The European Union on Monday approved a multi-phase military operation to defeat human smugglers who are trafficking migrants from Libya to Europe. Smugglers have been charging migrants thousands of dollars each to make the trip, and there’s no guarantee of reaching Europe or even of surviving.
This victory will permit ISIS to threaten Baiji, Iraq’s largest oil refinery, as well as the villages in the suburbs around Baghdad, and Baghdad itself. Furthermore, weapons stores and other assets in Ramadi were not destroyed and are available to ISIS.
Nearly 800 migrants from Burma and Bangladesh were rescued by local fishermen when their boat sank off the eastern coast of Indonesia. The migrants were brought to shore, given food and water, and placed in a warehouse.
Contents: Outrage grows over sting video of Lebanon MP planning terrorism; Stock market bubble accelerates explosion as economy falters
Iran attempts to seize Singapore-flagged ship in Persian Gulf; Obama concludes bizarre meeting with GCC at Camp David; The Truman Doctrine and the Carter Doctrine
Nusra Front vows to eradicate ISIS in Qalamoun on Syria/Lebanon border; US escalates tensions with plans for patrols, aircraft in South China Sea; Vatican to recognize State of Palestine while canonizing Palestinian nuns
Iran forces Afghans to fight in Syrian regime’s collapsing army; Debate over the number of European jihadists in Syria; Greece makes debt payment as even leftists lose sympathy
Saudis and Houthis escalate Yemen war further, prior to ‘ceasefire’; EU seeks approval of military action in Libya against migrant traffickers
22 die in Macedonian police gun battles with Albanian militants; Very brief generational history of Albanian – Macedonian conflict; Former Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son offers to make me rich
Rohingya ‘death camps’ and ‘slave camps’ found in southern Thailand; Yemen war sharply intensifies, as ‘truce’ is offered.
Britain’s polling organizations fail disastrously; Pre-election polls and Chaos Theory; British and Israeli elections reflected nationalistic surges; Trends in American politics
Anti-government riots and violence increase in Burundi; Concerns over an all-out crisis civil war in Burundi are misplaced; Fears grow in Central Asia of an ISIS-Taliban alliance in Afghanistan
Greece makes one debt payment, wonders if it can make the next; Europeans reject more bailout money for Greece, for now; Jean-Claude Jüncker warns of Anglo-Saxon threat to eurozone
In a surprise, Senegal joins a beleaguered Saudi coalition in Yemen; Pakistan and Saudi Arabia appear to reconcile over Yemen; ‘Saudi troops’ landing in Aden were really Yemeni troops
China builds Navy designed to overwhelm the US Navy; Philippine fishermen harassed by China’s ‘cabbage strategy’
Jimmy Carter blames Netanyahu for failure of Mideast peace negotiations; European Union in disarray over big surge in migrants this weekend; Saudi Arabia denies reports of Saudi ground troops in Yemen
War in Syria turns more and more against al-Assad; Economy falters, surprising economists, while stock market bubble explodes; Financial firm analyst told to shut up about over-valued assets
Vietnam buys cruise missiles from Russia to threaten China; China accuses Vietnam of ‘double-dealing’ with Russia, US; Russia and Vietnam agree to mutual defense cooperation pact to counter China; US requests access to Philippines military bases
Pakistan jails ten militants for Malala Yousafzai attack, but not prime suspect; US Navy will escort US-flagged ships through Strait of Hormuz; Iran’s ship seizure may be a message to Saudi Arabia
20,000 refugees flee violence in Burundi, fearing Hutu-Tutsi war; Generational history of Hutu and Tutsi tribes
Iran seizes cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz; Greece’s PM Tsipras desperately seeks financial crisis solution
US reaffirms defense of Japan’s Senkaku Islands; Japan-U.S. military guidelines will include ‘collective self-defense’
The China – Pakistan love story; China extends its military buildup with Pakistan; Air strikes, naval shelling and ground fighting escalate in Yemen
Greece’s government will confiscate cash reserves from all public institutions; Greece’s people face the future with anxiety and dread; China speeds up its military takeover of the South China Sea; Vietnam and the Philippines establish a strategic military partnership to counter China
The flood of farmer suicides continues to grow in India; Europe pledges to solve the unsolvable migrant problem; Eritrea: The most repressive regime in the world
