July 9th marked the ninth anniversary of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that the separation wall being built by Israel in occupied territories was illegal. The opinion of the Court found that: “The Court concludes that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem) have been established in breach of international law.” The advisory opinion has had no effect on the conduct of the Israeli government in the occupied territories.
Brazilian protests have moved into a new stage as the unions in Brazil have joined the protests in a “Day of Struggle.” The demands were for better working conditions and significant economic reforms. THe protests involved stopping transportation in many of the major cities in Brazil. President Rousseff, who is up for re-election did not respond directly to the protests yet.
Slowly but surely, the economies of southern Europe are beginning to look as if they are not going to recover before a crisis occurs. The austerity programs for countries like Greece and Italy have only served to slow down the economies to the point where their sovereign debt cannot be repaid. The crisis has been disguised by the extremely low interest rates that prevail in the world, but the slow unwinding has been unremitting. It also appears as if the banks in Europe have been too slow to recapitalize themselves so they are looking increasingly vulnerable to crises of confidence. There doesn’t appear as if anyone in Europe has a plan to avoid the crisis.
World Politics News 
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