The Laotian Las Vegas
September 28th, 2024
Via Airmail, commentary on one reporter’s weekend in the Laotian Las Vegas, where an opulent casino lies at the heart of a vast human-, drug-, and wildlife-trafficking operation: In July, two friends and I arrived at an immigration checkpoint in the Thai port of Chiang Saen, duffel bags in tow. We were going to the […]
Read more »A Strategic Win: Pakistan-Turkmenistan Gwadar Deal Redefines Regional Trade
September 28th, 2024
Via Eurasia Review, commentary on how the Pakistan-Turkmenistan Gwadar deal will redefines regional trade: As global power dynamics shift, Pakistan stands at the forefront of a new geopolitical landscape, solidifying its role as a regional powerhouse with the upcoming signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkmenistan for access to Gwadar Port. This development, […]
Read more »China and US Compete for Control to Transport African Critical Minerals
September 27th, 2024
Via The Africa Report, a look at the growing competition between China and US for control to transport African critical minerals: What’s really behind China’s $1bn renovation of the Tazara railway? On 4 September – on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing – Tanzania, Zambia and China signed an agreement to modernise the bi-national […]
Read more »China’s Zijin Wants Its Africa Copper Mine to Rival the World’s Biggest
September 27th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, a report on Zijin’s ambitious African copper mine plans: Chinese miner targets further expansion at JV with Ivanhoe Ramp-up would see Kamoa-Kakula vie with BHP’s Escondida China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. is considering an expansion of its jointly-owned copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo that would place it among the world’s biggest single […]
Read more »Serbia Secures Winter Gas Supply and Expands Green Energy Cooperation with Azerbaijan
September 27th, 2024
Via CE Energy News, an article on Serbia’s growing energy cooperation with Azerbaijan: Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka ?edovi? Handanovi?, announced that the country will have secure access to about one million cubic metres of gas from Azerbaijan this winter, enhancing Serbia’s energy security. After a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, […]
Read more »Building BRICS: What Erdogan’s Geopolitical Gamble Could Mean For The West
September 27th, 2024
Via European Council on Foreign Relations, commentary on Turkey’s intention to apply for BRICS membership. If successful, it would be the bloc’s only NATO member – but the mere prospect of joining could open the door to Turkey’s re-engagement with the West: Given the rhetoric and actions of Ankara over the last decade, it is […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.