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IN TODAYβS EDITION
1οΈβ£ Mercenaries are still a thing |
2οΈβ£ Flag of the day |
3οΈβ£ Your Friday quiz |
Hi Intriguer. There are so many ways to learn a language these days. The champagne option is, of course, to go and live in the country and soak it right up.
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Then thereβs the LaCroix option, which involves using ChatGPTβs conversation mode as a personal AI tutor whoβll listen to your rusty mandarin then verbally offer corrections when you confuse your ε₯½η¨ with your ζη¨ (lol, total rookie error amirite?).
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But today, dear Intriguer, I present to you the Big Gulp option, in three easy steps: first, think of a trashy TV show you love but feel guilty watching and would never admit in front of 110,000 people reading your daily geopolitics briefing that youβre secretly a fan. For me, itβs the Netflix reality dating show, Love is Blind.
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Second, check if theyβve launched versions in other countries, and you might see that yep, thereβs now a Love is Blind in Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, and the UAE. Then third, slap on some captions, and next thing you know, youβre not only completely invested in whether Willy will be able to confront his fear of commitment and truly build a future with Francesca. Youβll also be practising your Spanish.
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Now, letβs talk about mercenaries.
THE HEADLINES
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Japanese nuclear NGO wins 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Japan Confederation of A-Bomb and H-Bomb Sufferersβ Organisations β commonly known as Hidankyo β has just received the accolade βfor its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.β
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22 reported dead after Israeli strikes on central Beirut.
The strikes, the second bout targeting central Beirut in as many weeks, hit near the French embassy and the National Museum. Initial word is the target (a Hezbollah official) evaded the assassination attempt. Meanwhile, Italy has summoned the Israeli ambassador after the UN said Israeli forces fired a tank shell at a UN peacekeeping facility in southern Lebanon, injuring two. Italy is one of 50 countries contributing to the 10,000-strong UN mission in the area, which has been running since 1978.
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A βwhatever it takesβ moment for China?
China-watchers and investors alike will be glued to their screens tomorrow (Saturday), when the countryβs finance minister is due to give a highly-anticipated briefing. Reuters reported last month that Beijing was planning new stimulus to the tune of 2 trillion yuan ($284B), though some question whether even that would be enough to turn Chinaβs economy around.
Gunmen kill 20 in Pakistan coal mines.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, it occurred in Pakistanβs restive Balochistan province, home to a long-running secessionist movement (which we just covered on Tuesday).
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China detains four employees of Taiwanβs iPhone-maker.
Authorities in China have apprehended four Foxconn workers in circumstances Taiwan is describing as βstrangeβ. The employees were reportedly taken in on vague “breach of trust” charges, and it could be a case of more pressure from the mainland, which claims Taiwan as its own.
TOP STORY
Mercenaries are still a thing
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Earlier this week, a Russian court sentenced US citizen Stephen Hubbard to nearly seven years in prison on mercenary charges.Β
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The court alleges Hubbard signed a contract with a territorial defence unit after moving to Ukraine in 2014, and earned around $1,000/month to fight with Ukrainian troops defending against Russia. He was then detained in April 2022.
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Hubbardβs story, coupled with reports North Korea could be sending its citizens to help Russia invade Ukraine, got us thinking about how foreign citizens increasingly end up fighting in conflicts thousands of miles away.Β
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Why? There are as many reasons as there are combatants, but some of the most common explanations include:Β
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Cash – The starting salary for a junior burger in (for example) the French Foreign Legion is around $1700 per month (net), while elite contractors in combat zones can earn upwards of $25k per month.
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Creed – Some foreigners identify so deeply with a cause, they just pack their bags and head on over, though these decisions can sometimes be shaped by propaganda, radicalisation, and even deceit (eg, various folks from Cuba, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Somalia have been duped into joining Russiaβs invasion).
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And citizenship – Countries struggling to hit their military recruitment goals sometimes offer fast-tracked citizenship for folks willing to enlist – weβre talking not only about wartime economies like Ukraine and Russia, but also places like Australia.
