ARTICLES
Ultimate price: The cost of environmental activism
The killing of environmental defenders in developing countries is not only a growing human rights crisis but also bad for business, writes Saif Islam.
The killing of environmental defenders in developing countries is not only a growing human rights crisis but also bad for business, writes Saif Islam.
Amid a reported increase in maritime piracy in the Gulf of Mexico, Erin Drake considers the drivers of such attacks, and whether the economic impact of Covid-19 has contributed to the expansion of maritime crime in the area.
Ahead of several elections in 2021, Erin Drake considers the prospects for the commercial operating environment in Latin America, amid widespread socio-economic protests against right-leaning governments.
The pandemic has not only resulted in operational and financial challenges for the shipping industry but has also contributed to an increase in maritime attacks, writes Saif Islam.
Virtual kidnappings increased in North America during the Covid-19 pandemic, as people spent more time online and increased their exposure to such scams. However, even as lockdowns lift, the profitable and low-risk nature of such crimes will continue to drive incidents in the coming year, writes Erin Drake.
In some countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed criminal groups to diversify and expand their operations. This could threaten foreign businesses and staff in affected countries in the coming year, writes Erin Drake.
In some Latin American countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has expanded and strengthened the role of security forces, providing increased opportunities for corrupt officials to engage in extortive practices, wrongful detentions and other crimes with greater impunity, writes Erin Drake.
Criminals in Mexico have increasingly sought to use hotels for staging virtual kidnap attempts. Erin Drake considers the methods and tactics used by kidnappers to carry out a fake abduction.
Criminal groups have experienced reduced revenue in the Covid-19 lockdown period. As criminals look to bolster their diminishing income in the coming months, they will likely aim to intensify and diversify extortion and kidnap activities, writes Erin Drake.
S-RM spoke to David Lawson, Deputy Head of Crisis Response, about some of the recent global trends in kidnapping and extortion, and to hear about some of the key considerations for S-RM’s Crisis Response team when they are working on a live case.
Piracy, terrorism and geopolitical tensions have presented persistent threats to commercial shipping in 2019. Despite states’ increased focus on securing shipping routes, the overall number of maritime incidents continues to fluctuate, and has declined only marginally over the past year.
In 2019, there were an average of more than 9,700 aircrafts in the air – transporting over 1.2 million people – at any given moment. As international travel often brings passengers to new destinations, they may face unfamiliar security dynamics. In fact, in 2019, 68 percent of tourists ranked security threats as their primary concern – above geopolitical…