 » It was a tumultuous week on the world's stockmarkets, after Standard & Poor's downgraded America's credit rating for the first time, to AA+. The ratings agency cited the "gulf between the political parties" over how to reduce America's debt, but the Obama administration had nothing but opprobrium for S&P, especially after it emerged that it had overstated the federal debt by $2 trillion in one document. Barack Obama insisted that America was still a "triple-A country".
See article » Congress reached a deal on August 4th to provide temporary funding to the Federal Aviation Administration, ending, for now, a stalemate that had led to the suspension of construction projects at airports and 4,000 FAA employees being sent home.
No let up in the bloodshed » Syrian security forces moved the focus of their ongoing crackdown from Hama to Deir ez-Zor, a city farther east. The Arab League, Saudi Arabia and the Turkish foreign minister pressed Syria to relent. Human-rights activists say at least 1,800 civilians have been killed in Syria. See article »The leader of Libya's rebel movement, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, dismissed his cabinet following the killing of his military chief by a faction from his own side. Rebel troops captured the town of Bir al-Ghanam, 50 miles (80km) south of Tripoli. »Two former Shia opposition MPs who were arrested in the wake of anti-government protests were freed in Bahrain. Jawad Fairooz and Matar Matar were detained in May after resigning from parliament in protest against a crackdown by security forces. » Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, injured during fighting two months ago, left a hospital in Saudi Arabia but remained in Riyadh. He suffered severe burns when his compound in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, was shelled in June. » Kizza Besigye, the Ugandan opposition leader, was acquitted of all charges in connection with violent protests earlier this year. He lost a presidential election in February, which he claims was rigged.
We shall never surrender  » A number of British cities were hit by rioting and looting. The trouble started in an area of north London, when a peaceful protest over the shooting by police of a black suspect turned violent. Gangs of youths took advantage of the situation to commit severe looting and arson throughout London. The lawlessness soon spread to other cities. After police were criticised for yielding control of the streets to thugs, David Cameron returned from his holiday and promised a robust response. See article » Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's main opposition leader, was arrested. Ms Tymoshenko is on trial for allegedly signing an illegal gas deal with Russia in 2009, when she was prime minister. Western diplomats condemned her arrest.
See article » With fears growing over Italy's ability to repay its vast debts, Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, brought forward planned austerity reforms and pledged to introduce a balanced-budget constitutional amendment. Further reforms to revitalise the stagnant economy are expected soon.
Is there anyone left?  » There was more turmoil in Brazil's government, as police arrested the deputy tourism minister and other officials on suspicion of siphoning off public money. Separately, Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, sacked the defence minister, after he revealed he had voted for her opponent in last year's election. Last month Ms Rousseff removed the transport minister over claims of corruption in his ministry. » Guatemala's constitutional court upheld lower-court judgments barring the candidacy in a presidential election next month of Sandra Torres. Ms Torres divorced the current president, Álvaro Colom, in March in order to circumvent a constitutional ban on close relatives of the incumbent from running. Opinion polls suggest that Otto Pérez, a former general, should easily win the election. » Tens of thousands of students and schoolchildren marched in Santiago, Chile's capital, to call for the abolition of private schools. Some of the protesters burned cars and looted shops; almost 300 were arrested. See article
Deadly force » NATO forces suffered their worst single death toll since the start of the war in Afghanistan when the Taliban shot down a transport helicopter. All 38 people on board—30 American troops, seven Afghans and a translator—were killed. Among those who died were 22 elite SEALs, including some from the unit that shot Osama bin Laden. A few days later the Americans said they had found and killed the insurgents involved in the attack. » Naoto Kan, Japan's embattled prime minister, moved closer to stepping down, after his opponents agreed to pass a bill issuing bonds to finance a large part of the national budget. Before quitting, Mr Kan also hopes to pass a bill to promote renewable energy. A leadership election in the Democratic Party of Japan to find a replacement for Mr Kan is expected in late August. » Thailand's new parliament elected Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister. Ms Yingluck, the younger sister of an ousted and exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, took office with a pledge to overcome the country's pro- and anti-Thaksin divisions. She avoided appointing red-shirt activists to her new cabinet.
See article » China suspended all of its new high-speed rail projects, less than a month after a collision between two trains killed 40 people and provoked much public criticism. Existing lines have all cut their speeds and changed schedules.  » The government-in-exile of Tibet swore in a new prime minister, the first to be elected since the Dalai Lama renounced his position as its political leader in March. Lobsang Sangay, a fellow at Harvard Law School, favours the principle of an autonomous future for Tibet under Chinese sovereignty; China refuses to acknowledge him. » North and South Korea traded brief salvoes of artillery fire along their disputed maritime border, only a month after the leadership in Pyongyang announced its intent to return to the talks that are supposed to address its nuclear programme. All of the shells landed harmlessly in the sea. With inadvertent silliness, North Korea had earlier chaired a UN plenary session on disarmament. | 
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