News

Over 6.5 million asylum-seekers from the Middle East intend to enter Europe, according to a confidential German report (The Telegraph, May 25). Half of these people are waiting in Turkey. “Up to one million potential migrants were living in Egypt and in Libya and up to 720,000 in Jordan, the paper said.

Last week, Foreign Policy ran an article entitled “Germany Is Quietly Building a European Army Under Its Command” (May 22, 2017). For decades, German defense spending has been kept very low. However, under its Framework Nations Concept, Germany is working with small European nations like the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Romania.

The ruins of an ancient wall built in 122 AD at the northern boundary of Britannia are still clearly visible. Emperor Hadrian built the wall for border control against the barbarians in this remote part of the Roman Empire. Was it successful in fulfilling its purpose? Only temporarily; the empire eventually collapsed, and the northern tribes poured over the wall.

Overshadowed by the fireworks of the Middle East, “The drug war in Mexico was ranked 2016’s second deadliest conflict in the world, with only the war in Syria being labelled worse” (IB Times, May 10, 2017).

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, “Muslims are projected to be the world’s fastest-growing major religious group in the decades ahead” (PewForum.org, April 5, 2017). The study indicates that births to families which identify as Muslim are projected to surpass births of those who identify as Christian, especially in Europe.