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Anyway, while weβre on the topic, here are four stories you might notβve heard before:
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Simon Mann π¬π§
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Heβs a former officer in Britainβs elite Special Air Service who, after the first Gulf War, tried his luck in the oil and diamond industry before becoming a mercenary for the Angolan government, which was fighting a rival faction in its own civil war at the time.
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Mann then went on to co-found his own mercenary company, Sandline International, which rose to infamy after it emerged on the other side of the world in Papua New Guinea, where the government had contracted it to help quell a secessionist movement.
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But things somehow got even more intriguing in 2004, when Mann and 66 others were arrested during a stopover in Zimbabwe. Authorities accused them of being en route to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea. The son of Margaret Thatcher even pleaded guilty (under a plea deal) to helping finance the operation.
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In the end, the Zimbabweans sentenced Mann to prison before extraditing him in 2007 to face charges in Equatorial Guinea, where a court sentenced him to another 34 years behind bars – he got a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds two years later.
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And yes, he obviously went on to write it all down in an autobiography.
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Duberney Capador π¨π΄
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Capador joined Colombiaβs special forces once he turned 18, then spent the next two decades fighting against rebel guerrillas in the countryβs south.
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But then an intriguing job offer apparently emerged in 2019 to work for a Miami-based security firm known as βCTU Securityβ – they said they were putting together a 400-man platoon to protect the political elite of an unknown country for $3k each per month.
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A couple of years later, Capador and several other compatriots touched down in Haiti where they awaited further details of their assignment. Then on July 7 2021, he and his group attacked the home of President Moise, killing the president and injuring the first lady.
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Itβs all shrouded in mystery, but leaked WhatsApp messagesΒ suggest Capador and others then became trapped when their plot to install a former judge as president didnβt pan out. Rather, police ended up killing Capador and three others, while arresting another 20 who are still being prosecuted. The former first lady has even been listed as a suspect.
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Samuel Wesley Hall πΊπΈΒ
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A former Olympic silver medallist diver and member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Sam Hall became a self-described βvolunteer counterterroristβ, travelling to foreign countries to back anti-communist groups like the Contras.Β
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While some of his stories sound a tad far-fetched, he once described parachuting into Angola to rescue captured Canadians, and training Latin American groups in guerrilla warfare, before being apprehended in Nicaragua in 1986 on suspicions of being a spy.Β
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Hall later claimed he was conducting reconnaissance for a privately financed group called the Phoenix Battalion, which had been battling the Sandinista rebels who ultimately seized power. The then (and current, lol) Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega ended up releasing Hall within two months, and Hall passed away decades later in Florida in 2014.
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Eduardo RΓ³zsa-FloresΒ π§π΄/ππΊΒ
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Working for Spanish/Catalan newspaper βLa Vanguardiaβ and the Spanish BBC service, RΓ³zsa-Flores was covering the Balkans War in Yugoslavia when he suddenly swapped out his mic for a rifle to fight for Croatian independence.
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He then went on to lead the movementβs 300-strong foreign legion, faced allegations of human rights abuses, and a decade later, starred in a movie based on his own life, which ended up winning gold at Hungaryβs film festival.
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But then in 2009 on the opposite side of the world, Bolivian police conducted a deadly raid on a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz. And who should be found among the fallen? None other than RΓ³zsa-Flores, of course. Authorities claimed he was part of a plot to overthrow President Evo Morales, though this remains contested.
INTRIGUEβS TAKE
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As tech blurs borders, weβre seeing more and more local citizens getting captivated by distant causes, then heading off in pursuit of heroism, infamy, or just cold hard cash.
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But from the perspective of ex-diplomats like us, these kinds of stories are mostly just nightmare scenarios. Local officials inevitably accuse you and your home government of somehow being involved in the plot. Many then use these captives as a bargaining chip on other issues, or just as an excuse to make life difficult.
