According to a recent study, “Chinese nationals have become the largest foreign buyers of US property after pouring billions into the market in search of safe offshore assets… A huge surge in Chinese buying of both residential and commercial real estate last year took their five-year investment total to more than $110bn” (

In April, “Russian warplanes conducted ‘simulated attacks’ on a U.S. Navy vessel in the Baltic Sea… repeatedly flying within 30 feet of the ship” (Military Times, April 13, 2016).

For more than a week, the Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta, Canada has burned, bringing a halt to up to a quarter of the country’s oil production! Over 100,000 residents of the area have been evacuated and 20 percent of homes have been destroyed in a fire that experts expect to take months to completely put out (BBC, May 8, 2016).

With weeks remaining until the United Kingdom holds a national referendum on EU membership, a new poll released this week showed that “Almost 50 percent of voters in eight big EU countries are in favor of voting on their membership… A third of participants also said they would opt to leave the EU if given the chance” (Deutsche Welle, May 9, 2016).

For the first time in British history “Sadiq Khan, a practicing Muslim and Labour Party politician, has been elected mayor of London, marking a political milestone in the world” (CNN, May 6, 2016). In his victory speech, Mr. Khan claimed to be a mayor for all Londoners, though many speculate about his true motives.