politicodiary

China isn’t stopping at South East Asian control only; it has its eye of Africa too. The fossil rich continent is a part of the Chinese strategy of global control.   The media messaging is of economic development, something the continent has been struggling for. But the real reason remains political in nature. In the past, China has used the money lending tactic to control countries. It has handsomely lent economic loans as a gesture of good trade relations; only to muscle twist such nations into towing its line. It has tried similar strategy at the time of Covid-19 vaccine shortages when smaller South east Asian nations were looking for support in the form of subsidized vaccines or free doses too.   The new global messaging is that China proclaims itself to be the leader of "South-South cooperation” as President Xi Jinping claims countries of the economic “South” are bound to a “community of common destiny”. It’s a new play on words to gain control, sooner or later. C...

In a bizarre manner, the Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who is in a power-sharing agreement to take over as Prime Minister from incumbent Naftali Bennett in two years, has type casted some human rights organisations as terrorist groups. Much as under Benjamin Netanyahu, Gantz’s stance speaks of ill will to support the growth and emancipation of Palestinians. It is worth noting that most of these organisations are working for the upliftment of Palestinian people and are US funded. Post such designation last week, Israel administration has in its power to freeze the funds, seize assets, close offices, question, arrest or withhold employees without interim notice, warning or permission. In it therefore no surprise that Congresswoman Betty McCollum, chair of the US House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, has now introduced a resolution condemning Israeli authorities for labeling the six human rights organizations as “terrorist groups.” Without mincing her words, she has called Gantz mo...

Somalian herders have never seen a drought like the one last year and the year before that. It has killed their herds of sheep, goat and even camels. There is no food, no water and literally no vegetation left for their survival Thousands of such herders are now on the move to look for safe haven, into cities which are not even equip to receive them. Earlier war torn, today their battle is with environmental conditions that have made survival not just difficult but impossible. Fierce and frequent droughts and floods have uprooted more than three million Somalis since 2016, according to UNHCR data that tracks internal displacement by cause. Thousands are moving from various pockets in Somalia and moving into the outskirts of cities nearby, creating pockets of migrant population sitting in shanties and makeshift settlements. These cities are already bursting on the seams with no hope to sustain the Somalian herding migrants. Pastoral communities used to assign names to the great drough...

  United Nations recognized the wrong doing to the indigenous groups living in Paraguay Commercial farming has been polluting the traditional farming lands of indigenous people’s traditional lands grossly violating their rights and their sense of “home”, the UN Human Rights Committee said in a landmark ruling recently. The United Nations has now admitted that it is important to understand that for indigenous people, “home” should be understood in the context of their special relationship with their territories, including their livestock, crops and way of life. This also means that, “for indigenous peoples, their lands represent their home, culture and community. Serious environmental damages have severe impacts on indigenous people’s family life, tradition, identity and even lead to the disappearance of their community. It dramatically harms the existence of the culture of the group as a whole,” said Committee member Hélène Tigroudja.  The committee comprises 18...

Increasing spree of kidnappings are making Haitis and other civilians feel most unsafe in western hemisphere's poorest nation Kidnapping continues to be the easiest way of getting financial assistance in Haiti, again. In a recent incident, as many as 17 American Christian missionaries and their families, including children were reportedly kidnapped. The incident happened in Port-ua-Prince, capital of Haiti and has been carried out by a local armed gang. The victims comprise of children and adults together. The passengers on a bus from a visit to an orphanage were kidnapped while they were on their way to the airport. Haiti has been constantly troubled by internal strife and gang wars, in which civilians have been caught invariably. A surge in gang violence has displaced thousands and hampered economic activity in the poorest country in the Americas. Violence spiralled after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July and an earthquake in August that killed over 2,000 peop...

  Change of guard has not brought good news for Afghanistan.... In happy days, when kids weren't suffering from malnutrition  Afghanistan has no aid to support its hospitals. Its accounts have been frozen, creating another huge humanitarian catastrophe; the first one of the century being witnessed in Yemen. What this has resulted in is dried out hospital facilities and rising malnutrition amongst children. Food and supplies are scarce in Afghanistan and the way Taliban is moving around trying to assert its mad power, it isn’t too bothered about the welfare of its people either.   It is now common knowledge that since the Taliban’s military took over in August, Afghanistan has been thrown into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis as almost $10 billion in bank funds – most of them private assets – remain frozen and the majority of aid has been put on hold.   As the military style governance now handles their own internal power fights, it is oblivious to the ...

Geopolitical reasons are huge determiners of how chemistry between nations remains. The recent unpleasantness between France and Algeria is an example of this.... In a strange turn of events Algeria has banned the military presence of French planes on its airstrip due to an ongoing fight between the nations. "This morning, while filing flight plans for two of our planes, we learned that the Algerians were closing the overflight of their territory to all French military planes," Colonel Pascal Ianni, spokesman for the French military, said to the media. It seems the French president's comment about Algerian sovereignty did not go very well with the Algerians. Emmanuel Macron had said that it seems strange that the Algerian nation came into existence before the French colonisation. It was definitely a derogatory statement that could have hurt anyone's sentiments.  While this has happened, French operations in the Sahel region go unbated. The second act of defiance is wh...