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In Issue #378, I'm losing patience with Portugal's President, who keeps apologizing for slavery but won't do anything concrete, and I'm reading a damning report by a think tank in Sweden which says, 'everybody is buying weapons nowadays". I also want us to talk about disability in Afghanistan (did you know that the country has one of the largest populations per capita of persons with disabilities in the world?) and how it is impacting access to education there, the wetlands of Kerala that are disappearing, a Pakistani book on grief that is also about politics, a new documentary about the Havana Syndrome (we have new evidence!), and why Da Vinci might be feeling embarrassed today if he were alive. Plus, a bunch of good news from Malawi, Japan, Mexico, and many more.
Enjoy reading, and see you next week in your inbox!
Sham
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🔍 Estimated reading time: 10 min 🔍
You have access to all of my sources by clicking on what's underlined.
Big shout-out to Wikimedia Commons for the helpful maps.
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Portugal keeps apologizing for slavery and other colonial-era crimes. 'It's all talk, no walk', say critics
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What happened
Portugal's President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dropped a bombshell when he said that Portugal needs to "pay the costs" of slavery and other colonial-era crimes. This sparked a buzz: Is Portugal actually ready to have this tough conversation?
Why this matters
Portugal has deep roots in the slave trade, deeper than any other European country. Over 400 years, they shipped nearly 6 million Africans across the Atlantic. Those who survived were enslaved and put to work in the Americas, mostly Brazil, making money for Portuguese institutions. There's been a push to address this, but it's been a rocky road for Portugal.
Tell me more
President Rebelo de Sousa also said that Portugal "takes full responsibility" for the wrongs of the past and that those crimes, including colonial massacres, had "costs". "We have to pay the costs," he said. "Are there actions that were not punished and those responsible were not arrested? Are there goods that were looted and not returned? Let’s see how we can repair this." He’s not new to this talk; he suggested an apology for the transatlantic slave trade just last year.
Okay. So, what's his plan?
That's the million-dollar question. There aren't any specific plans or a solid apology yet. Notably, he seems to bring this up more to international crowds. Paula Cardoso, who runs Afrolink, thinks the real issue is at home, where schools still paint Portugal as a benign colonizer, ignoring the harsh realities.
Wait... he doesn't mean it?
It seems like there's a lot of talk but not enough action. According to Cardoso, Portugal isn't even discussing or accepting its history properly. She argues for real reparations and addressing the ongoing racism that stems from that era. She points out that Portugal doesn't even gather data on ethnicity, which complicates addressing these issues.
How is the rest of Europe handling this?
In total, between the 15th and 19th centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped into slavery and forcibly transported long distances by mainly European ships and merchants. There's a growing awareness for this debate on accountability and reparations. However, the wider European response to slavery and colonialism is a mixed bag. The recent UN push has added weight to the debate on reparations. For example, the Netherlands apologized for its role in slavery in December 2022 (before, they were only 'deeply regretful') but decided against direct compensation, choosing instead to fund educational and social initiatives (some €200 million; if you're struggling with how much that actually is, well, Kylie Jenner once partied on a superyacht worth that much). The Dutch government is now facing legal claims from individuals following its official apology for slavery. Meanwhile, Germany has faced criticism for not including certain ethnic minorities in its reparation talks (they want to pay Namibia up to €1.3 billion over 30 years). It’s clear that Europe is still grappling with how to properly address these historical wrongs.
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For the first time in 60 years, government military spending increased in all five geographical regions, says report
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What happened
Global military spending just hit a record US$2440 billion, seeing the biggest increase in over a decade, says a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Why this matters
On a very basic level: More money on arms could mean less for things like schools and hospitals, impacting us all.
Tell me more
We're talking a 6.8% rise in spending from 2022 to 2023, the steepest climb since 2009. Every part of the world increased their military budgets, a first in 60 years of records by SIPRI. Nan Tian from SIPRI thinks this massive spending could accidentally spark conflicts. "The unprecedented rise in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security. States are prioritizing military strength, but they risk an action-reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape." In other words, everybody's looking for or at least anticipating trouble.
Who are the largest spenders?
The US (37%) and China (12%) are leading the pack, making up about half of the world’s total military spending. The US is dropping more cash on tech and new weapons to stay ahead, especially thinking about future conflicts with other big military nations. Meanwhile, China isn’t far behind and continues to push its military budget up, although the biggest growth periods were in the 1990s and between 2003 and 2014. Russia, India, Saudi Arabia and the UK take second place. Russia's spending has shot up with its ongoing war in Ukraine. India is focusing on building its military gear domestically amidst regional tensions. Saudi Arabia, riding the wave of high oil prices, is also ramping up its military budget, so does Israel due to its war in Gaza as well as Turkey and Iran. Ukraine became the world’s eighth-biggest military spender in 2023 (still only equivalent to 59% of Russia’s military spending that year).
