Africa
Remembering forgotten conflicts: the third civil war in Sudan
by Neo Allert
Image credit: Željko Heimer (wikipedia)
With so many wars and armed conflicts plaguing the world it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of what is actually going on. Major conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and the Middle East, have gobbled up all the media’s attention, while others (especially in the Global South) fall through the cracks of the mainstream media.
The civil war raging in Sudan is such a conflict. Ever since the falling out of army commander and de facto national leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) in April, the country has been suffering from extreme violence. With the RSF troops conquering the Darfur region in October many fear a recurrence of the Darfur genocide of the early 2000s. It is, therefore, essential to garner attention for this conflict in order to prevent such a thing from happening.
Asia
China’s role as the world’s debt collector and its fight for influence
by Julia Kozieja
Image credit: Palazzo Ghigi (Flickr)
Earlier this week, China was revealed to be the world’s biggest debt collector, with developing countries alone owing the country an estimated $1.5 trillion. The majority of this debt is due to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has seen China lend money to infrastructure projects in around 150 countries in order to extend its soft power influence. The debt problem has led to China cutting back on the new projects it invests in, with its slowing economic growth also contributing to this decision.
Despite the Belt and Road Initiative grinding to a halt, China still wishes to maintain its influence and overtake the US on the world stage. This has resulted in the country taking advantage of the high global debt levels by lending money to financially troubled countries, with emergency lending increasing from 30-60 percent (2015-2021). Although this process may seem counter-productive, it could possibly be an effective way to bring more countries under China’s influence more quickly compared to the Belt and Road Initiative. The recent tightening of China’s lending procedures (e.g. having larger penalties for late repayments) also ensures that, unlike the Belt and Road initiatives, these emergency loans will be paid back.
Europe
A New Path for Poland: Opposition Reach Coalition Deal
by Aidan O’Connor
Image Credit: Arno Mikkor (Flickr)
The leader of Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform, announced on 10 November that an agreement has been reached with fellow opposition parties, bringing candidate for prime minister Donald Tusk one step closer to power. The Civic Coalition, Third Way, and New Left alliances won a combined majority in last month’s parliamentary election, defeating the governing Law and Justice party which have been in power since 2015.
Despite the agreement between the parties on key issues such as closer ties with the European Union, other important topics remain in question. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz from the Third Way alliance, stated ‘everything cannot be reduced to one denominator’ with public spending and abortion remaining contentious areas of disagreement amongst the parties.
President Duda, a member of Law and Justice, has delayed the formation of a new government by granting fellow Law and Justice incumbent Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki the first chance at forming a government, despite such a task proving impossible to achieve in light of the opposition’s coalition agreement. Until Prime Minister Morawiecki loses an upcoming confidence vote, Poland’s new coalition will have to wait a little longer for its chance at forming a new government.
North America
A Congressional Mockery: The fight to rebuild Acapulco
by Mac Brennan
Image credit: Thelmadatter (Wikipedia)
On 25 October, Hurricane Otis devastated the Mexican city of Acapulco when its Category 5 winds touched down on the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range, destroying more than 50,000 homes and 80 percent of hotels. . The Hurricane appears to have highlighted the immense class divide in the city. Since many of the destroyed hotels in the city belong to billion-dollar hotel chains, or are managed by large private funds, their reconstruction may be inevitable.
Violence broke out in the San Lázaro Legislative Palace ,when this point allegedly defended the rejection of the 100 billion peso (£4.5 billion) rebuilding scheme. Deputies began brawling, with those protesting on behalf of the hurricane’s victims joining in. Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, had previously advocated for investment into Acapulco’s poor infrastructure. Following the 2-hour session, deputies denied all proposals for relief budgeting.
Anger was re-invigorated after San Lázaro spent 3 hours debating the validity of findings of a journalist’s supposed extraterrestrial skeletons. Local leaders in Acapulco considered this session to be a betrayal, as it spent more time on discussing faked evidence than rebuilding the devastated city. However, on 9 November, when, after a continuous 48-hour session, a sizable reconstruction budget was set aside for the reconstruction was approved.
South America
Brazil: two arrested after alleged attack planned by Hezbollah foiled
by Freddie Weaver
Image credit: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo (Wikimedia Commons)
Two men have been arrested in Brazil after a plot allegedly organised by Hezbollah was foiled by the Brazilian authorities and Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.
The arrests, which were made in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, were part of wider countrywide operation to ‘interrupt preparatory acts of terrorism’. According to Brazilian Police, 11 search warrants were executed in Sao Paulo, the state of Minas Gerais, and the nation’s capital Brasilia.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced on its official website that the Iran-funded Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was behind an alleged terrorist plot that intended to ‘carry out an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil’. If convicted, the recruiters could face a maximum prison sentence of 15 and a half years for involving themselves in a terrorist organisation.
Brazil has a population of more than 100,000 Jews, the second highest in Latin America after Argentina. It also has one of the world’s largest Lebanese populations, with estimates even placing it above that of Lebanon itself. While Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organisation by a number of different countries, including Brazil’s neighbour Argentina, the country itself has yet to follow suit.
Oceania
DP world: Cyber-attack cripples Australia’s major port operator
by Orestis Sechas
Image credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider (Flickr)
On 10 November, Australia’s biggest ports operator, DP World, was forced to temporarily cease operations at four ports after detecting a major cyber-security breach in its network, leaving cargo and containers stuck on the docks. Although the operator didn’t report receiving any ransomware demands, the attack was described by the Australian Government as ‘nationally significant’, with the shutdown preventing tens of thousands of shipping containers from moving in or out of Australia’s terminals. While container vessels could still pick up cargo, the malfunctioning technology systems meant they could not access DP World’s terminals, with the stuck goods taking up around 90 percent of the stevedore’s storage space.
After efforts were made to restore normal operations and resolve the disruption caused, a DP World spokesperson reported on 13 November that limited operations had resumed at two ports, Brisbane and Fremantle. However, as of 13 November, the ports at Sydney and Melbourne remain at limited capacity. A ‘snowball effect’ is expected from the delays in getting containers to customers and suppliers.
DP World received praise from the Australian Government for its open and transparent communication regarding the incident, in contrast to the heavily criticised response which Optus, Australia’s second largest telecommunications provider, received following its cyberattack the previous year and last week’s telecommunications outage.
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