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Huawei’s New Phone Shocks U.S. Officials
Global Recap
September 19, 2023 • Read in: 6 minutes
Hi Global Recap readers,
☯ Do you believe in Yin & Yang, the concept that the world is balanced by opposing energies that are interconnected?
Today, five American prisoners were freed from Iran and set foot on U.S. soil for the first time in many years. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe…
📈 Top News
🛫 Five Americans Freed in Prisoner Swap Land in U.S. After years of suffering in Iranian prisons, five U.S. citizens are finally home. They arrived in Virginia on Tuesday, following a controversial deal that involved freeing $6 billion in Iranian cash and five Iranians released from U.S. custody.
Critics are up in arms, fearing that the money will be funneled into regional chaos, while also empowering Iran to jail more Americans in Iran for more bargains. Meanwhile, the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran and issued a travel warning to its citizens.
👀 Huawei’s New Phone Shocks U.S. Officials. The U.S. Commerce Secretary was “upset” when she saw Huawei’s latest smartphone - Mate 60 Pro. It uses a “purported” 7-nanometer chip made by China’s SMIC.
Why is this shocking? The U.S. had tried to block China from accessing such advanced chips, fearing they could boost its military capabilities. But Huawei seems to have found a way around the U.S. sanctions.
"Vladimir Putin is in favor of ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible"
🇹🇷 This is what Turkish President Erdogan stated in his recent interview with PBS. He also expressed his willingness to cooperate with Moscow on energy and defense, while claiming that Russia is just as reliable as the West.
👀 Canada and India Kick Each Other Out. Canada accuses India of assassinating a Canadian Sikh activist on its soil, sparking a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats. The slain activist was part of a separatist movement called the Khalistan movement, which aims to establish an ethno-religious state called “Khalistan” in the Punjab region. Naturally, the movement is banned in India.
India denies any involvement and blames Canada for harboring “Khalistani terrorists.” But Trudeau isn’t amused by India’s alleged extra-judicial execution of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.
🚫 Germany Bans Neo-Nazi Group Hammerskins. The German government has outlawed a notorious far-right extremist organization that has its roots in the U.S. white supremacist movement. Police raided the homes of 28 suspected members across 10 states.
The group, known as Hammerskins Deutschland, was accused of spreading racism and anti-Semitism through concerts and propaganda. It is the 20th right-wing extremist group to be banned in Germany
✍️ In-Depth
Armenia, Azerbaijan
War Looms Over Nagorno-Karabakh
🔥 Azerbaijan Strikes Again. The country’s forces have launched a new offensive in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, killing at least six people and sparking international alarm.
🗺️ What is Nagorno-Karabakh? It is a mountainous region that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has a majority ethnic Armenian population that declared independence in 1991. Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the region, the last one ending with a Russian-brokered ceasefire in 2020.
👊 Why Fight? Tensions have been rising for months, as Azerbaijan accused Armenia of blocking its only land link to Nagorno-Karabakh and smuggling weapons and mines into the region. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of building up troops and violating the ceasefire.
💥 What happened this time? On Tuesday, Azerbaijan launched an “anti-terrorist operation” in Nagorno-Karabakh, using artillery and drones to target Armenian positions. Azerbaijan’s defense ministry claimed it was responding to Armenia’s “systematic shelling” of its army positions, and that “only legitimate military targets are being incapacitated by the use of high-precision weapons.”
📜 History. The conflict has its roots in the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s when both Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent states. Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join Armenia, but Azerbaijan refused to let go of the territory. A ceasefire was brokered by Russia in 1994, but it was fragile and frequently violated.
Armenian protestors demanding the government respond to the Azerbaijani military aggression.
🎙️ On Tuesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan publicly denied these claims on TV and accused Azerbaijan of “ethnic cleansing.”
Meanwhile, he also acknowledged calls for a coup due to his insufficient preparation for the aggression.
"There are already calls, coming from different places, to stage a coup in Armenia."