Useful updates on foreign affairs
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Foreign Affairs updates - Dated 10th September 2021
- Chinese gaming giants lose big: Firms like Tencent Holdings and Netease shed more than $60 billion of value as investor fears grew that Chinese regulators were preparing to tighten their grip dramatically on the world’s largest gaming industry. Chinese regulators summoned industry executives to instruct them to break their “solitary focus” on profit and prevent minors from becoming addicted to games. Regulators said China will slow down approvals for all new online games, and there was a freeze on approvals. Investors are already on edge because of a ten-month government campaign to rein in industries from e-commerce and ride-hailing to social media. Chinese state media cautioned investors against blindly buying Chinese stocks hoping to profit from the metaverse, a virtual shared space based on virtual technologies.
- U.N. issues Afghan warning: Almost the entire Afghan population faces a descent into poverty by mid-2022, a report from the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) has warned, as the COVID-19 pandemic, drought, and the political upheaval of the Taliban takeover all take a toll. Afghanistan’s poverty rate, already at 72 percent, is expected to increase to 97 percent ”unless a response to the country’s political and economic crises is urgently launched,” the UNDP said.
- Moscow-Minsk ties: Belarus and Russia agreed to deeper economic integration as Russian President Vladimir Putin threw Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko a lifeline of discounted natural gas and fresh loans to prop up the country’s sanctions-bitten economy. Plans for closer political union were put on hold for the time being. “We must first create an economic base, an economic foundation, in order to move forward, including on the political track,” Putin said following the meeting. Lukashenko said greater political integration is possible if “our people want it.”
- EU in Tunis: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell continued his first visit to Tunisia as he met with President Kais Saied, almost seven weeks after the Tunisian leader suspended parliament and established rule by decree. Saied has maintained his move was constitutional, while his detractors in parliament and elsewhere have called it a coup. Borrell’s visit comes a day after Reuters reported Saied’s future plans for the country, which include suspending the constitution and changing the political system to give a stronger role to the presidency.
- Biden't tough vaccine rules: U.S. President Joe Biden announced sweeping COVID-19 vaccine rules for U.S. workplaces in an effort to kickstart lagging vaccination rates as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to infect, and kill, thousands. The new regulations call for workplaces with over 100 employees to mandate vaccinations, or weekly tests, or face steep fines. The same applies to federal employees, government contractors, and those who work in facilities accepting federal health insurance. In all, the new rules cover 100 million workers. Adopting an exasperated tone while announcing the decision, Biden chastised the 30 percent of American adults who have yet to get a vaccination, including those who refuse to ever do so. “What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see? We’ve made vaccinations free, safe and convenient,” Biden said. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us.”
- Suez Canal blocked, again: History repeated itself on the Suez Canal on 9th September, as the cargo ship Coral Crystal became wedged in the channel, briefly stranding 43,000 tons of cargo and stopping traffic along the waterway. The Coral Crystal avoided the fate of the infamous Ever Given, however, as authorities were able to redirect ships around the vessel as it had gotten stuck on a two-lane stretch. The boat was soon aided by tugboats and sent on its way toward the Red Sea. Suez Canal chief Ossama Rabei, said the incident was only a “very brief grounding,” and was handled in a “professional manner.”
- EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) What is the basic logic behind China crushing its own Big Tech companies? (2) Why has America lagged behind on Covid-19 containment? What went wrong? (3) Why is Russia supporting Belarus's dictator?
#US #China #ForeignAffairs #WorldPolitics #SuezCanal #Tunisia #EU
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