Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
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SPACE EXPLORATION

Botswana signed the Artemis Accords – so why hasn't South Africa?

Botswana recently became the sixth African nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a US-led initiative for peaceful space exploration. However, South Africa, despite its advanced…

  • Dillon Birns
7 min read
PAKISTAN DIPLOMACY

How Pakistan became the Gulf's most consequential diplomatic partner

Explore how Pakistan, through the strategic efforts of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, transformed its global standing to become a crucial mediator in…

  • Imran Khalid
7 min read
As demand for copper, cobalt and other minerals needed for electric vehicles and renewable energy surges, a new report warns that allegations of human rights abuses linked to mining in Africa are rising even faster
CRITICAL MINERALS

Africa bears growing human cost of the world's rush for critical minerals

A new report by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre reveals that allegations of human rights abuses linked to transition mineral mining in Africa more than doubled in…

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
External demand: Minerals must do more than leave the continent as raw materials. They must also support industrialisation, technology transfer, skills development, energy access and economic transformation. Photo: Open Society
AFRICA CHINA RELATIONS

The problem is not China; it’s Africa

A Zimbabwean expert argues that Africa's approach to China regarding critical minerals is outdated, rooted in Cold War politics and anti-colonial solidarity. The article contends…

  • Kofi Bediako
6 min read