China has established a firm base in Latin America, and Egypt is using “fake news” to arrest dissenting journalists.
How China is influencing Latin America
A $50 million satellite and space mission control station built by the Chinese military in Patagonia is “one of the most striking symbols of Beijing’s long push to transform Latin America and shape its future for generations to come — often in ways that directly undermine the United States’ political, economic and strategic power in the region”, reports the New York Times.
The station began operating in March, and is part of China’s planned expedition to the moon, which the Argentinian government supports.
“But the way the base was negotiated — in secret, at a time when Argentina desperately needed investment — and concerns that it could enhance China’s intelligence gathering capabilities in the hemisphere have set off a debate in Argentina about the risks and benefits of being pulled into China’s orbit.”
Trade between China and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean reached $244 billion in 2017, and China has also “issued tens of billions of dollars in commodities-backed loans across the Americas, giving it claim over a large share of the region’s oil — including nearly 90 percent of Ecuador’s reserves — for years.”
Teen Palestinian activist has been released
Activist Ahed Tamimi, who was sentenced to prison for slapping and hitting Israeli soldiers, has been released from Israeli prison, reports Al Jazeera. Her eight-month sentence sparked international condemnation and outrage.
Tamimi was arrested in December 2017 after a video of her slapping the Israeli soldiers went viral. She had just been informed that her 15-year-old cousin, Mohammad, had been shot in the face with a rubber bullet by Israeli forces. Her mother, Nariman Tamimi, was also arrested after filming and live-streaming the entire incident, but served only three weeks.
“Addressing the crowd, Tamimi thanked activists and the media for their support during her prison stay. She said she was “extremely happy” to be “in the arms and embrace of my family” but added that her “happiness is not full” when others are still behind Israeli bars.”
Tamimi called for solidarity with other Palestinian female political prisoners, and for the people of Palestine to remain united in their resistance. Tamimi said she wants to be a lawyer, to be able to “hold the occupation accountable”.
Malcolm Turnbull’s dinner faux pas
“The eating habits of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are being dissected by his fellow Australians after he made a food faux pas while dining on a meat pie,” reports the New York Times.
During a campaign-stop in Tasmania, Turnbull used a knife and fork as he dug into a savoury meat pie, sparking social media interest into his dining habits.
“Mr. Turnbull’s maneuver, seen by some as an upper-crust approach to a simple (but revered) meal, set off debate on social media sites, with some wondering why the prime minister hadn’t taken a more direct approach. Before long, it had given birth to a new hashtag: #piegate.”
It’s fair to say this image of our PM tackling a meat pie with cutlery has triggered a sense of shock as profound as what Turnbull himself might feel if he, say, saw someone polishing off a Premier cru with a straw, writes @James_Jeffrey #auspol https://t.co/TGevjK5wKB pic.twitter.com/46U3kDeW1r
— The Australian (@australian) July 27, 2018
“How best to eat the beloved staple became an immediate topic of conversation, with many reacting in what can only be described as horror that someone would choose to use a knife and fork to eat a meat pie, which is more commonly handled with one’s hands.”
Ben. The Prime Minister of AUSTRALIA should not be photographed eating a pie with a knife and fork. What the HELL is wrong with you. Let alone on his own offical Instagram account *makes Sign of the cross*
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) July 26, 2018
“Fake news” in Egypt
“Donald Trump’s cries of “fake news” may be well received by the US president’s supporters, but in Egypt the phrase is now a powerful tool of government repression,” reports the Guardian. Egypt’s parliament has passed a new media law criminalising the spread of “false news” for anyone with more than 5,000 followers on social media.
“The country’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, recently said the government faced ‘21,000 false rumours in three months’”, warning that it is spreading instability. The new law targets journalists and bloggers, and is a way to stifle dissent. In the last few months, at least eight journalists and bloggers have been arrested after being accused of spreading fake news.
The new legislation does not give a clear definition of what “fake news” is, but it allows for the blocking of websites which publish offending material. Egypt ranks 161 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.
What North Korea’s gesture means
On Friday, North Korea returned the remains of US troops killed in the Korean War, following through on a promise North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un made to Donald Trump during their summit in June.
“North Korea’s return of what it says are the remains of 55 American soldiers killed during the Korean War is, as President Donald Trump has noted, most meaningful for the families of the fallen,” writes Uri Friedman in The Atlantic. “More broadly, however, it is a small but significant step in redressing the roots of why the United States and North Korea deeply distrust each other—a war that never really ended.”
“Returning remains isn’t wholly unrelated to the denuclearization process either,” Friedman writes. “To begin with, as the White House hinted in announcing the repatriation of some remains on Friday, the next phase could involve U.S. authorities joining North Korean authorities in North Korea to search for the remains of U.S. soldiers that have yet to be found.”
“What the U.S. government is doing at the moment is not denuclearizing North Korea, but probing whether North Korea will denuclearize,” he writes. And this return of soldiers’ remains is “one test among many to come”.
Spies in Silicon Valley
There’s a “full-on epidemic of espionage on the West Coast” of the United States of America right now, writes Zach Dorfman in Politico. Foreign spies have been showing up in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, where the primary focus isn’t on political intelligence or diplomatic secrets, but trade secrets and technology.
Political espionage does also take place in Silicon Valley. “China, for example, is certainly out to steal U.S. technology secrets, noted former intelligence officials, but it also is heavily invested in traditional political intelligence gathering, influence and perception-management operations in California.”
Russia too, has been involved. “As the Bay Area transformed itself into a tech hub, Russia adapted its efforts accordingly, with Russian spies increasingly focused on obtaining information on valuable, sensitive or potentially duel-use technologies — those with both civilian and military applications — being developed or financed by companies or venture-capital firms based in the region.”
“But spies will never leave Silicon Valley. As the region’s global clout grows, so will its magnet-like attraction for the world’s spooks. As one former U.S. intelligence official put it, spies are pulled toward the Bay Area “like moths to the light”. And the region will help define the struggle for global preeminence — especially between the United States and China — for decades to come,” Dorfman concludes.
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