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And while the sentences, court cases, and negotiations all play out, youβve still got to afford these compatriots their consular rights, which typically means going and visiting them in some distant jail every 12 weeks to ensure theyβve got adequate access to double-ply toilet paper, organic toothpaste, and the last few editions of Us Weekly. That or making sure they get a meal each day.
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Become a diplomat, they said. See the world, they said.
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Also worth noting:
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A 1989 UN treaty prohibits states from recruiting, using, financing and training mercenaries.
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Another story now playing out: just last month, a court in Congo DRC handed down the death penalty for 37 defendants involved in an attempted coup in May. Six of them are foreigners from the US, UK, Belgium and Canada.
MEANWHILE, ELSEWHEREβ¦
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π°π¬Β Kyrgyzstan: Press freedom advocates were alarmed yesterday (Thursday) when a Kyrgyz court handed two journalists prison sentences and two others probation for βinciting unrestβ. The journalists were accused of publishing stories which called for protests, a charge they denied.Β
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π·πΊΒ Russia: President Putin has signed a decree withdrawing his ambassador from the US, though without naming a successor. Anatoly Antonov, who is under Western sanctions for Russiaβs invasion of Ukraine, had hinted in July that his posting (held since 2017) was coming to an end.
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π²πΎΒ Malaysia: Malaysia could now reach βhigh-income nation statusβ as soon as 2028, according to the World Bank, placing it ahead of every other Southeast Asian country apart from Singapore. A Bank official said that, while Malaysiaβs economy is in a good place, it needs to unwind subsidies and tackle underemployment to maintain the momentum.
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π²πΆΒ Martinique: The French island in the Caribbean has experienced a wave of protests over high food prices in recent weeks, but the marches turned violent on Wednesday evening with looting and police clashes. While the immediate official response has been to ban protests and impose a curfew, protestors want authorities to align prices with mainland France (40% cheaper).
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πΈπ¦Β Saudi Arabia: The Saudis have narrowly failed to win a seat on the UN Human Rights Council after a secret ballot at the General Assembly saw smaller rivals like the Marshall Islands nab a seat instead. Saudi Arabia had already tried and failed to win a seat back in 2020, but civil society groups continue to campaign against the Gulf kingdom due to its human rights record.
EXTRA INTRIGUE
Some weekend recommendations from Team IntrigueΒ
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Read: Learn about the battle to scale up microbe farms that can turn carbon monoxide into biofuel.
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Listen: Hear from the writer who once claimed that βthe Metaverse will revolutionize everythingβ, and why heβs still a true believer in the spatial internet today.
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Watch:Β If youβd rather get your reality TV fix in English, Love is Blind DCΒ premiered last week, sending Washington into a frenzy as the political town watches romance unfold (and wince at just how small this capital feels at times).
FLAG OF THE DAY
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What – and we cannot stress this enough – is going on with this flag?
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The medieval tree-legged fidget spinner emblem you see above belongs to the Isle of Man, a tiny, self-governing British Crown Dependency located between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Technically called a βtriskelionβ, the symbol dates back to Greek antiquity but its exact link to the Isle of Man remains obscure β it appears to stem from the Scottish takeover of the island back in 1265.
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Soβ¦ whatβs it even mean? Are the islandβs residents eternally prepared to hit leg day at the gym. Are they ready at a momentβs notice for a joust, jaunt, jig, or journey?
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The answer might lie in the territoryβs Latin motto dating back to at least 1668: βQuocunque Jeceris Stabitβ, or βWherever you throw it, it will standβ.
Extra fun fact: long-time Intriguers will recall the Sicilian flag looks very similar, though its own tri-legged emblem appears without armour.
FRIDAY QUIZ
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Today the UN celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child.Β
1) What is the enrollment rate for girls in primary and secondary schools, worldwide? |
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2) How many girls become child brides every year? |
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3) Which country has the highest ratio of women to men? |
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