Death of the author is the idea that the meaning of a text should not be determined by the author’s personal intentions, biography, or explanations. Authorial Intent is the belief that the “correct” or most legitimate interpretation of a work is the one intended by the creator.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental cartel enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximise profit. On May 1st, 2026, the United Arab Emirates formally withdrew from OPEC and OPEC+ after 59 years of membership.

Nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The commodification of nostalgia refers to the process by which this emotional experience is packaged, marketed, and sold as a commercial product through reboots, sequels, retro branding, vintage aesthetics, and the constant recycling of cultural artefacts from previous decades.

Many African countries have imposed moratoriums or restrictive regulations on the export of raw minerals, particularly those mined in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sectors, to curb smuggling, environmental degradation, and labor abuses in unregulated mining zones. Artisanal mining supplies critical inputs for advanced technology manufacturing, including tantalum (coltan), tin, tungsten, and gold, which are components in capacitors, solders, and casings for AI hardware like servers and semiconductor fabrication equipment. These minerals are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda.

In the 1990s, US deportations sent Salvadoran gang members home, and by the 2010s El Salvador had the world's highest murder rate. Elected in 2019 to end gang rule, Bukele declared a state of emergency, suspending rights and arresting over 80,000 suspected gang members through military-backed crackdowns. Murders fell from 54 per 100 000 (2018) to 8 per 100 000(2022), with one year recording zero homicides. But the crackdown brought mass trials without fair defense, arbitrary detentions, and the removal of independent judges and the attorney general.

In recent years, the Sahel region (particularly Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger ) has experienced a dramatic security and political crisis. Military juntas have seized power in all three countries, citing the failure of civilian governments to contain jihadist insurgencies. These insurgencies, linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, have expanded their control across vast rural areas, displacing millions and killing tens of thousands. The juntas have broken ties with France (the former colonial power), expelled French and UN forces, and withdrawn from the regional bloc ECOWAS. In their place, they have turned to Russia, inviting mercenaries from the Wagner Group and its successor, the Africa Corps, to provide military support. Russia has deployed thousands of mercenaries across the region, offering air support, intelligence, and ground forces in exchange for access to gold and other resources.

Geoengineering refers to large-scale technological interventions to directly alter the climate, including Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) (e.g. direct air capture, ocean fertilisation) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM) (e.g. stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening) which impact and change the entire global. Climate adaptation strategies help societies cope with climate impacts rather than changing the climate itself, such as sea walls, drought-resistant crops, flood defenses, early warning systems, and climate-resilient infrastructure at a localised level.

Traditional environmental conservation aims to protect the environment from human influence eg. (by creating protected areas, protecting endangered species, and stopping the destruction of ecosystems). New environmental conservation aims to integrate environmental protections into existing corporate structures eg. (Offsetting green bonds, eco architecture, or species credits.)

Shamans serve their communities through rituals, healing, and spiritual guidance. Outsiders increasingly seek these rituals.