Africa’s Natural Resources for Africans?

As of 2020, Africa’s natural resources were pledged to back nearly $66 billion in loans made for the most part from China’s state-controlled Development and Exim Banks.

Africa has enormous economic potential. It is the youngest continent in the world, and nearly half of the world’s working-age population will be African in 30 years. With that youth comes not only a vast source of ready labor, but also a potential treasure trove of new ideas and innovations. The continent is also home to a large portion of the world’s most valuable natural resources: 40% of global gold, nearly 90% of chromium and platinum and, overall, about a third of the world’s known critical minerals supply.

Haiti’s Democratic Cupboard Is Bare

There is not a single elected official left in Haiti. Not one.

The world has a number of “faux” democracies—countries where leaders carefully create a veneer of citizen support, but in reality, they are only in office because they’ve effectively rigged elections and throttled democratic freedoms. Venezuela’s Maduro and Nicaragua’s Ortega, for example, each hold their country’s highest office because they’ve jailed credible political opponents, banned opposition parties, shut down independent media, and bent judges and election officials to their will. Russia’s Vladimir Putin keeps getting “re-elected” because he effectively controls every Russian institution and source of power…and his most vocal critics have a habit of dying off or languishing in prison.

But Haiti’s situation is different. Its democracy isn’t faux—it’s nonexistent.

Clash of Perceptions in Gaza

63% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would prefer Hamas control of Gaza to either the return of Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas or a “local authority formed by Israel.” At the same time, 80% of Palestinians surveyed say they have not seen videos of Hamas atrocities against Israeli women and families.

Seven months after Hamas’s horrific terrorist attacks on Israel, any permanent ceasefire appears far off. October 7 darkened the lives of countless Israeli families—from those who have seen loved ones killed, injured, or taken hostage, to those who have friends and family serving in the country’s defense forces. Nearly two million Gazans (85% of the population) have been displaced in the wake of the attacks and more than 3 million Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza (WB-G) are in need of humanitarian assistance. Hamas continues to hold hostages (including Americans), and Israeli authorities are still planning a full ground offensive into the southern city of Rafah, reportedly the last major Hamas stronghold.