Ecuador oil drilling referendum a victory for biodiversity
On August 20, 2023, Ecuadorians voted overwhelmingly to stop oil drilling in the Amazon’s Yasuní National Park (pictured here) by a margin of nearly 20 percent. Photo by Paul Bertner/Minden…
Owen Schalk
Canadian mining, oilsands companies saw huge revenue increases in 2022
Photo by Chris LeBoutillier/Unsplash The Canadian Mining Journal, an industry magazine catered to insiders, has released its annual ranking of Canada’s top 40 miners. Describing 2022 as “a remarkable year”…
Why is Niger’s junta so popular—and so feared?
Supporters of the coup with a picture of General Abdourahamane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger. Photo by Sam Mednick. Events in Niger have been moving fast. After overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum…
Niger coup will have global ramifications for the US, France, and Canada
Protesters display the flags of Niger and Russia during a protest in Niamey, Niger. Photo by Efe Issifou/Flickr. On July 26, the African continent was rocked by news of a…
Indigenous resistance challenges Ontario’s ‘mining boom’
The Ring of Fire is located in northwestern Ontario. Many First Nations along the James Bay coast, pictured here, are located downstream of the development. Photo courtesy the Government of…
Feds cut off Toronto while sending billions to Ukraine
Toronto’s new Mayor Olivia Chow is seen by many progressives as a welcome change from conservative rule, thirteen years of which transformed Canada’s largest city into a troubling icon of…
EU-CELAC summit fails to convince Latin America to abandon neutrality
L-R: Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s Prime Minister,…
In Latin America and Asia, Canada supports the US government’s new Cold War
The amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (foreground) and Peruvian navy Makassar-class landing platform dock ship BAP Pisco (background) conduct tactical maneuvers and naval formations during a training…
Jens Stoltenberg’s global vision encourages conflict, militarization, and historical amnesia
Norwegian politician and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo courtesy NATO/Flickr. On July 10, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg published an article in Foreign Affairs titled “A Stronger NATO for…
Justice for Mariano Abarca
Community organizers and land protectors present an environmental defense award named in honour of murdered activist Mariano Abarca in Chicomuselo, Chiapas, Mexico, November 2019. Photo courtesy Otros Mundos Chiapas. On…
Central Asia in the multipolar world
Flags of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China, May 19, 2023. Photo from Flickr. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine…
While thousands of Venezuelans died, Chrystia Freeland called for sanctions with ‘more bite’
A demonstrator holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: “Trump unblock Venezuela” in Caracas, August 7, 2019. Photo courtesy AP. Sanctions have become the most common weapon…
‘Decoupling’ from China means more Canadian exploitation of Latin America, Africa
A cobalt mine in central Africa. Image by Fairphone/Flickr. Last year, Ottawa announced its first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy, a program aimed at securing and expanding the access of Canadian companies…
Latin America’s neutrality on Russia, China vexes Washington
A C-390 Millennium airplane from the Brazilian Air Force arrives in Warsaw, Poland with 11.6 tons of humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Photo courtesy the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Latin…
AMLO’s mining reforms could lead to more conflict with Canada
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Photo courtesy Presidencia de la República/Wikimedia Commons. Mining companies are furious about Mexico’s proposed economic reforms, which would shorten mining concessions, provide greater environmental…
On the Amazon, Lula tries to undo Bolsonaro’s destructive legacy
Deforestation in Maranhão state, Brazil, July 2016. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Lula da Silva’s election as president of Brazil has raised hopes around the world for swift action in defence…
While Canada profited from war in Yemen, China pushed for peace
Saudi forces take part in military exercises during a visit by Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah at a military base in Yemen’s southern embattled city of Aden. Photo by Ahmed…
Foreign Affairs acknowledges Israel has destroyed the ‘two-state solution’
An elder waves the Palestinian flag near the boundary with Israel, east of Gaza City. Photo from Flickr. Foreign Affairs is the magazine of the US foreign policy elite. Published…
Is AMLO’s resource nationalism raising the odds of a coup?
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Photo courtesy Presidencia de la República/Wikimedia Commons. One of the key tenets of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “fourth transformation” government is state…
Alberta tailings leak reveals the failures of Canada’s environmental assessment process
An undated photo of the site of an overland spill at Imperial Oil’s Kearl Lake oil sands mining operation in northern Alberta. Photo courtesy Nick Vardy/Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. In…