Other notable spenders?
Over in Central America and the Caribbean, countries are upping their military spending to combat rising 'gang violence' (I'm having some trouble with this term. I know many journalists use it, but I've also read some analysts' take on it, like that of Jean Eddy Saint Paul in the Haitian context, that it is a very imperfect term to describe a very complex reality'). The Dominican Republic and Mexico are also investing more in their forces to tackle these armed groups in neighboring Haiti (I like this term better because it is less... well, government-perspective-y). In Africa, it was the Democratic Republic of the Congo (+105%!) and South Sudan (+78%!) who have seen the largest jumps in military spending in 2023; they're more concerned with violence within their borders.
What do I do with this information?
When we hear about global military spending hitting a record high, it's not just about countries stocking up on weapons. This news touches on a bunch of bigger issues and raises some key questions: How does splurging on the military affect funding for schools, hospitals, and roads? And what's the bigger picture for our economy if we keep up this spending spree? Does throwing money at the military make the world a safer place, or does it just ratchet up the tension and lead to more arms races? How does having a big military budget change the way countries treat each other? Does it make them bullies or protectors, and how does it shape their relationships? What's the environmental cost of all this military stuff, from manufacturing to moving armies around? How does spending a chunk of the national budget on the military affect things like healthcare, education, and public trust back home? Just some questions that I think of when I read this news.
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Canada: Canada's Aamjiwnaang First Nation declared a state of emergency because of all harmful chemicals that were/are released from INEOS Styrolution's plastic manufacturing plant, the Indigenous group said. (Reuters)
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Guatemala: 20 Guatemalan prison guards will stand trial. They are accused of smuggling minors into jails to be sexually abused by imprisoned gang members. (philstar)
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Kenya: As of Saturday, 76 people in Kenya have died because of flooding since March. It might get even worse. (The Guardian)
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Iraq: Iraq hanged 11 people sentenced to death on terrorism charges. (Reuters)
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Ukraine: A court in Ukraine ordered the arrest of agriculture minister Mykola Solskyi. He's accused of illegal acquisition of land worth US$7 million. (Reuters)
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Haiti: Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally resigned, and a new provisional government has been sworn. (The Guardian)
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Japan: The country wants to become a key player in the global space industry, and has announced to set up a 1-trillion-yen (US$6.47 billion) fund to achieve that goal. (The Asahi Shimbun)
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South Africa: Support for South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has fallen to just over 40%, an Ipsos opinion poll showed. In a few weeks, the country will vote in a general election. If this trend continues and the ANC loses, this will be the biggest political change since the end of apartheid there. (Reuters)
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Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso has suspended the radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and the U.S-funded Voice of America (VOA) for two weeks over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report which had accused the army of extrajudicial killings. (Reuters)
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DR Congo: Democratic Republic of Congo is pushing Apple for more information about its supply chain. (Reuters)
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Malawi: The World Bank said that it was giving Malawi a US$57.6 million grant to help the country respond to the "food crisis due to El Niño conditions in the wider southern Africa region." (Reuters)
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Africa: NBA Africa announced a new startup accelerator to support early-stage startups in sports and creative industries across the continent, emphasizing the potential for growth and innovation in these sectors. (Semafor)
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Afghanistan: The Taliban government has entered its first talks with the United Nations, donors and non-governmental organizations over the impact of climate change in Afghanistan. At least, this conversation is still happening. (NDTV)
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Japan: The number of homeless people in Japan fell 8.0% this year; this is the lowest level since data began in 2003. 2,575 men, 172 women, and 73 individuals whose gender was unknown. (The Japan Times)
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Mexico: The government has created a new savings plan for people who are retired. The plan is designed to make sure that when people retire, they get a monthly amount of money equal to what they earned at their last job, up to a certain limit. The fund will start with about 40 billion Mexican pesos from unclaimed savings (savings accounts that haven't been claimed by their owners; yes, they exist). (Reuters)
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Colombia: Colombia's Chiribiquete park will receive US$1 million a year for at least 30 years. Chiribiquete, Colombia's largest national park, is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Reuters)
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Argentina: Paleontologists announced the discovery of a new medium-sized herbivorous dinosaur, which was a fast runner and lived about 90 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period in present day Patagonia. (Reuters)
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Read… "Education Leaves Disabled Behind", an article that is part of a broader series exploring changes regarding access to education in Afghanistan by Alive in Afghanistan and Afghan Witness (article). In Afghanistan, getting an education is tough for many, but it's even harder for those with disabilities. Afghanistan has a high number of disabled folks due to ongoing health challenges like polio, which remains uneradicated there. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. There are many reasons why; some of them include the many wars the country has had in the recent past. These challenges to access to education are compounded by schools that aren't built for easy access. Plus, Afghanistan is a large, mostly rural country. The tough terrain and limited healthcare in these areas also make it hard for disabled children to get the education and support they need. There are some brighter spots, though. For example, Roshan Delan (Bright Hearted) is a vocational high school for the blind in Herat City, and here, visually impaired students learn to read and write in Braille, along with studying other subjects.
