Gold rush: UN experts say much of illegal gold exported from Congo is overseen by armed groups
Under US law, gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbours is considered a “conflict mineral,” meaning companies publicly traded in the US are required to report to the Securities Exchange Commission if they might be using gold mined in conflict areas, but there’s no sanction for...
Smuggled African gold: Is London Bullion Market Association a toothless dog or complicit in illicit trade?
In an unprecedented move, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which regulates the world’s biggest gold market, last year threatened to bar its accredited refineries from sourcing metal from countries that didn’t meet its responsible sourcing standards. While it didn’t name any state, Bin Sulayem issued a rebuke on behalf...
Pandemic-induced gold leaks from Africa drive illicit markets as UAE is accused of trading in smuggled minerals
In the moon-like landscape of northern Sudan, informal gold miners toil with spades and pickaxes to extract their prize from shallow pits that pockmark the terrain. Mining ore in the sweltering heat of the Nubian desert is the first stage of an illicit network that has exploded in the past...
Desmond Tutu wanted to be remembered only as one who ‘loved, laughed, cried, was forgiven and forgave’
Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon, an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBT rights, died Sunday at 90. South Africans, world leaders and people around the globe mourned the death of the man viewed as the country’s moral conscience. Tutu worked...
Turkish government fiddling with Euphrates River water regime creates political crisis in Syria, Iraq
In addition to farming, Amer Meslet works as a brickmaker, which brings in 100,000 Syrian pounds a month (around $30). Without any harvest, that is all of his income, and Meslet says he now spends half of this on water, either for his family’s needs or to feed his animals....
How interplay of climate change, conflicts drive water and health crises in Syria and neighbouring countries
The huge silos at the roundabout as you enter Syria’s Hassakeh city are decorated with giant pictures of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Turkey-based separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as well as flags from the military arm of the local Kurdish-led administration. There is still some corn in the silos,...
‘Police harassment of homeless asylum seekers and migrants is regular occurrences in France’
The situation could not be more different for Ali, an Afghan asylum seeker in his mid-30s whose name has been changed to protect his identity. Ali arrived in Paris, France, after crossing Iran, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and Italy on foot. The journey is replete with dangers and guards at...
Leap from Taliban fire into French frying pan: Barriers Afghans seeking protection in France face
The experience of Afghan asylum seekers in France differs considerably depending on how they arrive in the country, reflecting a tension across Europe between rhetoric about the need to protect people from Taliban persecution and the reality of an erosion of access to asylum. Around 2,600 Afghans who were airlifted...
Ethiopian government and Tigray rebels locked in disinformation battle to control the conflict’s narrative
Since clashes erupted between Ethiopian forces and northern rebels more than a year ago, another war has flared up online as the rivals spread false claims to control the conflict’s narrative. Digital activists have been engaged in a fierce battle to discredit their opponents, from pro-government sites claiming to promote...
How drought is driving conflict in northern Kenya where 2.5 million people are at risk of hunger
Lying in his hospital bed, a bandage wrapped around his foot, Ekidor Esekon remembers little of the day he was shot. What he does recall is setting out early on an otherwise normal morning in early December, to herd cows with his cousin deep in the bush along Kenya’s border...
