Can Afghanistan’s Underground “Sneakernet” Survive the Taliban?
November 27th, 2021
Via MIT’s Technology Review, an article on how a once-thriving network of merchants selling digital content to people without internet connections is struggling under Taliban rule: When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August, Mohammad Yasin had to make some difficult decisions very quickly. As the country reeled from the shock of the insurgent takeover, […]
Read more »Afghan Economy Nears Collapse as Pressure Builds to Ease U.S. Sanctions
November 27th, 2021
Courtesy of the New York Times, a report on how Afghanistan’s economy has crashed since the Taliban seized power, plunging the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis: Racing down the cratered highways at dawn, Mohammad Rasool knew his 9-year-old daughter was running out of time. She had been battling pneumonia for two weeks […]
Read more »Will China Save The Afghan Economy?
November 3rd, 2021
Via The Middle East Institute, a report on Afghanistan’s future economic possibilities and China’s role therein: Afghanistan’s economy is collapsing. The Taliban’s forceful seizure of power led to a curtailment of almost all foreign aid, a devastating development for a nation overwhelmingly dependent on international assistance. Widespread drought, pervasive corruption, the perennially inadequate use of […]
Read more »Uzbekistan To Discuss Construction of Trans-Afghan Railway With Taliban
October 8th, 2021
Via The Frontier Post, an article on the exploration of trans-Afghan railway: Uzbekistan and the Taliban movement (recognized as terrorist and banned in many countries) will soon hold talks in the Uzbek city of Termez on the construction of the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway. This was reported by the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry following […]
Read more »Afghanistan: No Treasure Trove For China
October 4th, 2021
Via Foreign Policy, an article on Afghanistan’s mineral reserves: In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a popular narrative has emerged that paints the war-torn country as a geopolitical prize ripe for China to take. According to this logic, Beijing is greedily eying Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth, and Chinese policymakers are chomping at […]
Read more »Why is the TAPI Gas Pipeline So Important to Turkmenistan?
September 26th, 2021
Via New Eastern Outlook, an article on the importance of TAPI to Turkmenistan: Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov strictly adheres to the policy of his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov. The present leader of the country, who bears the official title of Arkadag, translated as patron from the Turkmen language, does his best to ensure that the state […]
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.