As the Burundian peace summit entered its third day in Tanzania this week, one of the warring rebel factions claimed to have captured 72 government troops in two months of fighting.
Like an alcoholic with a dodgy liver promising this drink is his last, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has a lot riding on its latest effort to rescue a crisis-hit economy.
Nervous Uruguayans formed queues at cash machines for the second day running on Wednesday as their government announced the country’s banks will be closed for the rest of the week. The tiny economy was forced to shut down its financial system on Tuesday to halt a run on the banks.
Britain’s International Development Secretary, Clare Short, has warned the European Union that she is considering seizing back control of the country’s £700-million contribution to Europe’s international aid budget, in protest at the squandering of money on wasteful, politically driven projects.
Fears that the recovery in the United States economy may be faltering led to a run on the dollar last week as poor results from the depressed hi-tech sector prompted investors to seek better returns abroad and in the safe havens of bonds and gold.
The transatlantic link between Britain and the United States may have been the defining global partnership of the past 50 years, but the next half-century will be dominated by the relationship between the US and China, and it is unlikely to be smooth