Europe
UK government reshuffle cabinet
The Prime Minister of the UK David Cameron has announced his plans to reshuffle his cabinet a day after parliament returns from the summer break. Notably, Cameron has kept Chancellor George Osborne in his post as well as Iain Duncan Smith despite rumours he was offered a position as the Justice secretary. Significantly, the Secretary of State for Health has been given to former Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt after months of criticism over NHS reforms. Today’s decisions have come on a day that serious questions have been raised about the state of the UK’s democracy by The Independent newspaper. In the first of a series auditing the UK’s democratic settings, they claim that serious antipathy by the public could lead to serious concerns over high levels of complacency.
EU credit rating outlooks becomes ‘negative’
Moodys has lowered the European Union’s credit rating’s outlook to ‘negative’ after alarm bells suggest it could soon be downgraded from AAA. It was only this year that significant economies within the Euro-zone of Germany, France, UK and the Netherlands, were already given a ‘negative outlook’. The report, which said that states were servicing their own economies and not others, comes as concerns grow over the progress of the single currency. It was only last month that Greece asked Europe, and Germany, for resilience and patience over their efforts to diminish their deficit and pay back debt. It also sees a re-emergence of more long-term questions over the benefits of Euro-bonds, something that is largely contested between Germany’s conservative Bundesbank and a stagnant Europe.
Africa & Middle East
August sees staggering rise in the number of Syria refugees
The United Nations (UN) has said that last month saw the highest number of people displaced by the Syrian civil war, the highest number since it began. The conflict that began in March 2011 has seen 235, 000 refugees with over 100, 000 of them in August. Chief spokesman Melissa Fleming said “This is a significant escalation in refugee movement.” These figures have been released in the wake of tensions within the UN, Turkey and the al-Assad Presidency. Last week Turkey pressured the UN to install amnesty zones within Syria’s borders, so as to protect civilians. This is something al-Assad has said explicitly isn’t possible despite Syrian state media saying the presidency support humanitarian work in an “independent and impartial” manner.
Asia
India Police carry out mine raids over corrupt practices
Police in India are commencing their investigations into alleged corruption in the allocation of coalmines. The accusations come from evidence suggesting that five companies lied on criteria which allows them to win contracts. The investigations also includes public officials and those in government, with the severity of the situation estimated at a loss $33billion for the state. India has long had problems of corruption, with Transparency international’s Corruption Perception Index ranking them 95th in the world, worse than El-Salvador, Cuba and Thailand.
North America
Obama readies himself for home straight
The incumbent President Barack Obama is getting set for tomorrow’s Democratic Party gala. Last night he was seen appealing to swing voters in the state of Ohio, emphasising his successes in re-boosting their autoworkers’ industries in the area before adding, it was “paying off for America”. The vice president added his famous slogan, “Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.” The talks come as the race for the Whitehouse begins to pick up momentum with the election due in November. Last week saw Ryan make his first public speech as Vice-President hopeful and running mate to Republican President candidate, Mitt Romney.
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