Spain’s economy contracts 0.3% in third quarter of 2012

 

People wait in line at a government employment office at Santa Eugenia's Madrid suburb on January 27, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/30/269528/spain-economy-shrinks-in-third-quarter/

Official data show Spain’s economy has shrunk by 0.3% in the third quarter of the year, 2012, as the country continues to grapple with economic woes.

According to new data released by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) on Tuesday, country’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% from July to September.

This comes as one in four workers is unemployed in the recession-hit country.

On Friday, the Spanish institute also issued a statement saying that the country’s unemployment rate climbed to 25.02 percent in the third quarter, up from the previous 24.63 percent.

INE also pointed out that a total of 5.78 million people were out of work in the July-September quarter, up 85,000 from the previous three months, while the number of Spanish households in which every member is unemployed rose to 1.74 million.

On October 11, Standard and Poor’s rating agency (S&P) downgraded the country’s credit rating by two notches with a "negative outlook" citing “mounting risks to Spain's public finances, due to rising economic and political pressures.

The Spanish government has been sharply criticized over the austerity measures that are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposed 2013 draft budget is expected to slash the overall spending by 40 billion euros ($51.7 billion), freeze the salaries of public workers, and reduce spending for unemployment benefits.

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

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US fabricates lies on Iran to sell arms to Persian Gulf states: US Daily

A US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf (file photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/09/255348/us-fabricates-iran-threat-to-sell-arms/

The United States uses the pretext of the ‘Iran threat’ to sell massive amounts of arms to Persian Gulf kingdoms in a failed effort to establish a united alliance among the dictatorships in the oil-rich region.

The US and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf are attempting to knit together a “missile shield” system through billions of dollars worth of American arms purchases by the US-backed Persian Gulf states in a supposed bid to bring added pressure on the Islamic Republic besides the US-led sanctions scheme, the New York Times reports on Thursday.

That would include, according to the report, the deployment of radars to boost the range of early warning coverage across the Persian Gulf, as well as launching command, control and communications systems that could exchange that information with missile interceptors whose triggers are controlled by individual countries.

To meet the objective, Pentagon announced late last year the sale of two advanced missile defense radars to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, a similar high-resolution, X-band missile defense radar was sold to Qatar earlier this year.

Moreover, three weeks ago, the US Defense Department revealed the newest addition to its Persian Gulf missile system, notifying the US Congress of a plan to sell Kuwait $4.2 billion worth of weaponry that would include 60 Patriot Advanced Capability missiles, 20 launching pads and 4 radars. All this would come in addition to Kuwait’s existing arsenal of 350 Patriot missiles purchased between 2007 and 2010.

Citing Pentagon documents, the report also reveals that the UAE has purchased over $12 billion worth of missile systems in the past four years.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, notorious for its persistent purchase of massive weapon systems from the US and Europe, has also acquired a significant arsenal of Patriot systems, the most recent being $1.7 billion worth of upgrades last year.

Despite the purchase of such massive amounts of weapon systems, the report says, it is the US military forces that provide a core capability for ballistic missile systems in the Persian Gulf.

Yet, the US is facing major technological and political challenges in establishing what it boasts as being an “integrated regional missile defense system.”

Technologically, they admit, no missile defense system can promise 100 percent effectiveness. Additionally, the Americans argue, Iran is increasing both the type and number of its own missiles in the field.

Political challenges for the Americans, says the report, stem from historic rivalries that prompt its Persian Gulf allies to enhance their respective security through bilateral ties with the US, resisting multilateral security arrangements among themselves.

Iranian officials have repeatedly announced that the Persian Gulf security can best be preserved through a regional collaboration rather than the interference of foreign powers.

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