The return of global terrorism
Plus, the Gulf courts Africa, and Starlink has a black market problem
The strength of A6 is its ability to highlight underreported situations in places like Africa, Central Asia, or Eastern Europe. Its weakness is that when a global event breaks through the mainstream consciousness, it can offer little new information.
So, I included three links to the latest updates about the Moscow terrorist attack in the “Followups on A6 topics” section.
For major international news, I always recommend CNN because it has significantly more resources than any other news organization in the world.
While they often trip over themselves reporting U.S. politics, CNN really flexes its muscles when major events happen outside of America.
Enjoy the issue!
Followups on A6 topics
Who are ISIS-K, the group linked to the Moscow concert hall terror attack?
Russian investigators receive more than 100 missing person reports after Moscow concert hall attack
Moscow concert hall attack suspects appear in court as Russia defends security services
A6 - Where the World Happens
Suicide bomber targets Taliban in Afghanistan
At least 20 people were killed and 50 others injured after a suicide bomber in Afghanistan blew himself up in front of a bank when members of the Taliban were gathering to retrieve their salaries.
The 8:30am attack appears to have been directly targeting the Taliban, and experts believe it was perpetrated by ISIS-K, the ISIS offshoot branch that just launched the major attack in Moscow.
The attack is a reminder of the persistent problem with terrorism in Afghanistan, and that it does not necessarily matter if an extremist Islamic government rules the country.
The attack was in Kandahar, a city located in the south of the country that was the birthplace of the Taliban movement and remains the home of the group’s supreme leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada.
The Taliban has been waging a war against ISIS-K since it took control of the country in 2021. The government has killed at least eight leaders and pushed large chunks of the group into Pakistan.
ISIS-K claims that the Taliban is not following true Sharia law, so it has launched consistent attacks against the extremist government.
Pakistan terrorist attack targets Chinese infrastructure workers
A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed 5 Chinese workers and their driver on a thin, remote road heading towards a major infrastructure project that is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.
Pakistan is struggling to control terrorists that have been driven out of Afghanistan by the Taliban, and the Belt and Road projects in the country have become a clear target of discontent.
Last Fall, a Taliban offshoot in Pakistan warned the government that it would begin attacking people associated with the Belt and Road if the government did not start paying them a 5% tax on construction costs. However, they denied involvement in the recent attack.
In 2021, terrorists blew up a bus heading for the same dam, killing 13 people, including 9 Chinese nationals.
While both countries publicly remained steadfast in their alliance, the attacks frustrated Beijing, which worried that recruiting Chinese workers to work on the Belt and Road Projects would be difficult if they were concerned about their personal safety. China has a lot at stake, as it has invested US$62 billion in various projects in Pakistan since 2015.
While China and Pakistan have worked together to keep details about the plan secret, one source of discontent in Africa is the fact that Belt and Road projects often import an army of Chinese nationals to construct them rather than creating jobs for locals.
As the world becomes multipolar, the Gulf courts Africa
If I were to make a statement and prediction, it would be that the 2020s will be remembered as the decade our planet was solidified as a multipolar geopolitical landscape.
The rise of China is the most obvious example, but Southeast Asia now has its own political power, and Africa is undeniably next.
While the Middle East still struggles with war, parts of the Gulf have clearly emerged as alternative geopolitical poles, most notably Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
So, it makes sense that these countries would follow the lead of America, China, Europe, and Japan by investing heavily in the continent (for better or for worse).
African business leaders turn to Dubai as their financial hub, while Saudi Arabia or Qatar are alluring sources for loans if Beijing or Washington demure.
And, in many obvious ways, it’s a more natural partnership. The regions have traded with one another for centuries, both have large Muslim populations, and many countries in North Africa are members of the pan-Arab world.
For example, Qatar owns 60% of a major airport in Rwanda because it invests in a domestic fund. Saudi Arabia helped bail out Sudan.
One problem is that some Gulf states have shown an instinct to prioritize personal political goals over what would benefit the specific African nation. The UAE has built a network of strongmen in Africa and is responsible for financing the Rapid Support Forces’ civil war in Sudan.
Gulf support is unlikely to lead to more political freedoms in Africa, and it remains to be seen if its people will tolerate that future as they enter the global middle class.
Elon Musk’s Starlink is all over the black market
Starlink remains one of the most important technologies in the Ukraine War, allowing the country to maintain its communications network despite constant attacks from Russia.
But its strength — being able to circumnavigate traditional telecommunications networks — has become a weakness, as the terminals have proliferated in the black market, even helping to fuel the civil war in Sudan.
A fascinating report from Bloomberg details how prevalent the global Starlink black market has become.
In Sudan, the terminals are brought online in Dubai before they are smuggled into Uganda via airplanes, then transported by road to Sudan, where they have been widely used by the Rapid Support Forces to wage a civil war against the government.
In Yemen, Starlink is being used as a method of defiance against the Houthi regime, which controls the country’s telecom industry and uses it to generate revenue. Yemenis who use the service are ignoring Houthi threats of “severe punishment” if caught.
In South Africa, people risk a fine that could reach US$265,000 if caught with Starlink. And yet, people are registering terminals as if they live in Malawi (a regional neighbor where Starlink is active) and then turning on their roaming to use the service while they “travel” to their homes in South Africa.
Starlink said it investigates reports of illicit Starlink use, geolocates the device, and turns it off. But, based on the Bloomberg report, it has clearly lost control of its terminals.
Climate Change: Biden administration passes strict tailpipe rules
Unsurprisingly, transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, which is why the Biden administration is pushing so aggressively to electrify the economy.
Earlier in March, the administration pushed forward the strictest limits it has ever placed on vehicle emissions.
It won’t take immediate effect, but by 2027, the American auto industry can expect increasingly strict restrictions on vehicle emissions. The goal is to fully electrify 100% of new car sales by 2032.
The auto industry embraced the restrictions, partly because they are investing billions of dollars into electric vehicles, so they would like to have a large consumer base when the EV rollout ramps up.
The restrictions could remove 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 30 years.
Kevin’s article: Hong Kong passes expanded National Security Law
From the first four paragraphs:
Devoid of any political dissent, Hong Kong passed a draconian new national security law on Tuesday that the U.S. government said “curtailed the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong” and undermined the promises made under the one-country two-systems agreement.
The law was passed in a marathon session on Tuesday, with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee calling the moment “historic.”
Named Article 23, the law has long been promised to be added to the city’s mini constitution, the Basic Law, but it failed in 2003 and has been a contentious issue in Hong Kong ever since.
Article 23 became a priority for the mainland after the 2019 protest movement, in which many residents demanded more civil rights, but Beijing imposed its own national security law on the city in 2020. Nearly 300 people were arrested as the result of that law.
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Also I wonder given the size of Chinese investment in Pakistan whether they will start to get involved in providing anti-terrorism security?
Another really useful update on what's happening elsewhere in the world. In the UK our news is becoming more and more focused on 'navel-gazing'.