European finance ministers meet to discuss bailing out the Greek economy

• EUROPE’S finance ministers meet for two days, beginning on Monday February 15th, to discuss the details of a plan to support Greece as it struggles with its public finances. A political deal pledging support for Greece, agreed at a summit of European leaders in Brussels, was intended to reassure financial markets fearful of a default and the doubt it cast over the long-term prospects for the euro area. But after a vague promise of aid for Greece did little to lessen uncertainty, finance ministers will be expected to produce more concrete measures.

• RELATIONS between America and China, already frosty over arms sales to Taiwan, sanctions on Iran and China’s weak currency, could worsen. Barack Obama will meet Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, during his two-day visit to Washington, DC, that starts on Wednesday February 17th. Mr Obama cancelled a meeting in October ahead of his first official trip to China to avoid annoying his hosts. China routinely condemns any meeting between the Dalai Lama and foreign leaders as an unwarranted interference in its affairs. How China reacts to this meeting may be instructive. China’s president, Hu Jintao, may possibly rethink a planned visit to Washington in April. …