Blood Gold Report: Key Findings The Kremlin has earned more than US$2.5 billion from trade in African gold since Vladimir Putin launched his full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In the Central African Republic (CAR), a Wagner front company has been awarded exclusive rights to the Ndassima mine, the country’s largest gold mine, in return...
At least of 25% of the billionaires who participated as representatives at COP28 have amassed their wealth through sectors like petrochemicals, mining, and beef production. The collective net worth of the 34 billionaires that were present totaled approximately $495.5 billion. Introduction The global community is currently facing twin conundrums of the escalating climate crisis and...
From his office perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, Steven Paton looks over the entrance to the Panama Canal; the high rises of the country’s capital resting upon the horizon behind him, and an increasingly long queue of tankers lining up in the bay. For 33 years his job with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute monitoring the...
On Tuesday, December 19, Sudan’s second largest city, Wad Madani, fell to one of the most brutal armed groups worldwide. This made few headlines in a world obsessed with the fighting in Gaza. The Sudanese war — which erupted in April this year — has pitted the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On...
The United Arab Emirates, a key node for China’s growing economic relations in the Middle East, is using its Chinese connection to co-invest in Africa and the South Pacific, while considering more transactions in the yuan, an Emirati official said. The ventures follow a decade of the UAE working together with China on ports, export...
For months, Sudan’s army kept silent amid alleged Emirati interference in the country’s civil war, but its anger has finally boiled over, leading to harsh exchanges between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi. The brutal conflict broke out in mid-April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing more than 12,000 people and displacing...
Those living in Gaza are experiencing acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, lice and scabies. 15 years ago, a 23-day war in Gaza left 17% of farmland “ruined with little to no feasibility of rejuvenation,” according to a UNDP fact-finding report. Now, 70 days into the current war, experts warn that irreversible damage is being done to...
Small choices can make a big impact this holiday season, starting with your Christmas tree! As Douglas firs and white pines appeared in lots around Salt Lake City, Natalie Vickers, a junior pre-occupational therapy major and video intern at the School of Biological Sciences, got curious—how does the tree-trimming tradition fit into a changing climate?...
A bizarre new type of rock containing plastic has been found across the globe, formed mainly from plastic we have created and discarded. This deposit is a combination of rock and plastic polymers from human waste that have been compressed together. Plastic rocks have been found both on the coast and inland in 11 countries...
The World Trade Organisation launched its Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action during the COP28 conference. International economic law expert Olabisi D. Akinkugbe discusses whether the new Trade Policy Tools benefit Africa. What are the WTO’s new Trade Policy Tools? The new tools offer opportunities for countries to mitigate the climate change effect of their trade practices....