Resources Archive

China signed an extraordinary $20 billion loan agreement with Guinea earlier this month, providing the West African country with much-needed financial resources over the next two decades in exchange for concessions and access to its abundant deposits of bauxite, an industrial aluminum ore that is in high demand. The first phase of the deal involves three separate Chinese mining infrastructure projects in the northwestern town of Boffa: a planned alumina refinery and two bauxite extraction operations. China is currently a top global consumer of bauxite, an industrial ore that is first refined into alumina, also known as aluminum oxide, and […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, speaks with senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, and associate editor, Omar H. Rahman, about U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly this week, and how the world is adjusting to his outspoken style. For the Report, Johan Bergenas joins Andrew Green to discuss the impact of illegal fishing and why it is shifting from an environmental problem to a security issue as governments tangle over dwindling resources. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines, as well as what you’ve seen on WPR, please think about supporting […]

This summer, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the first of three new aircraft carriers replacing the aging Nimitz-class supercarriers from the Cold War, was delivered to the United States Navy. This 100,000-ton behemoth—expected to serve the country for more than 50 years—stands ready to fight America’s wars, deter foreign aggression and maintain freedom of navigation at sea. Recent developments in global affairs suggest that the new aircraft carriers and the broader U.S. Navy will face a more comprehensive mission, one that is also pivotal to U.S. and global security: fighting those who are stealing natural resources from the world’s oceans. […]

A leading pollster called it “the worst election in Mongolian history.” Last June, Mongolian voters went to the polls to choose a new president, though many of them were likely just looking forward to getting the process over with. During several weeks of campaigning, the three candidates had deployed appalling smear tactics, accusing each other of money laundering and graft based on scant evidence. On voting day, only 60.9 percent of the electorate turned out in a country that was once accustomed to over 90 percent participation. Almost 100,000 voters, or slightly more than 8 percent of the electorate, submitted […]