Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné and Nadia Adam A flourishing gold mining economy in Kayes offers violent extremist groups an opportunity to expand their membership and reach. On 9 April 2020, al-Qaeda-affiliated groups operating in the Sahel attacked a security and customs post...

It is the responsibility of oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia to lead the way in tackling the climate crisis
Adhwan Alahmari A few days ago, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced two exciting initiatives: the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. The first seeks to plant 10 billion trees within the kingdom in the upcoming decade; the...
Sputnik Vaccine Orbits Slovak Politics
Nina Hrabovska Francelova Slovakia’s febrile politics and incompetent handling of the pandemic has made it vulnerable to Russian mischief using its Sputnik vaccine. In January, Prime Minister Igor Matovič was still expressing confidence that Slovakia would have enough Pfizer/BioNTech...


China Turns Cautious On Fast Economic Growth
Michael Lelyveld China’s government is facing a tough challenge in managing expectations of high economic growth rates as the country recovers from the COVID-19 crisis this year. On March 11, Premier Li Keqiang defended the government’s decision to set...