While Europe has focused on Greece the last few weeks, the rest of the world has not been on pause.
Over the last month, the Chinese stock market has plunged steadily. It is the rainy season in Thailand but a good part of the country is in the clutches of severe drought. Hamas and Isis are rumored to be fighting each other again for control of Gaza. In Western Canada large fires have forced mass evacuations in Saskatchewan. And America’s heartland continues to flood because of too much rain, but California’s extreme drought has not let up.
Thailand
Newsday stated that,
” Gov. Thanasak Watanathana, told The Associated Press that without rains, the current water supply for daily consumption in Bangkok and its nearby provinces will last only 30 days.”
The drought has impacted Thailand’s major crop. Newsday added,
“Together with Vietnam, Thailand is one of the world’s top rice exporters.”
And rice is a main part of the diet in numerous countries.
Gaza
Lebanon’s Daily Star quoted a masked ISIS militant,
“The rule of Shariah (Islamic law) will be implemented in Gaza, in spite of you. We swear that what is happening in the Levant today, and in particular the Yarmouk camp, will happen in Gaza,”
China
An Al Jazeera America headline had this to say about one of the world’s top economies,
“China’s stock market crash no reason to panic, just yet”
However, the article also concluded with this cautionary statement,
“In the U.S., banks, technology and raw materials stocks all dipped on Wednesday, a trend some analysts linked to speculation that amid weeks of anxiety over Greece’s default, the real trouble could be brewing in China.”
The Patient
The world’s three top economies are considered to be the United States, China, and the EU. A major economic meltdown in two of them, at best, would significantly hamper the recovery of a fragile world still weak from the recent “Great Recession”.
Weather and natural disasters, like earthquakes, are recognized as being beyond man’s control. But world leaders are devoting themselves to managing the current conflicts and economic crises. The trouble is even top economists and political analysts frequently disagree on the best remedies.
Throughout human history, a good long-term cure for our recurring problems has eluded even the brightest most talented among us. Clearly, we are looking in all the wrong places.
Photocredit: NASA & DonkeyHotey
Read about Thailand’s crippling drought here
Read about Gaza here
Read a perspective on China’s stock market crash here
See related In the News story on Gaza “February 1, 2015 – Middle East”
