Politicians clashed over the NHS at a Scottish independence debate. “Yes” supporters say independence could save the health service from privatization, while “No” advocates say Scotland can’t afford it alone. Independence is needed to protect against a “nasty, competitive, profit-driven motive” towards the NHS, Scottish Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie said Thursday. [...]

Anti-Englishness is driving the Scottish independence campaign, according to UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who says a split from England would fail to give Scots independence from EU bureaucrats in Brussels. Farage, who described PM David Cameron as epitomizing “all that the Scottish people viscerally loathe about England,” said he “has walked straight into a long-planned ambush.” [...]

Surging support for Scottish independence saw the pound fall to a 10-month low. The head of the "Better Together" campaign, however, denies panic among the ranks despite a plan to grant Scotland more powers if Scots reject independence. The latest opinion poll, conducted by YouGov and the Sunday Times, put the pro-independence movement in the lead for [...]

The debate over Germany's insistence on euro-zone austerity has flared anew as an ailing France continues to demand economic stimulus. The European Central Bank may now be siding with Paris, leaving Merkel looking increasingly alone. The chancellor peered at her impassioned interviewer as if he were some kind of rare insect. [...]

The International Monetary Fund has given a green light for Ukraine to receive the second tranche of financial assistance totalling $1.39 billion, meaning more austerity measures for the already struggling economy. “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Ukraine’s performance under an economic program supported by a Stand-By Arrangem [...]

The French government has resigned despite being formed just 4 months ago. They quit after ministers slammed President Francois Hollande's plans for taxation and cuts, while also being critical of Germany's austerity program. The statement published on Monday said the new office would be formed on Tuesday and would be in the "direction he (the president) has defined for our country." [...]

Russia and the EU have to look for a basis for a new dialogue of non-confrontation as they should be strategic partners working for consolidation of peace and normal economic life, Kostas Isyhos from Greece's left-wing SYRIZA party told RT. First of all, because Greece is going through the 5th year of constant recession. The memorandum policy which has been followed with austerity programs in t [...]

Peace activists have set out on a three-week "Long March on Newport" to protest against September's NATO Summit. Police say they have drafted in 9,000 officers to face the protesters in one of the UK's biggest ever police operations. More than 20,000 activists from around the world are expected to take part in demonstrations during the summit, where a week-long peace camp and a counter summit a [...]

Over one million people in Spain - the eurozone's fourth largest economy - haven't had a job since 2010, according to a report by Spain's National Statistics Institute. Although this number continues to rise, the government says it's witnessing recovery. [...]

Exactly 15 years ago, on March 24, NATO began its 78-day bombing of Yugoslavia. The alliance bypassed the UN under a “humanitarian” pretext, launching aggression that claimed hundreds of civilian lives and caused a much larger catastrophe than it averted. [...]

Thousands of people have trekked across Spain to protest austerity they claim is destroying their country. Under the banner of "no more cuts!" the protesters are calling for an end to the Spanish government'€™s "empty promises." Six “columns” of trains, cars and buses, as well as bands of pedestrians have travelled from Extremadura, Andalusia, Valencia, Murcia, Asturias, Galicia and Aragon, [...]

The self-proclaimed government in Kiev is reportedly planning to cut pensions by 50 percent as part of unprecedented austerity measures to save Ukraine from default. With an "€œempty treasury"€, reduction of payments might take place in March. [...]

Roughly 40 percent of New York City’s military veterans are finding themselves facing hunger with few options for help, and the problem may be get worse in the future. According to Margarette Purvis, the president and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City, about 95,000 veterans need food aid such as those offered by soup kitchens and other hunger-relief organizations. [...]

The US government spending crisis has caused visible pain for research and innovation in America. Already this year, billions of dollars in federal cuts due to sequestration has affected federal grants for scientific research. But this problem is only the tip of a much bigger problem facing the redundant superpower. [...]

Lawmakers in the Senate are weighing a bipartisan bill that is expected to re-open the United States government and save the country from default. During an early afternoon hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) acknowledged, “The eyes of the world have been on Washington all this week, and that is a gross understatement. [...]

A US military request for funding to renovate the prison base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was denied by Pentagon officials in the Obama administration who, while pledging to close the prison, have been consistently prevented from doing so by Congress. General John F. Kelly, the chief of US Southern Command and the officer in charge of Guantanamo Bay, requested $195.7 million to update and modify the p [...]