The World Today

The harsh crackdown on demonstrators in Burma may have sealed the ultimate fate of the military junta that has been in charge for so long. But when it falls from power, who could take over, and what problems would they face in holding the country together?

The world’s most populous democracy and its new economic engine are both busy modifying positions on Burma, their much smaller but troublesome neighbour. India and China have growing economic interests there, yet seem to have come to very different conclusions about how to protect them.

Tough luck for the ‘old’ continent. Just when the thirteen countries sharing the euro as their common currency were starting to enjoy a broad-based upswing after five miserable years, a series of unfortunate shocks is putting the eurozone recovery at grave risk again.

City types are waking up to wind, waves and the sun and their potential to make energy – and money. This is just as new energy policies for Europe emerge with twenty percent targets for renewable energy and greenhouse gas cuts. Add to the mix climate change negotiations which will be back in Bali in December.

Did the end of empire bring real independence to developing countries like Ghana, or have the international financial institutions imposed a new form of economic domination? A challenging thought for World Bank meetings in Dublin this month.

December is decision time in the Balkans. If an internationally acceptable solution cannot be found for the status of Kosovo, then the Kosovans might decide to declare independence. The international community, especially Germany, will have a tricky decision to make.