say, this vision of a superstate is unpalatable for most voters in the current climate. A pity perhaps, as political integration during the fatter years might have solved a lot of the current problems.

Instead, what exists currently is a loose alliance of states, with unclear mechanisms for imposing a single collective will: another bottom-up, avowedly democratic system that was meant to work for mutual benefit, but has instead produced a mélange of competing interests. Germany is not a villain, and Greece is not a naughty child, rather they are countries locked in a dysfunctional system.

After the horrors of totalitarianism and World War II, it is clear why Europe desired both democracy and continent-wide unity. But if they are to prosper in the global world, individual European countries, and the EU as a whole, will have to recover their decisiveness and steel. Or risk becoming a continent of landmarks, rather than a place where history is made.

Spanish students hold massive protest rallies against cut plans

Spanish students protesting in Valencia on February 29 against education cuts

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/240605.html

Thousands of Spanish students have taken to the streets across the country to protest against the government’s new education cut plans.

University students, high school pupils and teachers joined the protests organized by the national Student’s Union in more than 50 towns across the country on Thursday, AFP reported.

"We have called this demonstration as an initial response to this attack on public education, which is without precedent in the past 35 years," said the union leader, Tohil Delgado.

Several hundred university students took to the central streets of the capital, Madrid, marching behind a banner that read, "Everyone together against the cutbacks".

A large group of high school students also held a demonstration outside the education ministry over the recent reforms that the protesters believed were ruining their education.

Schools and universities all over Spain have staged a series of demonstrations against the harsh austerity measures against education system by the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Right after the last student protests on February 29, the government announced an additional three billion euros in cost-cutting reforms and increasing the tuition fees to an average 1,500 euros from 1,000 euros.

Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert reiterated that the cut plans were needed to improve the quality of education and reduce the country’s public deficit.

"These are decisions that we are imposing because of the demands for fiscal consolidation, which the country has agreed too and which it must fulfill," he said.

The Spanish government has planned to shrink its public deficit to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 from 8.5 percent in 2011.

Spain’s major teaching unions planned to hold a larger strike on May 22, which is expected to attract widespread support from anti-spending cuts protesters.

Greece may repeat vote over parties’ failure to form government

People read newspapers' headlines in Athens on May 7, 2012 as the country may brace for another election in mid-June

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/240140.html

Greece may face repeat elections following the failure of parties to form a government after the recent general elections.

The repeat general elections would probably take place on June 17, according to a government official.

The conservative New Democracy, whose support for the austerity measures dramatically hurt its popularity, was not strong enough to form a government, securing only about 19 percent of the votes. This is while the party had garnered 33.5 percent of the votes in the previous elections.

Efforts by Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy, to form a coalition government also ended up in failure.

"I did whatever I could to secure a result but it was impossible," Samaras said in a televised address on Tuesday after a day of separate meetings with other leaders.

The socialist Pasok, another pro-austerity party, managed to garner only 13 percent of the Sunday votes, down from 43 percent in the last elections.

Greek voters, angry about the high unemployment rate and severe cuts to pensions and pay, punished the pro-austerity parties, New Democracy and Pasok, for imposing the harsh austerity measures to address the country’ debt crisis.

Greeks have been protesting against the state’s austerity cuts since early 2011, when the government first implemented the measures.

Greece is the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and in its fifth year of recession. One in five workers is unemployed and banks are in a shaky situation, while pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.

Anti-austerity protests sweep across Europe

Thousands of Czech university students rally in central Prague on February 29, 2012 .

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/229280.html

Massive demonstrations across Europe have taken issue with the austerity measures adopted by the European governments against economic adversity.

The protests were held on Wednesday in the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Belgium, and Spain against government economic reforms aimed at dealing with the unprecedented debt crisis plaguing the European Union.

Trade union leaders gathered outside the European Council in Brussels, Belgium to demand an end to austerity measures.

In Spain, protests turned violent as police clashed with anti-austerity protesters in the country’s the second largest city, Barcelona. Police in riot gear beat the protesters with batons and a number of arrests were made.

Students have staged demonstrations and sit-in protests across the country to demand an end to Madrid’s austerity measures, labor market reforms, and police violence.

Thousands of Czech university students rallied in the capital Prague, slamming the country’s Education Ministry for introducing tuition fees and boosting the number of government representatives in academic bodies.

The Czech government says the reforms are necessary to boost educational standards and secure more funding.

In France, main unions gathered forces for a day of protest action against austerity measures being imposed across the European Union.

