Desperate attempts by refugees to flee to Europe from the political crises in several North African nations are ending in disasters at sea. In response to the rising number of fatalities, “The European Union proposed doubling the size of its Mediterranean search and rescue operations on Monday, as the first bodies were brought ashore of some 900 people feared killed in the deadliest shipwreck while trying to reach Europe” (Reuters, April 21, 2015).

China’s influence is spreading politically and militarily around the globe. China’s president Xi Jinping recently visited Islamabad to promote $46 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan’s infrastructure, and Pakistan’s prime minister commented, “Friendship with China is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy… Today, we have planned for the future” (Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2015).