Massive earthquake devastates Türkiye and Syria
Also, Iran government "pardons" some protesters and Starlink launches in Africa
I want to use the introduction of this issue to recommend another newsletter, called Following the Yuan, by my former colleague Yaling Jiang.
The newsletter’s About Page describes the project as trying to find a “human-centered angle” to Chinese business news. Yaling expertly provides insights into trending topics, without framing everything as having geopolitical consequences.
That is a breath of fresh air these days, as a crucial part of understanding China is learning about how people who do not care about politics live their lives.
Following the Yuan is a fun and interesting read, and here is the link again if you missed it above.
The stories that are too big to ignore (but we will anyway)
🎈 US shoots down Chinese balloon
🇺🇦 The Ukraine War (this is a lovely story about ski areas in Ukraine providing a healing oasis)
⌨️ The ChatGPT debate (can it define a taco?)
A6 - Where the world happens
Massive earthquake hits Türkiye and Syria
A massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Türkiye and Syria on Monday morning and the impact was devastating. As of publishing, over 4,300 people died and tens of thousands were injured.
At this stage, it seems likely that the death toll will continue to rise.
The earthquake epicenter was in south-central Türkiye, and one aftershock measured at an unusually strong 7.5 on the Richter scale. It also hit a particularly vulnerable region, as the Turkish border region with Syria is widely populated with refugees dispersed by the war.
In the aftermath, Israel sent rescue helpers to Syria, a notable step because the two countries have technically been at war since 1948.
At this point, international aid is focused on search and rescue because the earthquake was extremely widespread and the damage severe, meaning local authorities struggled to grapple with the disaster.
Iran government to pardon some protesters, with conditions
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a short-term amnesty for tens of thousands of protesters detained amid ongoing anti-government resistance following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, who was in custody for not wearing a hijab.
While the pardon is undoubtedly a relief for those who feared the worst, it is hardly a show of mercy from the government. To receive a pardon, the protesters must show regret for their actions and prove they did not contact foreign agencies or vandalize government property.
Additionally, the amnesty does not apply to people “affiliated with groups hostile to the Islamic Republic,” which probably excludes anyone who made any remotely public political comment.
Furthermore, the announcement does nothing to ease pressure on protesters facing severe consequences, including the death penalty. Some of the protesters sentenced to death claim their guilty pleas came after torture. Iran has turned to the death penalty as a strategy to punish protesters and dissuade future dissent.
The announcement was a tacit acknowledgment that the country had indeed detained tens of thousands of people during the protests. Amnesty International estimates the number is around 19,600.
Starlink goes live in Nigeria to mixed results
Elon Musk is a complicated figure, beloved by many but derided by more. His takeover of Twitter has been noisy, controversial and, at this point, unsuccessful. In many ways, his personality — and flirtations with the far right — have overshadowed the concrete accomplishments he has achieved.
But to criticize Musk fairly means grappling with Starlink, an internet service provider developed by SpaceX that uses satellites, rather than cables, to beam internet connectivity back to Earth.
Starlink may be the most important technology fueling Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion. It has provided a sturdy communication infrastructure for Ukrainian civilians and military, allowing them to circumvent Russian attempts to sabotage Ukraine’s internet.
Yes, the munitions from the West are crucial, but they would have lost a significant amount of effectiveness if Russia could successfully black out Ukraine’s communication network. Starlink has been the safety net that allowed Ukraine to organize its defenses and counter-offensives.
Now Starlink is launching in Nigeria, the first country in Africa to receive the product. The hope is that Starlink will help connect offline rural villages to the internet more efficiently than building out traditional infrastructure.
If it works, it could be a game changer, akin to similar regions receiving electricity for the first time. But the project is running into a uniquely Nigerian problem: the company cannot process payments in naira, the local currency.
Like many foreign internet companies in Nigeria, Starlink has to collect money in US dollars, which is fine for a company like Netflix because its customers are already digitally savvy. But Starlink is targetting a consumer base that may never have been online in their lives, much less be able to transact in foreign currencies.
So, while Starlink is technically live in Nigeria, growth will probably be slow to start.
Peru protests prove resilient
Dozens of people have died as Peru’s political upheaval enters its third month. The situation has transitioned from a short-term release of anger into a long-term protest that is beginning to have real economic consequences.
Peru was the second largest exporter of copper in the world, but foreign-owned mines have stopped operations. Tourism, a major industry in the country, has evaporated, and the Wall Street Journal reported that protests had caused US$1.3 billion in property damage.
That is not to say the protesters are necessarily wrong – A6 is not engaged closely enough to make a judgment – but the economic consequences of the movement are undeniable.
It should be noted that the protests started in poor and indigenous areas of Peru before later catching in Lima, the capital, sparked by the impeachment of former-President Pedro Castillo and the installment of Dina Boluarte as the new leader.
While some protesters demand that Castillo returns to power, that seems untenable. However, the resignation of Boluarte, followed by elections featuring two different politicians, could release some pressure.
Adani Group in India tries to look forward
The previous issue featured an update about Adani Group as its market value was halved and regulators circled the company after a short seller claimed it had engaged in fraud.
The result was that the company entered crisis mode and dispatched teams of people to guide the conglomerate through the storm. Adani Group is so large and has its fingers in so many parts of the Indian economy that it will probably be fine in the long term.
The big question is if the controversy will lead to political fallout for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is extremely close with Adani Group Founder Gautam Adani.
Hints of fraud are a problem, and there is a large political graveyard of once-powerful figures who were felled by accusations, true or not, of corruption. Adani’s freefall is a bad look for the Modi administration.
While the situation will undoubtedly damage Modi, it would take a brave person to predict any serious threat to his leadership. He is the most powerful Indian ruler of a generation, and has successfully weakened the infrastructure that may have taken down the leaders that preceded him.
That being said, India has elections next year, so we will see if this becomes an animating issue to pull back some power from the Modi administration.
Major H5N1 bird flu outbreak demands attention
Possibly the largest-ever outbreak of H5N1 bird flu is spreading through animal populations worldwide. The outbreak has resulted in large cullings from places as far away from one another as Nepal and the US.
It is a sad development in a world already putting immense pressure on the natural environment.
The primary reason it is receiving extra attention is that the virus has been found in mammals, and inter-mammal spread would raise concerns about an H5N1 mutation eventually jumping to humans. However, it is unclear if the disease was spreading among the infected mammals or if they were getting sick from eating infected birds.
The news will create anxiety for people still on alert because, while we are adjusting to life with Covid-19, we are still very much in the pandemic. This means it is vital to exercise caution when reading about H5N1. Be very careful about what sources to accept. Even, say, a newsletter that tries its best to be fair.
The link above was chosen because it includes important information to differentiate H5N1 from Covid-19. The most critical is that humans have known about the disease since the 1990s, meaning we have built a robust monitoring system, and seasonal flu shots could likely be adapted to an H5N1 strain. It is improbable that any human spread of H5N1 would catch scientists by surprise as Covid-19 did.
If you have an idea for a story or topic worth mentioning in A6, do not hesitate to reply to this email and we can look into it.