Our World in Data is an extraordinary website. It graphically displays data in ways that are remarkable in their comprehensibility. For example, the website has a section on global population growth that is both historical and contemporary. The different sections of the website visually represent much of the data that we rely upon in the study of world politics.
The French are having a rough year. First, there were the terror attacks in Paris. Then came the floods. Now, labor strife is befouling the cities as workers go on strike in advance of the European Championship soccer matches. The strikes are in response to the government’s efforts to reform labor laws which currently limit flexibility in hiring and firing workers. Truck drivers, airline pilots, metro workers have gone on strike in opposition to the changes, but it is the garbage workers that are bringing Paris to its knees. Apparently, the piles of rotting garbage are attracting vermin and chasing away tourists. The government refuses to back down, and we’ll see how long the workers can hold to their strikes.
The International Monetary Fund is warning China that its rising corporate debt is of serious concern. China’s official budget deficit is about 225% of Gross Domestic Product which is high but not abnormally so in the current environment. But the amount of debt held by corporations (both private and state-owned) stands at 145% of GDP which is dangerously high since any one of those corporations can go bankrupt (unlike the Chinese government) and those bankruptcies might have a cascading effect on other corporations. As the Chinese economy continues to slow down, such bankruptcies become more likely.
World Politics News 
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