Places That Matter

Geopolitics, strategic history & map explainers. Why every place on Earth matters 🌍 IG: @placesmattergeo 📩 [email protected]

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Source: Reuters https://t.co/UC6Xop3920
Opening statement: China's Ministry of National Defense https://t.co/kgBjSgESKC

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Reports: Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show what analysts believe are eight K-8 light attack jets and more than two dozen support vehicles at the new China-Laos training facility at Ban Keun, Laos.

In the 1970s, CIA-owned Air America used the site as "Lima Site 44".

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Sources: Reuters (via Al-Monitor), Al Arabiya, Arab News

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Reports: Attacks on tankers around the Strait of Hormuz hit their highest weekly level since the Iran war began, with at least 12 attacks on oil, LNG and LPG tankers from Sept 28 to Oct 5, according to three maritime security sources cited by Reuters.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

@ChrisO_wiki It's only about 21 miles wide at the narrowest point, and the actual shipping lanes are just a couple miles each way. Doesn't take much to make insurers nervous.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

@TheEconomist Voting's compulsory in Brazil for anyone 18 to 70, so run-off turnout tends to stay pretty high either way.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

@ForeignPolicy Djibouti was the first one back in 2017, and Ream in Cambodia sits right on the Gulf of Thailand. Laos is landlocked though, so thats a very different kind of map play.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Video: @aryhoover (tear gas aftermath) https://t.co/1Iu1MX1uOI
and @BallyBagayoko (march with students) https://t.co/Z0PTz6nOmi
Source: AP https://t.co/N1HyuW7zfW

[Bally Bagayoko @BallyBagayoko]

J’étais aujourd’hui aux côtés des lycéens et des étudiants mobilisés à Paris.

J’ai été témoin d’un usage totalement disproportionné de la force face à des jeunes qui demandent simplement à être entendus.

J’interpelle le ministre de l’Intérieur : les consignes doivent être revues d’urgence avant qu’un drame ne survienne.

Aux jeunes mobilisés : vos revendications sont justes. Continuez à vous organiser et à faire entendre votre voix. Mais ne cédez à aucune provocation. Restez unis et non-violents !

C’est par votre nombre et votre détermination que vous obligerez le gouvernement à vous entendre.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Reports: Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko was tear-gassed in Paris on Tuesday after stepping between student protesters and riot police.

He called it a "totally disproportionate use of force" and urged Macron to de-escalate and open talks. More protests are set for Thursday.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Source: Leger https://t.co/xC7Col5itY

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Reports: 70% of Canadians support Canada becoming an associate member of the European Union, a Leger poll finds. 13% oppose and 18% are unsure.

Support is highest among Canadians 55+ (79%) and in Quebec (75%).

Are you in the 70%? 👇

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Source: CNN interview via Dawn https://t.co/M7Bwy0HDkP

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Reports: Pakistan's military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry tells CNN Pakistani forces are "already there" in Saudi Arabia and have been for "decades". On Monday, the Makkah defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye agreed to rapidly deploy forces to the kingdom.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Source: Hindustan Times https://t.co/Dpcwijp39L

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

India is floating a 3-part Ukraine truce plan.

Officially: Black Sea shipping and energy. But look at arms:
S-400s years late
Tank & armour spares squeezed
Su-30 spares backed up

Pakistan's POV? A Russia stuck in Ukraine = breathing room. Strategic gift for now.

Your take? 👇

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Source: The New Arab https://t.co/Fjn9V212sf

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

Reports: Syria may join the war against the Houthis in Yemen, Asharq Bloomberg's Hiba Nasr posted, citing multiple sources. No final decision has been made.

It follows al-Sharaa's talks with MBS in Riyadh yesterday. Her post has since been deleted.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

@CFR_org @ruehlig Even India, the big generics maker, gets most of its APIs from China, so 'just buy from India' doesnt really fix it.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

@amazingmap Funny thing is it was also the first one. Baldwin of Boulogne grabbed it in 1098, before Jerusalem was even taken. First in, first out.

[Places That Matter @Placesmattergeo]

@IISS_org It's not just economic there either, the Shwedagon in Yangon is literally covered in gold plates people have donated over centuries.