A document purportedly from the Islamic State has been posted on the Internet. There is no way for me to verify that the document is in fact from the IS, but a number of reputable news sources have cited it. The post is a call to arms to all Muslims to support the Caliphate and to articulate the IS view of world affairs. It is worth a cursory reading–some of the language is truly inflammatory. I will not ask any questions on the quiz about this article.
There have been a string of bomb explosions in the Xinjiang Province of China. The explosions are likely protests by the Uighur ethnic group in the province against the political power exercised by the ethnic Han Chinese who are the majority group in China. The blasts are also likely related to the upcoming verdict of a prominent Beijing economist who has been accused of inciting violence on behalf of the Uighurs. The Uighurs are primarily Muslim so the threat of separatism is taken very seriously by the Beijing government. The Indonesian government has arrested 4 Chinese nationals who are accused of trying to connect with a local representative of the Islamic State. If that report is accurate, then the Chinese will certainly worry about a spillover from Iraq and Syria into Xinjiang.
Students in Hong Kong have begun a weeklong boycott of classes in order to prove their commitment to democracy in Hong Kong. The concern of the students is that the central government in Beijing will choose the candidates for election in local races. The students would prefer to have more democratic selection processes. The protesters carried banners that said: “The boycott must happen. Disobey and grasp your destiny.” Protests have been going on for several months now, and there does not appear to be any movement toward a reconciliation.
World Politics News 
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