While the world is focusing on the tragedy unfolding in the city of Kobani, the Islamic State has made steady progress toward taking control of Iraq’s Anbar province. The province sprawls from the Jordanian border to the western suburbs of Baghdad, and it is primarily populated by Sunni Muslims, some of whom may be sympathetic to the IS. Iraqi authorities, however, are very concerned, and the leader of the province has called for the US to send ground troops to stem the tide. President Obama will not accommodate that request but it is ironic that Iraq was so insistent on the total withdrawal of US troops in 2012.
The global economy appears to be headed toward an unfortunate slowdown. Stock markets across the globe declined rather dramatically last week (the Dubai stock market declined 6% today) and the IMF issued a gloomy forecast. It is impossible to figure out what will happen next, but it does seem clear that national governments do not appear to have a plan to stimulate their economies. The economics editor of The Guardian has written an essay outlining his predictions for the future, and his outlook is not at all comforting.
Marina Silva has endorsed Aceio Neves for the upcoming Brazilian Presidential election. Silva came in third place, and there was some speculation that she would give her endorsement to Dilma Rousseff rather than the pro-business candidate Neves. Silva had asked Neves to support “land reform measures and better protections for indigenous communities as well as a demand that he drop plans to reduce from 18 to 16 the age at which minors can be tried as adults for serious crimes.” Neves has promised to act on the first two demands, but indicated that he will not change his position on the age at which juveniles can be tried as adults. Silva’s support increases the likelihood that Neves will win the election. We will see how Rousseff handles the end of the campaign.
World Politics News 
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