ARTICLES RELATING TO
EUROPE DEBT CRISIS
Trains and ferries were cancelled in Greece and thousands were due to demonstrate across Spain as May Day triggered protests against harsh government spending cuts.
Eurozone unemployment ran at a record 12% in February, with more than 19 million people on the dole as the debt crisis continued to sap the economy.
Eurozone finance ministers meet against the backdrop of a weak economy and increased political uncertainty after inconclusive polls in Italy.
Output at eurozone factories fell for the third straight month in November as the end of 2012 probably marked the deepest point in the bloc's recession.
Europe's unemployment numbers are rising to worrying new records with dire figures from Spain especially underlining a growing north-south divide, official data show.
Italy's jobless rate remained at a record high in November while youth unemployment jumped to a new peak above 37%, data show.
Tentative signs the eurozone may have passed the worst of its downturn emerged in December but Britain's economy tipped back into contraction in the final months of 2012.
Spain has defied markets by averting a bailout but high interest rates could yet force Madrid to its knees as it confronts a €207bn financing problem.
The IMF and European Commission have told France and its eurozone partners not to fixate on deficit reduction targets if it would exacerbate the bloc's debt crisis.
European leaders doused hopes of a radical eurozone overhaul, after brokering deals to control banks and refloat Greece seen as adequate to stem the immediate crisis.
European stocks sank, with Milan shares plunging after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti announced his intention to resign.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has not ruled out a so-called "haircut", or write-down, on Greek debt in the next few years, she said in an interview.
Finance chiefs of the world's 20 leading economies have raised concerns over the US fiscal cliff and Europe's debt woes at a meeting in Mexico.
G20 finance chiefs begin two days of talks aimed at quelling fears of a global economic downturn amid a persistent eurozone debt crisis.
Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high in September with nearly 150 000 more jobs lost as the debt crisis continued to weigh, official data shows.
