Russia’s Wagner Group precipitated Sudan’s destructive civil war by assisting both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of Sudanese General Mohammed Dagalo aka “Hemeti” and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military commander of Sudan’s Armed Forces (SAF). Both did business with Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s head and confidant of Vladimir Putin, who expanded his wealth and power by...
Until January of 2020, when Sudan opened up the gold market to raise revenue, the central bank in Khartoum was the only entity allowed to buy and export gold, and it set up local trading centres. This is part 3 of a series. For Part 1 click here. For Part 2 click here. Since the revolution that ousted Bashir...
Climate change is one of the most daunting challenges of our times. It is undoubtedly an existential threat to human survival on the planet. Despite large-scale efforts over the past few decades, awareness on the subject is still limited, and hampered by political, economic, social and cultural considerations.Former US Vice President Al Gore’s documentary film...
Climate change is an unfortunate reality that is going to reshape many parts of our world — and investing is likely no exception. According to a recent study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), “effects on returns from climate change are inevitable,” with — perhaps unsurprisingly — “the energy sector most significantly impacted.” As a citizen of a...
Politicians and activists are calling for Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted over its failure to observe sanctions against Russian oligarchs and stem the flow of dirty money flowing through the UAE. Western countries including the US and UK hit Russia with stringent sanctions in February after Russia invaded Ukraine. This prompted some oligarchs to...
The fabric of America’s strategic ties to the Gulf region is fraying. The leader of its most consequential nation, Saudi Arabia, has essentially told the Biden administration with regard to oil supply, arms sales or nuclear power, “If you want to work with me fine, but if not, there are others who will.” Less visible but hardly...
These readings will get you up to speed on the causes and impacts of flooding around the world. By now, it’s clear, one result of global warming is more flooding. Considering only instances caused by torrential rainstorms (not hurricanes, glacial-lake outbursts, or other factors), here is a partial list of countries that had significant floods...
She leads a team of 100 at a non-profit with operations across Africa and says climate has been seen through a male perspective for too long Susan Chomba glares out the window of the Prado Land Cruiser at dozens of motorcycles speeding in the opposite direction. Each motorcycle carries at least five bags of charcoal...
As geopolitical winds shift, the US and European governments turn a blind eye to Emirates’ money laundering problem. BERLIN — Germany, the U.S. and several other Western countries are pushing a global money-laundering watchdog to give the financial system in the United Arab Emirates a clean bill of health despite persistent indications that the country...
The Bonn Conference on Climate Change (also known as SB58) ended on 15 June 2023 at the headquarters of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Germany. This was the last chance for climate negotiators to meet before COP28 in Dubai in December. But the 10-day talks ended without any clear, concrete...