Showing 1 - 10 of 24
Stepping up the poverty fight
News, Published on 15/09/2025
» Faced with a slowing global economy and rising debts, many developing-country governments may be tempted to scale back anti-poverty programmes. That would be a grave mistake. Combating poverty is not just a moral imperative; it is also crucial for economic stability, conflict prevention, and long-term development.
Solving the conflict in Myanmar
News, Published on 15/09/2025
» The Myanmar military has recently launched a new offensive in different parts of the country, determined to claw back territory it has steadily lost since the coup of Feb 1, 2021. These operations, though at times tactically successful, are being carried out through brute force: airstrikes, mortar attacks, and the increasing use of drones. Entire areas are being destroyed. What will follow is not liberation, but military occupation. But how viable and effective will be the administrative structures that the generals will impose to govern these shattered spaces?
The scramble for the world's critical minerals
Oped, Published on 07/08/2025
» The world's superpowers have developed a seemingly insatiable appetite for the critical minerals that are essential to the ongoing energy and digital transitions, including rare-earth metals (for semiconductors), cobalt (for batteries), and uranium (for nuclear reactors). The International Energy Agency forecasts that demand for these minerals will more than quadruple by 2040 for use in clean-energy technologies alone. But, in their race to control these vital resources, China, Europe, and the United States risk causing serious harm to the countries that possess them.
Slow response to mpox a wake-up call
News, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Published on 30/09/2024
» It feels like a movie we have already seen. A new viral strain is killing people in some of the world's poorest countries, and although vaccines against the pathogen exist, production shortages and regulatory barriers are preventing them from reaching those in need.
Time to ditch the death penalty
Oped, Published on 10/10/2023
» Today marks the 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty. For Thailand, it marks the fifth consecutive year without executions.
What's next for Russia-Africa ties after summit?
News, Peter Apps, Published on 08/08/2023
» Russian President Vladimir Putin has a reputation for keeping other national leaders waiting. But Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appeared to turn the tables at last week's Russia-Africa summit, leaving the Russian leader in front of the cameras for almost half a minute before entering the room.
Without aid of whistleblowers, the West is lost
News, Published on 28/06/2023
» Earlier this month, CNN reported that a British court has denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange "permission to appeal an order to extradite him to the United States, where he faces criminal charges under the Espionage Act". Although Assange's legal team will continue to explore its options, the snare around his neck is clearly tightening. Time is not on his side. The US and British authorities who are pursuing him can afford to wait for any remaining public interest in his case to dwindle in the face of wars, climate change, anxiety about artificial intelligence, and other global issues.
Death, diamonds, Russia and Africa
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 06/08/2018
» The murder of three Russian journalists last week in a remote area of the Central African Republic, the world's poorest country according to the World Bank, has turned a spotlight on what looks like a big Kremlin play for influence and resources in Africa. Where China has spent decades and billions of dollars trying to entrench itself there, Russia is offering its brute force and strong appetite for risk. It's already making headway.
France finds it tough to rid itself of political corruption
News, John Lloyd, Published on 09/03/2017
» Political corruption in France is common, and usually -- if the politician is at or near the top of the political game -- unpunished by law. Yet the 2017 presidential election may mark something of a revolt against a semi-aristocratic disdain for the public whose tax euros have long been plundered for private or party use.
Petulent geopolitical teen China grows up
News, Published on 21/12/2015
» Over the last 15 years, China's international diplomacy has marked it as something of a geopolitical adolescent, like a teenager who suddenly has the physical strength and desires of an adult, but not the experience and savvy to manage them.