Via Geo Politics in South Asia and MENA, a report on Chinese investment in Iraq: In recent years, Iraq has become one of the leading destinations for Chinese investments in the Middle East and a crucial link in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). To capitalize on its geostrategic location and central position within the […]
Read more »Via The Diplomat, a report on North Korea’s food markets: Recently there have been reports from inside North Korea that a ban on the sale of rice and corn has been implemented in some parts of the country. News of the ban, which took effect in January, emerged as the North Korean government has moved […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Economist, a look at how Africa’s urbanization is making lives better, but not by as much as it could: In 2012, when Moses Aloo inherited a plot from his grandfather, his neighbourhood in Kisumu, western Kenya, had plenty of farmland. But over the past decade, as Kisumu has grown, Nyamasaria has become […]
Read more »Via Rest of World, a detailed look at Flipkart – Walmart’s biggest acquisition – India’s e-commerce leader: In October 2016, employees at Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce company, prepared for its upcoming Big Billion Days Sale as if it were a battle. Conference rooms in the company’s Bengaluru headquarters were renamed “war rooms.” Employees stayed overnight […]
Read more »Via Quartz, a report on Turkmenistan’s strongman leader, who has already penned a song dedicated to his favorite horse, is now building a city in his own name: State officials announced today (March 29) that Turkmenistan will spend close to $5 billion to build a new city called Arkadag, or “protector,” in honor of its […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Economist, an article on US efforts to gain more control over African minerals: Mining indaba, Africa’s largest mining conference, is an anthropologist’s dream. There are the corporate chief executives: alpha males keen to cut big deals for big rocks. There are the engineers staffing stands in bright corporate attire, resembling darts teams […]
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