World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The tortuous negotiations on the Greek debt reached some sort of resolution today, with promises being made by the Greek government for cuts in social spending that will cripple further the Greek economy.  It seems likely (right now) that these cuts will be approved by Parliament; it also seems highly likely that the Greek economy will go into a deep tailspin because of them.   Protests in Greece are continuing, but it is difficult to tell what effects they might have.

There are no changes to report in the situation in Syria.  The violence has now spread to the city of Aleppo, and the estimates are that more than 6,000 Syrians have been killed in the anti-government protests.  It is ironic that the the lack of action is partially due to Russian and Chinese anger over the previous UN intervention in Libya.  The major obstacle, however, remains the sheer difficulty of any external aid actually making the situation better.

A long-standing dispute between Great Britain and Argentina over the status of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands has flared up again.  Predictably, the dispute has arisen becuase of a growing belief that there is oil in the region.  The Falklands used to be a coaling station in the British Empire, but the Argentinians claim them as their territory (the Malvinas).  A war was once fought between the two countries, and it appears as if hostilities may arise again.