According to scientists at the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), “The health of the oceans is deteriorating far more rapidly than expected… they predict that marine life could be on the brink of mass extinction” (TheTimes, June 21, 2011). While scientists have been witnessing drop-offs in species population sizes for years, current numbers are far more extensive than originally understood.
“Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov are spending two days in Paris shortly after Moscow and Paris signed a deal for Russia to purchase two French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.” This follows a deal where Germany has agreed to build a military training center in Russia, to train Russian troops.
The EU, like other major world powers (the U.S., China, Britain, France), has interests in the Caribbean. Three years ago, the EU signed the Economic Partnership Agreement with the Caribbean Community and the Dominican Republic.
Following President Obama’s visit to Britain and his encouraging rhetoric that “Britain is America’s closest ally,” this week “Washington signed on to a draft declaration on the question of the Malvinas Islands [Falkland Islands] passed by unanimous consent by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) at its meeting in San Salvador. In doing so, the United States sided not only with Buenos Aires, but also with a number of anti-American regimes including Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela and Daniel Ortega’s Nicaragua.”