The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley and Josh Sanburn Monday, Oct. 11, 2010

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    Sept. 29 saw Spain's first general strike in eight years, as workers decried spending cuts and changes in labor laws. Meanwhile, Europeans elsewhere demonstrated against austerity measures intended to aid debt-ridden economies. In Brussels, tens of thousands of people marched toward European Union buildings to express dissatisfaction with the way the continent's technocrats have dealt with the financial crisis.

    * | What They're Ending in Germany: War is over! World War I, that is. On Oct. 3, Germany will pay the very last installment of the $33 billion debt levied by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles for starting WW I. The fines crippled the German economy at the time, leading to resentment that fueled the Nazis' rise to power. Adolf Hitler refused to pay reparations during his rule. Most of the money will be distributed among private individuals and pension funds.

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