[Link] The Unexpected Places the Taliban Got Rich From Before Taking Over Afghanistan

Read: 26/8/2021 www.vice.com

The extremist group made a staggering $1.6 billion last year, a key factor that helped them gain control of Afghanistan at lightning speed. On the streets of Kabul after the Taliban takeover, Afghans were running from one empty ATM to the next. Prices soared, the U.S. froze $9.

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[Link] The Coltan in Your Smartphone is Financing Colombian Guerrilla Armies

Read: 26/8/2021 www.vice.com

MEDELLIN, Colombia–Authorities in southern Colombia pulled over a cargo truck looking for drugs in early August. But instead of finding a pile of cocaine bricks, the truck was loaded with a sandy, blue-ish black rock called coltan.

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