On Monday, the Supreme Court hears arguments between Argentina and holdouts who refused two debt restructuring deals after Argentina defaulted on its debts in 2001. The Supreme Court Justices will determine if predatory hedge fund, NML Capital can obtain information from US Banks that reveal Argentina's holdings in order to target those assets for debt payments. The Obama Administration is siding with Argentina in the case. In the summer, the Supreme Court will also decide if it will hear a much broader case between Argentina and the hedge funds that impacts extreme poverty, official US debt policy and country debt restructuring. read full story / add a comment

The annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings are focusing on the role of high debt burdens in both global economic recovery and increasing inequality. At the onset of the meetings, the G24 released an IMF statement noting that the IMF's failure to implement quota reform and the outcome of the US Supreme Court Argentina/NML Capital case impacts global inequality. read full story / add a comment

Cork Airport is being left in the lurch while other Irish airports receive new services. read full story / add a comment

Jubilee USA Network, a religious anti-poverty coalition, along with 78 other religious and development groups filed with the US Supreme Court in the case between Argentina and NML Capital read full story / add a comment

Launch of Attac Ireland with a public talk by Esther Jeffers (University of Paris VIII and European Attac Network)

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Post offices: loss of community, Tesco takeover and rush to electronics?
In a press statement Wayne Flanagan Tobin an independent candidate for elucidates the current situation regarding local post offices.
Flanagan Tobin opened:
“Post offices have served a very important role over the years as far as the payment of welfare, and those on welfare are concerned. People have been able to go into the post offices and collect their welfare payments without any big stigma being attached, and they have often gotten to know the post master or post office staff and have developed good relationships with them. “ read full story / add a comment

Foreign backed coup in Kiev.

This year will mark the one hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. Observing the media of Europe and the U.S one could be forgiven for seeing startling similarities between 2014 and 1914. Imperialist powers and entangling alliances pitting the world into two opposing camps over the fate of a small nation. In this case the autonomous Republic of Crimea. Crimea which is an autonomous region belonging to Ukraine but with an ethnic Russian majority has held the attention of world since the Pro-Russian government of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown by rioters in the countries capital of Kiev on February 23rd, 2014.
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Argentina officially requested that the US Supreme Court hear an appeal in a debt case that will impact people living in extreme poverty around the world. The case dates back to Argentina's 2001 default, after which 92% of all Argentine bond holders restructured their defaulted debt. Predatory hedge fund, NML Capital leads a small group of holdouts who won judgments for payment in lower US Courts. NML Capital never invested in Argentina and bought the debt cheaply after Argentina's default. Because sovereign lending is contracted in the United States, the precedent the case sets impacts some of the poorest economies around the globe and allows these hedge funds to target assets that benefit poor people. The International Monetary Fund, the Paris Club, legitimate investors, the US and most governments oppose this predatory behavior because it cancels the benefits of debt relief, makes sovereign debt restructuring more difficult and limits credit to poor countries read full story / add a comment

Argentina will file its final US Supreme Court appeal in the NML Capital hedge fund debt case before this Tuesday, February 18th. Legal observers, economists, investors, the United Nations, the Obama Administration, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the religious community have closely monitored the proceedings. read full story / add a comment

On the heels of the recent global outcry condemning the brutal and inhumane dolphin hunts in Taiji, Japan, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is inviting supporters and all concerned individuals to join with us and our Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians in targeted demonstrations on February 14, 2014 against Taiji’s brutal capture and slaughter of dolphins.

On February 14, 2014, from 12 noon - 3pm. Sea Shepherd Ireland will be holding a gathering at the Embassy of Japan in DUBLIN to stand in solidarity with the Cove Guardians in demanding an end to the bloodshed in Taiji. Sea Shepherd invites anyone who cares about dolphins to join us for peaceful “World Love for Dolphins” gathering on Valentine’s Day to raise our voices for the dolphins. On a day meant to celebrate love, we will show Japan the love felt by the people of the world for dolphins.

“St. Valentine’s Day" is the perfect time to stand with Sea Shepherd Ireland at the Embassy of Japan and tell the Japanese government that the world holds dolphins very near and dear to our hearts and we will not tolerate this brutal slaughter by a small group of men who are dishonoring Japan to sell dolphins to the captive industry. We hope that you will turn out to show your love for dolphins and ask Japan to end the needless killing,” said Susan Hartland, Administrative Director, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society USA. read full story / add a comment

The Progressive film club's first screening of the New Year features two films about the question of identity. Continuing our policy of encouraging new talent, we also include a short, first film from a young film maker from the UK read full story / add a comment

How many have noticed that in the quiet hours of night/early morning their Eircom email accounts become unavailable?
And that is on a regular daily, or nightly as it is, occurrence. read full story / add a comment

Washington, DC - Heads of state, financial ministers, celebrities and representatives from many of the worlds most powerful corporations are meeting in Davos, Switzerland for the 2014 World Economic Forum. This year's theme of the forum is "The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business." The Forum has focused on income inequality, the impacts of low economic growth and climate change. In advance of this year's forum Oxfam International released a report that noted that the world's 85 richest individuals have as much wealth as 3.5 billion people or half the world's population. read full story / add a comment

Féile Bríde 2014 will look at issues of life, light and liberty with perspectives from our partner Abjata Khalif of the Kenya Pastoralist Journalists Network; from Fergal Anderson linking food sovereignty issues locally and globally, as a ‘small farmer’ from the West of Ireland; and Donal Dorr will be joined by a woman with personal knowledge of the issue of human trafficking to explore the meaning of slavery, sovereignty and sustenance. read full story / add a comment

Greedy ISPs move to cash in on providing tiered Internet access
Judges at a federal appeal court in Washington have dealt what could well be a mortal blow to the freedom of the Internet. read full story / add a comment

Yesterday, Pope Francis appointed nineteen new Cardinals from around the world. Sixteen of the nineteen are eligible to vote for the next Pope. There were no new Cardinals selected from the United States. read full story / add a comment

The Supreme Court will review a lower court's order for banks to give information on Argentine assets, including those assets held outside of US jurisdiction, to a group of hedge funds seeking to collect from Argentina's 2001 default. Additionally, the High Court will review if it is legal for these predatory hedge funds to target assets for collection outside of a US jurisdiction.
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On December 13th, the Isles of Man, Jersey and Guernsey signed an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to improve international tax compliance and implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a US federal law designed to combat offshore tax evasion. The Isles signed a similar agreement with the United Kingdom in October. read full story / add a comment

More than a month after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, the country has paid approximately $900 million in debt repayments—more than twice as much as it’s received in pledged aid from countries around the world to support the recovery effort. read full story / add a comment

We are delighted to learn that today two fake press releases were diffused in the news wire, spreading the rumour about a large accounting scandal
, negatively impacting the course of the Deutsche Bank's share.

1) Deutsche Bank finances in upheaval; CFO fired
2) Deutsche Bank restates its financial statements read full story / add a comment