Russia's billionaire class has recovered its pre-war collective wealth, but the conditions sustaining that recovery are already exhausted. Western sanctions have closed off the internationalization that previously gave the oligarchs leverage over the Kremlin, while wartime nationalization has reminded them that domestic property rights remain conditional on political loyalty. Andrey Melnichenko's profile in The Economist --- a public declaration of fealty to Vladimir Putin wrapped in the (…)

In Ampara District, the Tamil-majority coastal community of Thirukkovil is mobilising against planned mineral sands mining operations targeting deposits of ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and garnet beneath its beaches. Residents, fishermen's associations, and local government bodies have spent nearly two decades resisting corporate overtures --- including offers of boats, nets, and infrastructure in exchange for signatures of consent --- citing the destruction wrought by decades of state-run (…)

La côte orientale du Sri Lanka concentre certains des gisements de sables minéraux les plus importants d'Asie du Sud --- et depuis plusieurs années, des sociétés multinationales cherchent à en extraire l'ilménite, le rutile, le zircon et le grenat au détriment des communautés qui y vivent. Ce mouvement d'accaparement s'inscrit dans un contexte plus large : celui d'un Sri Lanka post-guerre civile où les régions à majorité tamoule du Nord et de l'Est restent sous-développées et exposées à des (…)

The razor thin loss of the left in the presidential election in Peru and the left's rejection of the legitimacy of the election of US citizen and ultra-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia have set the stage for a new period of social and class conflict in Latin America. The political temperature in Colombia continues to rise following the contested official election results that have made extreme-right wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella the presumptive president (…)

Dear friends of B'Tselem, I assume the role of chair of B'Tselem's board at the most difficult period for human rights in this region. As human rights advocates, we always direct our attention to the darkest corners of life in this world. But in the times we are living through, the darkness is not at the margins. It is center stage, in Israel/Palestine and around the world. We know all too well that the genocide in the Gaza Strip and the spread of violence in the West Bank are an extreme (…)

La loi sur la protection de la nature fête ses 50 ans, mais n'a jamais été aussi affaiblie. Les reculs qui se multiplient lors du second quinquennat d'Emmanuel Macron mettent en péril ce texte fondateur, estime l'historien Rémi Luglia. Adoptée le 10 juillet 1976, la loi relative à la protection de la nature constitue l'un des textes fondateurs du droit français de l'environnement. Elle a marqué un changement de paradigme en affirmant que « la protection des espaces naturels et des (…)