Bottom lines up front
On balance, the best long-term outcome for Africa is likely one in which China accepts the cost of reform.
Demand for minerals will grow about 5 percent per year under all scenarios but only a reform scenario sees Chinese demand for African manufactures grow.
Pakistani security forces killed 20 Pakistani Taliban insurgents in raids on hideouts in the northwest region bordering Afghanistan, the military said Monday, as tensions between the two countries escalated.
Separately, militants including a suicide bomber tried to storm a cadet college in Wana, a city in the South Waziristan district also in the northwest, triggering a gunbattle that killed at least two of the attackers, the military said.
At the Xi-Trump meeting, China paused rare-earths curbs for a year and pledged to refine detailed plans, offering a cautious sip of a bitter cup ahead.
On 10 October, a remark made by China’s former leader Deng Xiaoping was recalled around the world, becoming a focal point of commentary across Europe.
Pakistani authorities said Friday they had arrested four suspected militants allegedly involved in a deadly suicide bombing outside a district court in Islamabad earlier this week, a rare attack in the capital that killed 12 people and wounded 28 others.
The suspects are believed to be members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. In a statement posted on social media, the government identified one of the suspects, Sajid Ullah, as the individual who handled the explosives used in Tuesday’s attack.
The convergence of interests between the US, Pakistan, and the Taliban means that a compromise between them to this end can’t be ruled out no matter how unlikely it might appear to be right now.
Trump’s recent reaffirmation of his plans to return US troops to Afghanistan’s Bagram Airbase was rejected by the Taliban, which was to be expected for appearance’s sake at this point while talks are reportedly underway, but another obstacle comes from Pakistan’s opposition. It recently released a joint statement with China, Iran, and Russia condemning the US’ plans. Nevertheless, since Pakistan would benefit from them and openly backs his Gaza plan, its statement shouldn’t be taken at face value.
Fortifying the Durand Line, eliminating sleeper cell threats on Pakistan’s side, and dividing-and-ruling Afghanistan through hybrid means can ensure Pakistan’s national security in lieu of the invasion that the US might be putting Pakistan up to in advance of America’s geopolitical and mineral-related goals.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid repeated accusations that Pakistan backs ISIS-K, which was one of the reasons why the Taliban attacked along the Durand Line over the weekend, but added that attacks on Iran and Russia were also orchestrated from there: “Training centers for ISIS-K have been established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and trainees are being brought there through Karachi and Islamabad airports. Our findings show that the attacks in Iran and Moscow were orchestrated from these centers.”
Despite passions running high, it is notable that both countries have made demonstrable progress in the direction of normalising ties over the past weeks, suggesting something major is in works behind the scenes.
Recent developments have raised hope that some progress might soon be made behind the scenes in comparatively – a key qualifier – normalising relations between India and Pakistan after they had dramatically deteriorated two years ago over Kashmir.
Pékin construit un système où les ressources sont gérées comme des armes – avec précision, délibérément, sans chichis. C’est le contrôle du mécanisme d’accès. Les terres rares passent du statut de marchandise à celui de monnaie de confiance.
Le métal qui fait trembler la Silicon Valley
La Chine contrôle plus de 80% de l’extraction et de la transformation mondiales des terres rares. Chaque puce, chaque moteur électrique, chaque satellite – tout cela fonctionne grâce à des ressources provenant du sol chinois. L’Occident technologique vit du courant qui vient de Pékin. Lorsque la Chine a annoncé de nouvelles restrictions à l’exportation, la Silicon Valley n’a pas ressenti le «marché» – elle a ressenti la dépendance à l’état pur. Là où l’on parlait autrefois de startups, on se demande maintenant s’il y aura suffisamment de dysprosium pour tenir jusqu’à la fin du trimestre.
Whether we are talking about the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the Al-Tanf base in Syria or the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, they all share one undeniable quality: immense strategic importance in shaping today’s world order.