In Greece, unions staged nationwide walkouts hours after the parliament approved new spending cuts to secure a new EUR 130 billion (USD 170 billion) bailout package promised by international lenders and meant to prevent the country from going bankrupt.

The Greek and French protests are part of a day of action called by European labor organizations to pressure the leaders of the 27-member EU into adopting pro-growth measures when they gather for a summit in Brussels over Thursday and Friday.

The eurozone economy is heading into its second round of recession in just three years. The bloc’s last recession was in 2009, when its economy contracted by 4.3 percent.

The Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2010.

Amid the debt crisis, the European Commission has predicted that the eurozone currency bloc faces double-dip recession while the wider EU economy stagnates in 2012.

British Chancellor begs private sector for money

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/228926.html

Britain’s Chancellor George Osborne acknowledges that the country has run out of the much-needed money and cannot afford debt-fuelled tax cuts or extra spending.

The Chancellor made the stark warning ahead of next month’s budget, noting that “there was little the coalition government could do to stimulate the economy”, British media reported.

“The British government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,” the Chancellor said adding “the money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.”

Osborne’s bleak assessment echoes that of Liam Byrne, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, who bluntly joked that Labour had left Britain broke when he exited the government in 2010.

Osborne is under severe pressure to boost growth, amid signs the economy is slipping back into a recession.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has urged him to consider emergency tax cuts in the budget to reduce the risk of a prolonged economic slump.

But, the Chancellor has said he would stand firm on his effort to balance the books by refusing to borrow money.

“Any tax cut would have to be paid for,” Osborne said. “In other words there would have to be a tax rise somewhere else or a spending reduction.

“In other words what we are not going to do in this Budget is borrow more money to either increase spending or cut taxes”, added Osborne.

The Chancellor’s tough words were echoed by Liberal Democrat Jeremy Browne, the foreign minister, who warned that Britain faced “accelerated decline” without measures to tackle its debt and increase competitiveness.

“Britain’s market share in the world used to be dominant but was now in freefall compared with the soaring economies of Asia and South America. This situation has been becoming more acute for years.

It is now staring us in the face. So we need to take action”, he wrote in an article published by The Daily Telegraph.

EU, Chinese officials meet to discuss eurozone debt crisis

EU President Herman Van Rompuy (C) shakes hands with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao beside EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the Great Hall of the People during their summit, Beijing, Tuesday, February 14, 2012.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226629.html

Senior EU officials and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have held a meeting in the Chinese capital of Beijing to discuss the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis.

“China and Europe are all round strategic partners. In the face of difficulties and challenges we ought to have mutual understanding and collaborate towards common goals,” China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday while addressing the conference, adding that this relationship would “bring into harmony the basic interest of both sides.”

EU President Herman Van Rompay, who also attended the meeting as one of Europe’s senior officials, called for an increased market access for European companies in China.

“The times we are living in are challenging … we became so inter-dependent that change in the growth rate in one of the two strategic partners has a direct and palpable impact on the other one. Our economic destinies are interlinked,” Van Rumpuy said.

The meeting was also attended by the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barraso, who said that a closer cooperation would benefit both sides.

Since early 2009, Europe has been grappling with a financial crisis which has forced a majority of the continent’s governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms. The implementation of austerity cuts have often been met with violent street protests, with the latest in Greece on Sunday.

Scores have been injured in the anti-austerity demonstrations, and many people have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin on Monday called on “the European Union to resolve this (debt crisis) issue” as the continent is China’s largest trade partner.

Rating agency downgrades six EU economies

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226588.html

Moody’s Investors Service has lowered the debt ratings of six European countries over concerns with the eurozone’s ongoing debt crisis and also changed its outlook on Britain and France's ratings to “negative.”

The ratings agency on Monday cut the credit ratings of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Malta.

Moody's also warned its top ratings on three other countries -- Austria, France and the UK -- could be at risk.

"The uncertainty over the euro area's prospects for institutional reform of its fiscal and economic framework" was one of the factors in the decision, Moody's said.

Spain was downgraded to A3 from A1 with a negative outlook. Italy was also downgraded a notch to A3 with a negative outlook and Portugal was downgraded to Ba3 from Ba2 with a negative outlook, Moody’s said.

The company said Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia also received one-notch downgrades and still have negative outlooks.

Monday's credit downgrades follow similar European rating cuts by Fitch and Standard & Poor's.

S&P lowers rating of 15 Spanish banks

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226558.html

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded the credit ratings of 15 Spanish banks, one month after reducing the Spanish government’s overall rating.

