World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

An explosion partially destroyed a mall in Abuja, Nigeria, killing at least 21 people.  The bomb blast was timed as people began to congregate at the mall to watch the Nigeria vs. Argentina World Cup match.  The explosion was blamed on Boko Haram, but there was no claim of responsibility as of yet.  The group continues to evade the Nigerian government, and it is unclear whether the government has the capability to contain the threat posed by the extremists.  The US had supplied intelligence aid after the kidnapping of nearly 200 girls by Boko Haram, but there has been no mention of how successful that aid has been.

Syria has launched airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) marking a change in strategy by President Assad.  The Syrian government has basically ignored ISIS until very recently.  But Assad is playing a balance of power game, aligning himself as the enemy of the US enemy.  The switch places the US in an uncomfortable position since it does not wish to be seen as cooperating with Syria (and by implication, Iran).  It also places the US in the position of fighting the same enemy as a Russian ally, even though Russia has been an obstacle to bringing humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria.  How the US will walk this tightrope remains to be seen.  The US National Public Radio broadcast an interview with New Yorker reporter, Dexter Filkins, on ISIS which is incredibly informative.

A bipartisan report has been released to the US Congress, assessing the economic costs of global warming.  The report was endorsed by three former US Treasury secretaries:  George Schultz, a Republican in the Nixon Administration, Henry M. Paulson Jr., a Republican who served under President George W. Bush, and Robert E. Rubin, a Democrat in the Clinton administration.  According to the report the costs will be very high and will affect different parts of the US in very different ways.  The report is titled “Risky Business” and  has a wealth of information.