🌍 UN peacekeepers under pressure in Lebanon

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Hi Intriguer. With the world the way it is, I did the sensible thing over the weekend and re-watched Cool Runnings.

And you know what? It’s got a great line I’d forgotten, from the coach of the first Jamaican bobsled team (played by the late John Candy): “A gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you’re not enough without one, you’ll never be enough with one.”

So as you fire up for the week, maybe do what John Candy says, and try to enjoy the journey.

Now, let’s get you the latest on the beleaguered UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

PS – Don’t miss our next in-person event, presented by our friends at Samsung! It’s in DC at 6pm on Thursday, October 24. Register here!

THE HEADLINES

China runs military drills around Taiwan. 
The Taiwanese military remains on high alert as China surrounds the democratic island with war games involving its army, navy, air force, and rocket force. Beijing has called the drills a “stern warning” against “separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces”. It all comes just days after Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, gave a carefully worded speech in which he reiterated that Taiwan is “not subordinate” to China.

Hezbollah attacks Israeli base.
A drone attack on a military base near Haifa left four Israeli soldiers dead on Sunday. Meanwhile, Lebanese health authorities say Israeli strikes left 51 people dead on Sunday (Israel says it hit Hezbollah sites), while an Israeli strike on a Gaza school building being used as a shelter reportedly killed 15 more (Israel is yet to comment). And US President Joe Biden has now approved the deployment of an advanced ‘THAAD’ missile defence system to Israel, along with 100 US troops to operate it.

China’s stocks turn cautiously optimistic (again). 
A key market index was up nearly 2% earlier today (Monday) after China’s finance ministry announced it was planning to recapitalise local governments and state banks, plus buy unsold property, as part of its efforts to revive the economy.

North Korea to destroy roads connecting to South.
Pyongyang is now reportedly planning to blow up roads connecting the two Koreas as tensions on the peninsula continue to simmer. Last week, North Korea warned it would “completely separate” its southern neighbour.

SpaceX flexes new booster manoeuvre.
Following the fifth launch of its massive Starship vehicle, SpaceX engineers managed to return the first-stage booster (aptly named Super Heavy) back to its launch tower with a little help from some giant ‘chopstick’ arms – a world first.

TOP STORY

INTRIGUE’S TAKE

There are of course fair questions around Unifil’s performance since 2006, but these kinds of peacekeeping woes aren’t new, and they often go far beyond specific missions. Rather, they often reflect the international community’s…

• Bold aims (“just go and demilitarise southern Lebanon”)

• Limited resources (“to do that, here’s a force much smaller than Hezbollah”), and

• Clipped wings (“oh, and here’s a bunch of rules around when you can and can’t use the few weapons we gave you”).

Where does that mixed messaging come from? All of us. It’s the result of an international community that collectively says it wants peace, but disagrees on how that should look, and individually doesn’t want to risk getting pulled into yet another distant strategic quagmire in the process. So peace remains perpetually over the horizon, while this ‘interim’ UN peacekeeping mission just gets more and more permanent.

Also worth noting:

• The UN Security Council just renewed Unifil’s mandate for another year.

• UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has appeared before the UN Security Council, criticising both Hezbollah and Israeli forces for establishing “military installations in the vicinity of UN positions.”

• The largest contributors of Unifil troops are Indonesia (1,231), Italy (1,068), and India (903), while Nepal, Ghana and Malaysia all have 800+ troops, and Spain, France, China each have hundreds more. Unifil is funded out of the UN peacekeeping budget, which cites the US as its top financier.

MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE…

1. 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan and the EU are due to kick off their 21st round of cooperation talks in Luxembourg today (Monday). Their ties have evolved as Russia’s influence has waned, with EU companies attracted to Kazakhstan’s oil, gas, and minerals, while Astana hopes to get easier EU visa rules for Kazakhs.

2. 🇱🇹 Lithuania: The opposition Social Democrats (SD) have taken the lead in Sunday’s elections, allowing SD to attempt forming a new coalition to lead the NATO country. SD’s party head Vilija Blinkeviciute says Lithuania’s approach to the world will remain unchanged, as voters are spooked by neighbouring Russia.

3. 🇱🇦 Laos: The US has accused Russia and China of blocking consensus over an East Asia Summit statement drafted by Southeast Asia’s main bloc, ASEAN. The draft had apparently called on countries operating in the South China Sea to abide by the relevant UN treaty, which a tribunal found does not justify China’s vast territorial claims in the region.

4. 🇲🇽 Mexico: Newly inaugurated leader Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged that by the end of her term (six years from now), the country will have its own electric vehicle called Olinia, which is Náhuatl for “movement.” It’s part of Sheinbaum’s broader plan to modernise Mexico’s industry by focusing on tech, drones, semiconductors, and beyond.

5. 🇰🇪 Kenya: Protesters in Kenya took to the streets on Friday against the government’s plan to build Kenya’s first nuclear plant in Kilifi. The proposed coastal site is home to sandy beaches and natural parks that drive eco-tourism in the area.

EXTRA INTRIGUE

🤣 Your weekly roundup of the world’s lighter news

• A town in Maine has attracted 30 couples for its annual Wife Carrying Competition, which is exactly what it sounds like (across 254m / 278 yards).

• A UK farm has created a massive pumpkin mosaic in the shape of Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton.

• Australian airline Qantas has apologised after a technical glitch led to its crew playing a mature-rated film (Daddio) to all passengers on a flight to Tokyo.

• On the topic of Australia, a fireball has lit up parts of the country, with some astrophysicists suggesting it was a meteor.

• And a speed camera has caught a driver wearing a Cookie Monster costume.

FAREWELL OF THE DAY

When an ambassador is about to wrap up their posting, they’ll often pen what’s essentially a goodbye note reflecting on their time in the host country. And it’s often pretty blunt, because you’re skipping town and only your HQ can read it, so why not?

But the example pictured above, from the British ambassador to Thailand in 1967, was actually so incendiary, it managed to offend Thailand 42 years later.

Interestingly, however, that’s not why the Brits put an end to the practice in 2006. Rather, it was because a British ambassador did the one thing worse than offending other countries: offending your own boss.

In a leaked note from 2006, the British ambassador to Italy lamented that the UK’s foreign ministry was becoming too bureaucratic: “Can it be that in wading through the plethora of business plans, capability reviews, skills audits, zero-based reviews and other excrescences of the management age, we have indeed forgotten what diplomacy is all about?” That’s what the kids call a mic-drop.

DAILY POLL

Last Thursday’s poll: Do you think Google should be split up?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🔨 Yes, it’s got too much power (60%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🙅 No, it’ll have unintended consequences (36%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!) (4%)

Your two cents:

• 🔨 R.L: “Splitting it up could be one option, but should then be applied to other firms as well (ie. Apple, Amazon).”

• 🙅 N.L: “Punishing a successful company for being too big is a popular decision with far-reaching consequences. There’s still plenty of space for disruption in the tech industry.”

•  🔨 J.M: “It all started when they dropped the ‘Don’t be evil’ tagline. Since then the unofficial motto has been ‘don’t get caught being evil’.”

• ✍️ D.L: “Google is far more integrated into important business and government entities than can easily be known. The unintended consequences could be catastrophic.”