S&P announced on Monday that it had lowered its credit ratings on 10 Spanish banks by one notch and cut its ratings of another five by two notches.

"We expect the Spanish banking system's profitability to remain below its historical average over the medium term as banks continue to operate in an unfavorable economic and financial environment," the ratings agency said in a statement.

Spain's biggest bank, Santander, was lowered to A+ from AA-, while BBVA, the country’s second-largest bank, was reduced to A from A+.

S&P reduced its rating on Spain’s long-term debt to A from AA- on January 13.

Earlier on Monday, Fitch Ratings also cut the credit rating of Santander and BBVA and two other large Spanish banks, Bankia and Caixabank.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Spanish economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

Analysts say Spain's economy is expected to enter into a new recession in the first two quarters of 2012.

The worsening eurozone debt crisis has raised Spain's financing costs and created fears that the European country might have to seek an EU bailout like Greece.

Dormant social unrest looming for UK

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226563.html

The dizzying unemployment figures in Britain coupled with a recent analysis of the cause of summer unrest that put the country on a state of emergency show the government should brace for more such actions in the coming months.

Youth unemployment is at an all-time high in Britain while the rates of underemployment - that is working in a job capacity considered not good enough by the worker - have hit levels unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

The record unemployment levels mean a whole generation of young adults have their hopes for their futures dashed, raising fears that the resulting outrage could lead to a repetition of the unrest that put Britain in a state of emergency back in August 2011.

The social clashes have been recently found to be rooted in unemployment and poverty as well as in police brutality against certain groups of citizens.

A Citizens’ UK study from 700 local people in the northern London Tottenham area where the unrest began found that the police fatal shooting of a 29-year-old black man on August 6 was the trigger for the crisis.

However, the survey said the ethnic minorities’ mistrust of officers and public despair at the grave economic situation were responsible for the wave of protests that spread like wildfire to the whole country.

The minority groups told the inquiry that the police use of the controversial stop and search powers has been “excessive and disrespectful.”

The report also said some locals identified the disorder as a rare opportunity to take concerted action at a time when one fifth of all youths were jobless.

“It finally felt like all the people (were) coming together, united to do something, even if that something was ultimately destructive,” a 17-year-old participant in the survey said.

Britain has been an epicenter of social unrest for more than a year, which has featured massive protests every few months, beginning with the hundreds-of-thousands-strong tuition fee rallies in London in 2010.

The latest of such huge public actions were the November 2011 mass strikes by some two million public sector workers over the pension reforms and the closely-linked poverty factor, which triggered the August unrest.

With the factors fueling the public anger still in place, analysts believe the government should act to address the shortcomings or risk further trouble that could shake the foundations of the British society.

London suffers worst child poverty rate

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226285.html

Almost four in ten British children live in London households, where there is just £10 per person per day to cover everything, according to the Campaign to End Child Poverty (ECP).

The charity’s report comes as the Institute of Fiscal Studies estimated the number of British children living below the poverty line will rise by 800,000 by 2020, British media reported.

Despite the rhetoric of politicians, prospects for many of those at the bottom rung of the social ladder in the UK look set to get bleaker rather than brighter as they are hit by a storm of economic challenges, said the report.

In Tower Hamlets, the local authority set to host the 2012 Olympic Games, 52 percent of children live in poverty just a stone’s throw from the riches of the City, while in the borough of Islington, the figure stands at 43 percent, according to the report.

This can be compared to child poverty levels of just seven percent and five percent for the constituencies of Prime Minister David Cameron (Whitney) and his deputy Nick Clegg (Sheffield Hallam) respectively, the report said.

The report paints a good picture of a socially segregated country where children living in the capital are being disproportionately damaged by poverty and inequality.

Meanwhile, in London people also suffer worst from a combination of rising unemployment, increased living costs and welfare cuts.

Childhood poverty in Britain can cause lasting damage, both to individuals and whole communities, the report concluded.

“Living below the poverty line can trap children into a cycle of poor performance at school and reduced job prospects,” explained Sally Copley, UK head of poverty at Save the Children.

“Education is the best route out, but at every stage there is a huge divide between how those from poor backgrounds perform in relation to their peers. Moreover, early years poverty has also been linked with a range of mental and physical health problems, again exacerbating the problem and casting the future of whole generation of Londoners aside”, said Sally Copley.

US remarks on Malvinas disturb Britain

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226163.html

US officials’ remarks on the Malvinas (Falkland) islands have disturbed the British press as Britain is concerned over any damage to its Special Relationship with the US.

US Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson’s remarks about the issue of Las Malvinas have been another setback to the British government as it refuses to engage in negotiations asking Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon to rule out the possibility of negotiating over the islands.

Jacobson called for a diplomatic solution to the issue of sovereignty over the Malvinas islands saying Britain and Argentina are equal partners in the eyes of the US.

“Our position remains the same. This is a problem between two of our partners. We do not want to change our position...We prefer that both countries negotiate a diplomatic solution in that matter,” said Jacobson in Lima, Peru, as she is on a tour to Peru and Argentina.

This comes while the British press has not welcomed Jacobson’s call for equality as UK officials are already concerned about any damage to the Special Relationship.

Nile Gardiner, an aide to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, lashed out at the US stance on the issue saying the US is not aware of “the difference between Great Britain and Argentina.”

Gardiner also raised concerns over why the US “fails to express any support whatsoever for the UK, and remains silent” on the issue.

Furthermore, last month, the US Department of State released a statement on its official website calling for a negotiated solution to the dispute.

The department’s reference to the islands as Malvinas, while Britain insists on calling the archipelago “the Falklands,” came as another slap in the face of the Special Relationship.

This comes against the backdrop of the US president Barak Obama’s describing France as the closest ally of the US.

Moreover, earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the US had cast a skeptical eye on Britain’s military capability refusing to let Britain take part in its show of strength when a flotilla of US vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The British newspaper described the move as “humiliating” for the British establishment.

UK rules out negotiation over Malvinas

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225772.html

Tension between Britain and Argentina over the disputed Malvinas Islands has reached new heights after British government once again ruled out the possibility of getting involved in further negotiations.

Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner, who has repeatedly insisted on negotiations, condemned Britain for militarizing the dispute over the islands and announced that she would make a formal complaint to the United Nations over the issue.

Kirchner stressed that the deployment of an heir to the throne, the Duke of Cambridge, to the islands along with the presence of an advanced warship destroyer HMS Dauntless was considered as “a grave danger to international security.”

Meanwhile, British government defended its right to send a warship to the coasts of the “occupied” Malvinas (Falklands) islands, and claimed it was not militarizing the archipelago.

“We are not militarising the South Atlantic. Our defensive posture in the Falkland Islands remains unchanged,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

“The people of the Falklands choose to be British. Their right to self determination is a principle that's enshrined in the UN charter,” he added.

As the 30th anniversary of the 1982 war approaches, the dispute over the territory is heating up. The British government is attempting to prevent any counter-move taken by Argentina to reclaim “its stolen islands.”

UK government’s constant military threats have also raised tensions among the British politicians. UK shadow defense secretary Jim Murphy repeated government’s colonialism, saying, “It is for the UK and UK only to decide which forces to send overseas, when and where.”

He accused Buenos Aires of misrepresenting Britain’s routine deployments in order to serve its own diplomatic ends. Insisting there was no evidence to justify the Argentine government’s actions, since did not demonstrate the will of the islands’ residents.

"We will support the Government as long as they support the Falkland people's right to self-determination and the defense and security of the islands,” he added.

However, Peter Slowe, former policy adviser to Tony Blair, urged the Tory-led government to make peace with Argentina.

“The solution to the Falklands was always - and still is - to cede Argentina sovereignty while ensuring by treaty the British way of life for the tiny local population in a local democracy and sharing oil or other resources with Argentina,” said Slowe.

Britain resorts to nuclear bullying against Argentina

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/224831.html

Britain is apparently violating its UN commitment by using nuclear weapons on non-nuclear armed states, after Prime Minister David Cameron has personally authorized the deployment of an advanced nuclear submarine to the Malvinas Islands amid escalating tensions with Argentina.

British media reported that the UK navy was deploying one of its most sophisticated Trafalgar-class submarines to the South Atlantic in order to provide an outer barrier of invisible protection for the islands and prevent any possible counter-move taken by Argentina to reclaim its occupied islands.

Considerably, the heavily-armed sub set to be in the islands' waters by April, as the 30th anniversary of a war between the two countries over the disputed territory approaches.

Analysts regard the deployment of the vessel as the third war signal by the British government to Argentina, as it formerly sent an heir to throne, the Duke of Cambridge, and an advanced warship destroyer HMS Dauntless to the region to secure its last colony in South America.

Britain's third controversial decision would trigger bitter response from Argentina government and the Argentinean nationals, as it would remind the people of the Argentine flagship General Belgrano, that was sunk by a British submarine during the 74-day war with the loss of 323 sailors.

