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How To Weather Economic Storms To Help Keep Investments On Track

China claims they aren't military bases, but their actions say otherwise.

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Since 2014, China has been building islands in the middle of the South China Sea. What were once underwater reefs are now sandy islands complete with airfields, roads, buildings, and missile systems. In less than two years, China has turned seven reefs into seven military bases in the South China Sea, one of the most contentious bodies of water in the world.

The sea is one of the most important areas of ocean in the world. It’s estimated to hold 11 billion barrels of oil, 109 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 10 percent of the world’s fisheries. Most importantly, 30 percent of the world’s shipping trade flows through the South China Sea to the busy ports of Southeast Asia. It’s an incredibly important strategic area, and five countries currently claim some part of it.

Most countries base their claims off the United Nations Law of the Seas, which says a country’s territory extends 200 miles off its shores, an area called the exclusive economic zone, or EEZ. Any trade or resources that fall in a country’s EEZ belong to that country; they’re its sovereign territory. Any area that is not in an EEZ is considered international waters and subject to UN maritime law, meaning it’s shared by everyone. Every country in the region, which includes Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Vietnam, bases its claim to the South China Sea on the UN’s EEZ laws — except China.

China argues it has a historical claim to the South China Sea, dating back to naval expeditions in the 15th century. After World War II, the Japanese Empire lost control of the South China Sea, and China took advantage of the moment to reclaim it. On maps, it started drawing a dashed line that encompassed most of the South China Sea. This line became its official claim and is known today as the Nine-Dash Line, because it always has nine dashes. In 1973, when the UN law established EEZs, China reaffirmed its Nine-Dash Line, refusing to clarify the line’s boundaries and rejecting other countries’ claims.

Since then, tensions have built around who rightfully owns the South China Sea. The dispute has centered on the Spratly Islands, an archipelago at the heart of the South China Sea. Currently, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam claim some part of the Spratly Island chain. They’ve asserted their claims by putting small buildings, ports, and even some people on what are essentially rocks in the middle of the ocean.

But the Spratlys are very important, because whichever country can successfully claim them can extend its EEZ to include them, thus gaining miles of precious sovereign territory. This is why China began building up islands in 2014. By turning these rocks into military bases, the Chinese are now able to support hundreds of ships, bolstering their presence in the region. They are using fishing boats, surveillance ships, and navy destroyers to set up blockades around other countries’ islands and defend their own. This is all done very cautiously and in small steps in order to avoid sparking a wider conflict.

Since China began building islands, the disputes have not become violent. But tensions are building in the region. As China deploys more of its military to the Spratlys, other countries are getting nervous and building up their own islands. It’s a complex situation that will continue to gain international attention, for better or for worse.

Read more on Vox: https://bit.ly/3iWURXb

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Fighters are using hunger as a weapon.

Jane Ferguson's reporting in Africa was supported with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

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It's why South Sudan’s famine is man-made.

And so are the 3 other famines developing in Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen. Wars in these countries are threatening to starve 20 million people ... or in all four countries, it's war that's threatened to put 20 million people at risk of starvation.

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How two feuding countries are tearing apart the Middle East.

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The Saudis and Iranians have never actually declared war on each other. Instead, they fight indirectly by supporting opposing sides in other countries and inciting conflicts. This is known as proxy warfare.

And it’s had a devastating effect on the region. Countries, especially poor ones, can’t function if there are larger countries pulling strings within their borders.

And that’s exactly what's happening in the Middle East. The Saudi-Iranian rivalry has become a fight over influence, and the whole region is a battlefield.

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"Where the road ends in Afghanistan, the Taliban begin."

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The US war in Afghanistan has raged for 16 years, since the US invaded after 9/11, in 2001. At the onset, a centerpiece of US strategy was to rebuild Afghanistan's crumbling infrastructure. This move expedited military logistics and maneuvers, while simultaneously reigniting travel between Afghanistan's major cities. But when the US started its war in Iraq, that diverted resources and manpower from the battlefield of Afghanistan. And the Taliban didn't miss the chance. To date, the most ambitious roadbuilding project, known as the Ring Road, has seen over $3 billion spent on its renewal. And it was never completed.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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A Personal Wealth Expert Shares His Top Tips For Deciding How Much Cash To Save & Where To Invest It

The ceasefire is completely ignored.

Correction: In a previous version, the Russian Empire at 2:31 did not include Finland and northern Kazakhstan and at 2:34 the map mistakenly depicted the Warsaw Pact members, not the Soviet Union.

At 2:03 the Minsk II agreement refers to the separatist enclaves as "certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine" not the DPR and LPR.

Sources:
Russian Empire: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015591079/
Soviet Union: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g7001f.ct001572/

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The present conflict in Ukraine started in 2014. Today, there are 100,000 fighters stationed in the country, making it one of the most heavily militarized regions in the world. In Ukraine's east, Ukrainian forces are engaged in a struggle with Russian-backed separatists.

