In The News

The Washington Post: We May Have Less Time to Stop Global Warming Than We Thought

Chris Mooney July 26, 2017
Despite warnings from numerous scientists over the course of several decades, many people remain uncertain about climate change and the human role. A team of scientists has revised the estimate of carbon dioxide emissions that can enter the atmosphere before the planet exceeds a 2-degree Celsius rise in temperatures. “Many analyses have taken the late 19th century as the starting point, but the...

NewAfrican: Youth Exodus – Is Africa being Turned Into a Giant Farm?

Kalundi Serumaga July 25, 2017
About 34 million people left Africa and became international migrants in 2015, more than 2 percent of the continent’s population and a slightly higher percentage than those migrating from Asia. Kalundi Serumaga, writing for NewAfrican, describes the many young Africans fleeing conflict and poverty, trying to enter Europe or arrange low-paying menial jobs in the Middle East. “Most of these youths...

Bloomberg: Huawei Agrees to Deal to Help African Expats Send Money Home

Loni Prinsloo July 25, 2017
The Chinese company Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecom equipment, has partnered “with British money-transfer operator WorldRemit Ltd” in order to “tap into growing demand for money transfers from Africans living abroad using mobile-payments services,” reports Loni Prinsloo for Bloomberg. At approximately $36 billion, remittances are a key component of the sub-Saharan African economy,...

The Conversation: Foreign “Conservation Armies” in Africa May Do More Harm Than Good

Rosaleen Duffy, Hannah Dickinson and Laure Joanny July 24, 2017
British troops are collaborating with Gabonese park rangers in an effort to fight Boko Haram, which is allegedly using ivory poaching to fund its terrorist activities. This type of “conservation army” is emblematic of rising militarization to prevent elephant and rhino poaching in Africa. From groups of Western army veterans to “foreign national armies, private military companies and even UN...

The Indian Express: Where Things Stand on the Dolam Plateau

Sushant Singh July 24, 2017
In June, China increased roadbuilding activity in a disputed territory of the Dolam plateau in the Doklam area, and India soon intervened with troops. “The standoff began after the Chinese started work on extending an unmetalled track in Bhutanese territory, and were prevented by Indian troops," reports Sushant Singh for the Indian Express. "Bhutan and India believe the Chinese have an...

Politico: Trump Administration to Allow for 15,000 More Foreign Workers

Louis Nelson July 21, 2017
The US departments of Homeland Security and Labor have announced that they will issue up to 15,000 additional H-2B visas for temporary, non-agricultural workers this year. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly explained the decision to increase the Congressionally-approved cap of 66,000 H-2B visas per year as a supply-and-demand problem: “there are not enough qualified and willing US workers...

Caixin: China Maintains Grip on Overseas Deals

Peng Qinqin and Leng Cheng July 21, 2017
China’s outbound foreign investments are shrinking as the government tries to rein in debt and encourage “rational” investments, report Peng Qinqin and Leng Cheng for Caixin. For the first six months of this year, they note that China’s nonfinancial outbound investment plunged by nearly half from the previous year to $48.19 billion, adding that scrutiny is applied to “deals in real estate, hotels...