It is now believed that Britain's plan to militarize the dispute over the islands would lead to more deterioration in the already fraught relationships between the two nations.

While burning Union Flags on Friday after Prince William arrived in Malvinas for a six-week deployment, Argentinean protesters promised to target different UK business every week to show that the members of the colonialist country are not welcomed in Latin America.

Analysts wonder if the UK government would again consider the submarine deployment as a "routine operational deployment" just as they claimed about their previous controversial steps.

Ministry of Defense (MoD) refused to give further comments over the move, with an MoD spokeswoman only said, "We do not comment on submarine deployments."

The submarine is predicted to be either HMS Tireless or HMS Turbulent, which was active last year during Libya war and other regions in the Middle East during the crisis. It is reported that the vessel is equipped with 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes, with 148 members of crew.

MoD sources also insisted that a team of Spanish-speaking communications technicians will be on the vessel in order to control maritime radio transmissions in the region.

Retired Admiral Richard Heaslip, who was the chief of the Defense Staff's office during the war, admired the deployment of a submarine to “potential flashpoint.”

“The Argentines had a good navy in 1982. But after we got a nuclear submarine down there they went back to port and never dared venture out,” he said.

Argentineans protest arrival of Prince Williams on Malvinas

Britain's Prince William

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/224586.html

Demonstrators take to the streets of Argentina's capital to protest the arrival of Britain's Prince William on the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands.

Hundreds of angry protesters gathered in front of the HSBC Bank branch in the capital Buenos Aires on Thursday, throwing objects at British bank to show their fury at Prince's presence on the archipelago.

Earlier in the day, a group calling itself Quebracho, also staged a march in the city and demanded that their government cut trade links with Britain.

Esteche Fernando, the leader of the group, accused the UK of "imperialism," saying, "This sort of reigniting of the Malvinas dispute is more about hiding the financial crisis and economic suffering."

Britain's Duke of Cambridge arrived in Malvinas Islands for a six-week deployment as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot.

His deployment came as a war of words with Argentina over the territory intensified.

Buenos Aires government is furious that the Prince has been sent to the islands as the 30th anniversary of the 1982 was between Argentina and Britain nears.

"The Argentinean people regret that the royal heir is coming to the soil of the homeland with the uniform of the conqueror and not with the wisdom of a statesman who works in the service of peace and dialogue between nations," Argentine foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Moreover, British Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that it will send its most advanced warship, destroyer HMS Dauntless, to the islands.

Britain and Argentina fought a 74-day bloody war in 1982 over the islands which ended with the British side claiming victory over Argentineans.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated since 2010 when London authorized oil prospecting around the islands.

Malvinas Islands, located about 485 kilometers off Argentina's coast, has been "occupied" by Britain for over 180 years.

However, Buenos Aires claims sovereignty over the territory as it controlled the islands prior to its colonization by the British.

UK first war signal arrives in Malvinas

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/224541.html

Britain's Duke of Cambridge has arrived in the “occupied” Malvinas Islands for a six-week deployment as a search and rescue pilot while wearing the uniform of the “conqueror.”

His deployment came as a war of words with Argentina over the territory intensified. Buenos Aires strongly condemned Britain's “provocative” move to post Prince William as a member of UK armed forces to the islands.

"The Argentinean people regret that the royal heir is coming to the soil of the homeland with the uniform of the conqueror and not with the wisdom of a statesman who works in the service of peace and dialogue between nations," Argentine foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Moreover, British Ministry of Defense (MoD) also announced on Tuesday that it will send its most advanced warship, destroyer HMS Dauntless, to the islands. The move was considered by a navy source as giving the Argentina government “serious pause” for thinking about their claims, since the warship could “shoot down Argentine fighters as soon as they take off from their bases."

Analysts believe that Britain's controversial decisions to deploy an heir to throne and a sophisticated warship to the region were apparent war signals to Argentina, as the British government has been seeking to militarize the dispute over the occupied islands.

Analysts also stress that Argentina's bitter response to the deployment of the Duke was because they could remember his uncle Prince Andrew, also a helicopter pilot, who flew missions during 74-day war in 1982 that left 650 Argentines and about 300 British soldiers dead.

Malvinas, situated about 250 nautical miles from Argentina, has been a British colony for over 180 years.

However, Argentina also claimed sovereignty as it controlled the islands before, and the two countries fought a destructive 74-day war over the islands in 1982.