Showing 1 - 10 of 24
The scramble for the world's critical minerals
Oped, Rabah Arezki & Rick van der Ploeg, 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.
Congo: Where the tail is still wagging the dog
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 26/03/2025
» 'Joseph Kabila boycotted the election and is preparing an insurrection because he is the AFC," said President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo last October, and lo! It is coming to pass just as he predicted. But you can't tell the players without a programme, so a little bit of explanation first.
Gutting aid, US cedes soft power game to China
Shaun Tandon of Agence France-Presse, Published on 12/02/2025
» WASHINGTON - When President Donald Trump froze nearly all US foreign aid, Cambodia was forced to suspend workers removing dangerous mines from the country -- until China stepped in with the necessary funding.
Indonesia leads Asean into Brics+
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/01/2025
» As the new year gets underway with the looming re-inauguration of United States President Donald J Trump, countries and entire regions are having to manoeuvre and realign in view of an accelerated breakdown of the post-Second World War rules-based liberal international order.
Trump's tariff blackmail boosts Brics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/12/2024
» Even before officially taking office, United States President-elect Donald J Trump is shaking up the international system with drama and fanfare unlike any other major leader in recent memory. His most recent outburst to slap 100% tariffs on the "Brics" countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates -- is a case in point. While it will coerce developing economies to think twice about the cost of going their own way, this tariff blackmail and others like it also risk pushing smaller countries away from the US to other rival big powers, particularly China.
The case for funding food security
Oped, Gelsomina Vigliotti & Maurizio Martina, Published on 17/10/2024
» Although enough food is produced to feed the global population, hunger and malnutrition due to conflict, poverty, economic slowdowns, and climate change still threaten millions of lives. In 2023, around 2.3 billion people faced moderate or severe food insecurity and more than 730 million people suffered from hunger, with undernutrition linked to almost one-half of deaths of children under age five.
Take mpox seriously
News, Editorial, Published on 22/08/2024
» From a country once considered at "almost zero risk" of an mpox outbreak, as declared by a senior health official two years ago, Thailand is now facing an increasing threat after the Department of Disease Control (DDC) confirmed yesterday that a patient who travelled to the kingdom from Africa might be infected with the more serious Clade 1b strain of the disease.
How South Korea broke the mould
Oped, Keun Lee, Published on 02/07/2024
» South Korea is one of just a few countries to transform itself from a low- to high-income economy and the only country to go from a recipient of aid from the OECD's Development Assistance Committee to a DAC donor. It achieved this not by blindly following a pre-designed development path but by taking the right detours.
The push African women need to escape poverty
Oped, Rudo Kayombo, Published on 12/03/2024
» What do poverty, climate change, and conflict have in common? They are among the biggest challenges confronting Africa, and they all disproportionately affect women living in poverty or on the margins of society.
Global mental health crisis needs new plan
Oped, Dixon Chibanda, Published on 17/01/2024
» The world is in the grips of a mental health crisis. From rising climate anxiety in rich countries like the United States to intense trauma in conflict zones like Ukraine and Gaza (especially among children), psychological suffering has become widespread, and traditional healthcare services cannot keep up. This leaves tens of millions of people at risk of serious pathologies and suicide.