July 29, 2015 – Global
What a difference one week can make! Here are a few of the things that happened over a seven day period.
Africa
Last week, the Somali militant Islamist group, known as al Shabaab, exploded car bombs in multiple attacks last week in Somali’s capital, Mogadish, killing over 2 dozen.
The militant Islamist group named Boko Haram continued daily raids in northeastern Nigeria and neighboring countries.
Asia
A new $100 billion development bank backed by the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — opened in Shanghai on Tuesday, the 21st. According to Yahoo news, it is perceived as yet another “challenge to US lenders”.
China’s stock market plunged again. The Mashable website reminded the world, “This isn’t just China’s problem. Over the past few years, China … has come to be a huge force in capitalism, mainly based on the growing affluence of its middle class.” Meanwhile, Philippine’s economy continued growing at a healthy clip.
Eastern Europe
The Kremlin announced plans Sunday, the 26th, to beef up the Russian navy saying this is to counter NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe. NATO is apparently constructing six new command centers in Eastern Europe to facilitate watching what Russia might be doing in the Ukraine.
Middle East
Seemingly, Turkey dramatically shifted its attitude toward ISIS.
Monday July 20, 2015 a suicide bomber, said to be an ISIS militant, blew up over 30 people. Thursday, the 23rd, a Turkish policeman was killed in cross-border classes, according to BBC. After that, two Turkish soldiers were killed and four others were injured in a car bomb attack. The current government blamed Kurds.
Those events lead to several changes. The US led forces are being granted use of Turkey’s Incirlik airbase, located near a border it shares with Syria, to launch airstrikes. Turkey joined the air campaign against ISIS. And it began bombing Kurdish PKK fighters in Iraq — even though the Kurds also are fighting ISIS. Relationships in the Middle East are, well, complicated.
Photo credit: Rod Mader July 2015: Joshua Tree National Park @JoshuaTreeNP @NatlParkService