Look at… this photo essay by Prasoon Kiran for The Hindu. Kerala has 44 rivers, and wetlands are a huge part of this Indian state's geography. Yet the wetlands in Kerala (and all over the world) are under severe threat; you can blame the construction industry, waste dumping and encroachment for it. "The destruction spells danger as much for humans as for other life forms, which we hardly care about given the anthropocentric focus of our imagination and development plans," writes Kiran. The key word here is 'anthropocentric', or human-centric in other words. Yes, this newsletter was created to help fight the Western-centric bias, but we all have a human bias as well; I notice it on the radio after an unusually hot weekend, people rather say 'oh, we might have to change our vacation plans in the coming years! April then will be too hot' instead of 'what are the animals going through?'. The birds of the Kakkad river in Kerala now live among garbage dumps. "This photo story is about birds we coexist with; they are all around us, even in busy cities, but we fail to notice them most of the time." Prasoon Kiran has been a photojournalist for over six years, working with newspapers and magazines. His photographs have been featured on the covers of Mathrubhumi Weekly. At present, he leads the visual department at The Malabar Journal.
Listen to… "Taha Kehar on Southasian mystery novels and capturing Karachi in literature" ( podcast episode), a conversation with Taha Kehar on Southasia Review of Books. Kehar is a journalist, author and literary critic in Karachi. His novel "No Funeral for Nazia" just came out, and it's about an " unconventional griefing party". What it's about? Six estranged friends, family members and a "mystery guest" meet up on a random night to fulfull the final request of Nazia (their friend/sister who's just died), and together they put the puzzle pieces of her life together. "No Funeral for Nazia centers on betrayal, human friction and, most importantly, the personal growth arising from the characters one-by-one confronting their personal histories and uncovering the treachery inherent in human nature. Kehar intersperses these revelations with socio-political commentary to contextualize the characters. He discusses Pakistan’s class divisions and divisive socio-ethnic conditions by drawing on past and present events and personalities of Pakistani politics," writes Samar Zia in the Asian Review of Books. Maybe a good next pick for your book club?
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Havana Syndrome evidence suggests who may be responsible for mysterious brain injuries | Imagine you're sitting in a room, and suddenly, out of nowhere, you start feeling dizzy, hearing weird noises, and get a headache that just won't quit. You can't see anything causing this, and it just comes and goes. That's kind of what happened with Havana Syndrome. This started around 2016 when some U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana, Cuba, reported feeling really strange symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and even problems with seeing and hearing properly. They didn't know what was causing it, and it seemed to happen out of the blue. People started calling it "Havana Syndrome" because that's where it was first noticed. Scientists and doctors have been scratching their heads trying to figure out what caused these symptoms. Some thought it might be a weird kind of attack with sound waves or something else, but no one has found any gadgets or machines that could have caused it. Others thought maybe it was just stress or psychological effects, but that didn't fully explain things either. This is the fourth 60 Minutes report on it and, for the first time, there’s evidence of who might be responsible.
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The famous Mona Lisa painting is "the world’s most disappointing masterpiece," according to one recent analysis of 18,000 reviews.
In an effort to make this situation less embarrassing for Da Vinci, the Renaissance painting may be moved to an underground chamber, according to a report in The Telegraph Tuesday.
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Hey, I'm Sham, the person behind this newsletter. Since 2014, I email a bunch of strangers once a week, curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and the Americas. I work under the assumption that, here in the West (I live in Berlin, Germany), we don't read or know much about the global majority, aka the rest of the world.
My goal is to help you burst your Western-centric bubble.
If you want to know more about me, visit my website or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
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