A ceasefire was called in 2015, with a security zone established that was meant to foster peace. However, today the security zone remains one of the most violent places in the Ukraine. With over 10,000 deaths to date, and over 1.5 million civilians displaced, the cost of ignoring the ceasefire continues to mount by the day. And both sides are still building up their forces.

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It’s an unlikely place for a democratic revolution.

The headline for this video has been updated. The previous version was: How Syria’s Kurds are trying to create a democracy.

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Since the start of the Syrian civil war, Kurdish people in the North have carved out an autonomous region of their own — Rojava — by fighting the Islamic State. Their militias, which form the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have emerged as the most effective fighters against ISIS and won them a close partnership with the US.

The ruling Kurdish Party, the PYD, has set up a democratic federation made of local governments. Their constitution claims to accept people of all ethnicities and religions and treat them as equals. One of its central tenets is equality of men and women. In fact, the all-female Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ) militia fights alongside the SDF, and they’re known to be especially good soldiers.

But the more territory the Kurds take from ISIS, the more worried Turkey gets.

Turkey has been at war with another closely linked Kurdish group, the PKK, for decades. In 2018, Turkey invaded the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin, putting the country in direct conflict with the Kurds of Rojava.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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It's about more than just economics.

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To learn more, visit https://reconnectingasia.csis.org/map/

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China's Belt and Road Initiative is the most ambitious infrastructure project in modern history. It spans over 60 countries and will cost over a trillion dollars. The plan is to make it easier for the world to trade with China, by funding roads, railways, pipelines, and other infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa. China is loaning trillions of dollars to any country that's willing to participate and it's been a big hit with the less democratic countries in the region. This makes the BRI a risky plan as well. But China is pushing forward because its goals are not strictly economic, they're also geopolitical.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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To Queen Victoria, marriages were about strategic alliances.

Correction: At 5:38, the map of post-war Germany is missing eastern Prussia. The borders of Austria-Hungary should also include portions of northern Serbia and southern Poland.

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This video was produced in collaboration between Vox and BBCThree.

Over the course of her 63-year reign, Queen Victoria strategically planned marriages to place her descendants in royal families all over Europe. In doing so, she created one of the most remarkable royal families in history.

By the early 19th century, Europe had been at war for decades. After the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars killed millions, European leaders came together to restore peace by reshaping major states for a new balance of power. Great Britain went on to become one of the strongest states. And years later, Queen Victoria and her husband Albert came up with a plan to maintain that political power — they married their children to monarchs across Europe. By the 1880s Queen Victoria’s children were in several important branches of Europe’s monarchies.

The royal unions didn't play out as Queen Victoria planned, but she continued to make more matches anyway. She had 42 grandchildren, and these 7 ended up on royal thrones. Her grandchildren would end up on the thrones of Britain, Russia, Germany, Romania, Norway, and Spain leading up to the most destructive war Europe had ever seen.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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Terrorist groups are destabilizing countries all over the continent.

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Islamist terrorist groups have found a new home and it's not in the Middle East -- it's in Africa. Specifically, the Sahel, a band of territory in West Africa between the Sahara desert and the savannah.

Since the early 2000s, Islamist extremist groups have increasingly strengthened their base here -- training fighters, raising money, and launching a massive number of attacks.

Some are linked to al-Qaeda and other Islamic State. This is throwing these already weak countries into crises and making the region one of the most dangerous in the world.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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And some of the best.

For source material, make sure to check out the work of Darko Dukic here: https://runrepeat.com/most-football-talent-france

This video has been updated. The following corrections were made:

0:17 Annotation has been updated to include all foreign-born Moroccan players.
0:40 Map has been edited to include additional players.
3:07 Inaccurate annotations of player origins have been removed.
5:20 A previous version of the map included all French-born players, not only those who were born or raised in Paris.

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France has had the most native players and coaches in the last 4 World Cups… and their dominance has been on the rise. Players like Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba are the children of immigrants and the product of the French soccer academy system. French- born players have played for Togo, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Argentina, Portugal, and many more.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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The belt of volcanic activity is called the Ring of Fire.

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The Ring of Fire is a band of volcanoes and frequent earthquakes that runs from New Zealand, up through Eastern Asia, across the Bering Strait and all the way down to the Southern tip of Chile. Volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis appear around the boundaries of the several, fast moving, tectonic plates that make up the region. When the plates collide, they create areas of volatility.

The Ring of Fire sees more natural disasters than anywhere else on Earth, but what makes it particularly dangerous is that few countries are prepared.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalist Sam Ellis uses maps to tell these stories and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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The open border has helped keep the peace for 20 years.

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Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but because of a special power-sharing agreement, it has an open border with Republic of Ireland. This was designed as a compromise that ended 30 years of conflict and violence in Northern Ireland between Nationalist and Unionist paramilitaries.

Today, Brexit means that the UK needs to close its borders and the issue of the Irish border is one of the hardest things to negotiate with the EU. Closing this border could undermine the compromise that kept the peace for 20 years.

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Poland’s far-right party is subverting democracy, and setting the country on a collision course with the EU.

