🌍 Visa Shock: Bans for Nigeria & Uganda

If you felt a spike of anxiety seeing the headlines about visa bans for Nigerians and Ugandans this week, you aren’t alone. But while the US tightens its borders to Africans, they are aggressively opening their checkbooks for African minerals—a contradiction we need to understand to survive. I’ve broken down exactly where the doors are closing, and where the capital is flowing, so you can position yourself accordingly.

Warm wishes,

Deepa

***

US Amps up Race for African Minerals: The United States is intensifying its challenge to China's dominance over Africa's critical mineral supply chains, focusing on copper, cobalt and lithium in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Mali and Guinea. Washington is using state-backed funding and offtake agreements—securing rights to a mine's future output in exchange for financing—to redirect mineral flows into US-aligned value chains. This strategy allows the US to secure supplies without taking on the operational risks of running mines directly, reshaping mineral flows out of the continent. (More)

Indonesia Halts Spot Coal Exports, Shaking Asian Energy Markets: Indonesian miners have halted spot coal exports in protest of government proposals to limit production, threatening a major disruption to Asian energy supplies. Indonesia supplied half of all global thermal coal exports in 2025, with countries like China, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam heavily reliant on its supply. Why it matters: An extended stoppage will force major Asian economies to scramble for alternative sources, likely driving up global coal prices and impacting energy security for nations where coal generates over half of all electricity. (More)

Ethiopia Secretly Trains Sudanese RSF Fighters in UAE-Backed Camp: An investigation revealed Ethiopia is hosting a secret camp to train thousands of fighters for Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with financing and logistical support from the United Arab Emirates. This is the first direct evidence of Ethiopian and UAE military involvement in Sudan's civil war. (More)

Indonesia to Send Thousands of Troops to Gaza: Indonesia is preparing to deploy up to 8,000 soldiers to Gaza as part of an international stabilization force under a US-brokered plan. This would be the first foreign military force in Gaza since 1967 and marks a historic step for Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. (More)

US Imposes Stricter Visa Rules, Bond for Ugandans: Ugandan citizens now face tighter US visa restrictions, including single-entry business/tourist visas valid for three months and a refundable bond up to US$15,000 for B-1/B-2 applicants. Immigrant visa issuance for Ugandans is also temporarily paused. (More)

US Lawmaker Proposes Ending H-1B Visa Program: A US lawmaker has introduced the 'EXILE Act' to abolish the H-1B visa program, claiming it displaces American workers and is abused by corporations. If successful, it would eliminate a primary pathways for many skilled workers, particularly from India and China, in the US. (More)

US Suspends Multiple Visa Categories for Nigerians: The US has partially suspended B-1/B-2 visitor, F, M, J student/exchange, and immigrant visas for Nigerian nationals, effective January 1, 2026. This measure, prompted by high visa overstay rates (5.56% for B-1/B-2, 11.90% for F, M, J), significantly restricts travel and educational opportunities for Nigerian citizens. (More)

US Pushes for Western Sahara Deal in Secret Madrid Talks: The United States convened high-level delegations from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Polisario Front in Madrid on February 8 for secret negotiations aimed at resolving the Western Sahara conflict. The US-led effort is reportedly focused on advancing Morocco's updated 40-page autonomy plan as the basis for a final settlement. (More)

Argentina-US Trade Deal Challenges Mercosur Rules: Argentina's new bilateral trade and investment agreement with the United States is forcing a re-evaluation of the Mercosur trade bloc's rules, as Brazil's government has begun an official analysis to determine if the deal violates the bloc's common external tariff policy. The agreement, which removes Argentine tariffs on 221 US products and expands US access for beef, is being seen as a de facto flexibilization of the bloc's long-standing restrictions on unilateral trade deals. (More)

Syria's Reconstruction & Oil Sector: Saudi Arabia has pledged billions in strategic investments for Syria's rebuild across aviation, telecommunications, and infrastructure, while US firms Hunt Oil and Baker Hughes are exploring investment in Syrian oil fields, signaling a major economic reopening and foreign capital influx. (More)

China Unveils $722 Billion Power Grid Overhaul: China plans a record 5 trillion yuan ($722 billion) investment in its power grid over the next five years, aiming to eliminate renewable energy bottlenecks, accelerate industrial modernization, and support the country's 2030 carbon peak goal. (More)

Spanish Giants Invest $4.5 Billion in Moroccan Green Hydrogen: Spanish energy companies Acciona and Moeve have secured land in Morocco for large-scale green hydrogen projects, with an estimated $4.5 billion investment, positioning Morocco as a key hub for green energy exports to African and European markets. (More)

Latin America Launches Open-Source AI Model to Combat Bias: Chile's National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) launched Latam-GPT, an open-source AI model trained on millions of Latin American data points to reflect regional cultural diversity and combat US-centric biases. (More)

Pakistan Establishes Sovereign Cloud and AI Infrastructure: The Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and DFINITY Foundation partnered to create a Pakistan Subnet on the Internet Computer Platform, establishing sovereign cloud and AI-native digital infrastructure with 1,500 AI licenses for government and startups. (More)

UAE and Starlink Partner for Global Digital Education:The UAE's Digital School and Starlink launched a global partnership to provide high-quality digital education via satellite internet to remote and underserved communities worldwide, starting with 100 sites and three schools in Lesotho. (More)

Guatemala Seeks 1,550 MW in Major Power Tender: Guatemala's PEG 5 tender is accepting offers today, February 12, 2026, for 15-year contracts to supply 1,550 megawatts of guaranteed and installed electrical power. (More)

Argentina Privatizes LNG Import and Commercialization: Argentina's Secretariat of Energy has launched an international public tender to select a single private operator for the import and commercialization of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), replacing the state's role. The tender must conclude within 40 days. (More)

Uganda Ramps Up Procurement for $250M Power Interconnection: The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) is engaging private sector stakeholders for the procurement phase of the $250 million, 400kV Uganda-Tanzania Interconnection Project, which includes transmission lines and a new substation. (More)

Diabetes Outcomes for Māori and Pacific people: In New Zealand, Māori and Pacific people are significantly less likely to meet key diabetes management targets, not due to individual choices, but systemic barriers like lack of access to care, transport, and culturally safe environments. Understanding these systemic challenges can help you navigate your care better. (More)

The Woman Who Rewrote Singapore’s Laws for Women: For 16 years, Corinna Lim led the transformation of a small advocacy group into a force that successfully challenged Singapore's laws on family violence and sexual assault, a journey that came at a significant personal cost. (More)

The Suicide That Shook a Nation: In 1989, a top Zimbabwean liberation hero took his own life out of shame from a corruption scandal, an act that exposed the first cracks in the new nation's moral foundation and still haunts the country today. (More)

Your Vote Is in Dhaka, But Your Life Is in London: For the first time, millions of overseas Bangladeshis can vote in a national election, but for the diaspora in Britain, the right to participate is tangled in bureaucracy, generational divides, and the complex question of where home really is. (More)