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...

Gordon R Clarke and Emir Hrnjic   When digital currencies and cryptocurrencies sprang to life, bitcoin was viewed as a direct challenge to central banks’ control of currency. After an early reluctance and hostility toward cryptocurrencies, central banks are starting to...

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...

Zaid M. Belbagi   The grounding of the cargo ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal last week serves as a good opportunity to focus our minds on the future of the waterway and the wider Red Sea region. The...

 Remadji Hoinathy, Akinola Olojo and Malik Samuel   In the highly volatile Lake Chad Basin area, the decision by many recruits to leave Boko Haram means the group’s ranks are shrinking. This is a positive sign for efforts to reduce...

Gul Berna Oscan   China’s economic influence in Central Asia has gained a new character after President Xi Jinping came to power. In almost all economic activities there is a growing Chinese presence, and these actors range from large multinational firms...

Ye Ruolin and Yuan Ye   With few coal reserves to call its own and winter rains too erratic to rely on hydropower, central China’s Hunan province had long faced frequent electricity blackouts, an annoyance to residents and a hindrance...