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For more detail on the 2017 Independence day march, read this excellent piece by Christian Davies in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/wo....rld/2017/nov/18/more

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Poland is changing. In 2015, the far-right Law and Justice party, or PiS, won both the presidential election and a slim parliamentary majority. Since then, they’ve been working to cement their power by firing judges, purging the military and civil service, and cracking down on protesters and the media. All of this has put the country on a collision course with the European Union that could threaten Europe’s hard-won peace and prosperity following centuries of conflict.

To truly understand the international conflicts and trends shaping our world you need a big-picture view. Video journalists Sam Ellis and Liz Scheltens use maps to tell the story and chart their effects on foreign policy.

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And possibly the whole world.

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In 2014, the largest corruption scandal in Latin America’s history erupted in Brazil. It involved bribes between Petrobras, the largest state-owned oil company on the continent, and dozens of engineering firms. It also involved politicians, including three Brazilian presidents, Lula, Dilma Rousseff, and Michel Temer, as well as almost a third of Brazil’s congress.

Politicians all over Latin America were found guilty of taking bribes and profiting immensely from infrastructure and energy projects all over the continent. The scandal hit places like Itaborai especially hard. The companies involved were fined billions of dollars and laid off hundreds of thousands of workers as their projects abruptly stopped. Four years later, Brazil is still dealing with the fallout.

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And why they want more.

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Saudi Arabia and the US have a partnership that's been in the making for over seven decades. It started after World War II and survived the Iranian Revolution, the Cold War, the Gulf War, September 11, and the proliferation of conflicts across the Middle East. This whole time, the US has been selling weapons to Saudi Arabia -- now its number one customer. Saudis bought bombs, tanks, guns, and planes over the years to defend themselves from various threats. The US supplied those weapons because the Saudi’s threats have usually been a threat to the US as well.

Today, there's a shift in the relationship. Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen has created the worst humanitarian disaster in the world - and thrown the Middle East into chaos. The problem is, the Saudis are using US bombs to do it.

Sources:
US-Saudi arms agreements data: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency
Arab-Israeli arms race: Congressional Research Service and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
US-Saudi arms policy: Center for International Policy and the Brookings Institute
Yemen airstrikes: Human Rights Watch
Dahyan, Yemen, school bus bombing: Bellingcat


Additional reading:
https://www.newyorker.com/maga....zine/2018/04/09/a-sa

https://www.reuters.com/invest....igates/special-repor

https://www.fpri.org/article/2....009/08/the-u-s-and-s

https://www.foreignaffairs.com..../articles/persian-gu

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And the timing couldn't be worse.

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Iraq gets almost all of its water from two rivers: The Tigris and the Euphrates. Both begin in Turkey and make their way down the entire length of the country, before emptying into the Persian Gulf. The problem is - they are drying up.

There are two main reasons for this. The first is geographical: Since both rivers begin in Turkey, Iraq doesn’t have control of how much water it receives. In the last 30 years, Turkey, Syria, and Iran have been building hundreds of dams along both rivers. Now only a quarter of the Euphrates reaches Iraq. Secondly, Iraq has been stuck in conflict for the last 16 years. In each case, the delicate network of treatment plants, dams, canals, and pipes has been repeatedly destroyed and neglected.

All of this has boiled over in the city of Basra - at Iraq’s southern tip. Last summer, after hundreds were poisoned by the water - riots erupted and were deeply destabilizing for the new Iraqi government. If Iraq is to rebuild, it needs to get fresh water to its people - a challenge that is getting harder every year.

Through Vox Atlas, producer Sam Ellis demonstrates where conflicts occur on a map and the ways in which foreign policy shapes a region. Watch all the episodes here: http://bit.ly/2SThVsf

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It's all about the climbs.

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The Tour de France is the most prominent cycling race in the world. It’s now in its 109th edition and it’s being called the ‘Highest in History’ because there are more climbs than ever before. This is important because the climbs are where the race is won and lost. The best riders rely on their teammates to get them through the long, flat, and hilly stages, before they take on the mountain stages on their own. These are the hardest and most brutal stages of the race - but they are exactly what makes the Tour de France famous.

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The Strait of Hormuz, “the jugular of the global economy," has become a useful bargaining chip for Iran.

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The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway that lies between Iran and Oman. This 21 mile-wide passage supports 20% of the world’s oil supply. A closure of this waterway could send the global economy into a tailspin.

In recent months, several oil tankers have been seized, attacked and harassed. These oil tankers — and this narrow water passage — are at the center of the conflict between the US and Iran. It's a conflict that spans decades and has the potential to escalate in one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.

Read more about the recent escalation between the US and Iran:
https://www.vox.com/world/2019..../6/21/18700857/us-ir

Strait of Hormuz stats and details from the US Energy Information Administration:
https://www.eia.gov/beta/inter....national/regions-top

More on the history of conflict between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz in David Crist's novel, The Twilight War:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.....com/books/307277/th

Vox Atlas demonstrates where conflicts occur on a map and the ways in which foreign policy shapes a region. Watch all the episodes here: http://bit.ly/2SThVsf

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