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Melanie Murcott

Associate Professor, Institute of Marine and Environmental Law, University of Cape Town
Melanie Jean Murcott is an associate professor of law at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Law, University of Cape Town. She holds an LLB from the University of Cape Town, and an LLM (Constitutional and Administrative Law) from the University of Pretoria (both with distinction). She obtained her LLD (Constitutional Law) from North-West University in 2020. Before joining academia in 2012, Melanie practised as an attorney, including at Hogan Lovells (South Africa) where she was a partner. From 2012 to 2023, Melanie taught and engaged in research at the University of Pretoria. She authored Transformative Environmental Constitutionalism (Brill, 2022), a significant monograph which develops a novel approach to the adjudication of disputes concerning environmental protection, given that we face a planetary crisis with myriad justice implications. Melanie believes, as Maya Angelou says: “no one of us can be free until everybody is free”. Importantly for Melanie, a flourishing environment creates the necessary conditions for freedom since humans and the environment are fundamentally connected.

South African court said no to new coal-fired power: what’s behind the ruling

Apr 12, 2025 10:02 am UTC| Insights & Views Governance

Three South African environmental and climate justice organisations took the South African government to court in November 2021, to challenge the authorisation of new coal-fired power as part of the countrys energy mix....

Economy

Philippines Posts $2 Billion BOP Deficit in March Amid Economic Headwinds

The Philippines recorded a $2 billion balance of payments (BOP) deficit in March 2025, reversing a $3.1 billion surplus in February, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This shift pushed the countrys...

Indonesia’s March Exports Beat Expectations with $23.25B Surge

Indonesias exports rose by 3.16% year-on-year in March 2025, reaching $23.25 billion, according to data released by Statistics Indonesia on Monday. This performance exceeded market expectations, which had forecast a 3.40%...

EU May Soften Methane Rules to Boost U.S. LNG Imports Amid Trade Tensions

The European Union is considering easing the application of its methane emissions regulations to help U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports comply with its new climate rules, sources told Reuters. The move comes as the...

Japan Core Inflation Accelerates in March, Complicating BoJ Rate Outlook

Japans core consumer inflation rose in March, fueled by persistent food price hikes, adding complexity to the Bank of Japans (BoJ) rate trajectory amid ongoing U.S. tariff tensions. According to official data released...

Dollar Plunges to Three-Year Low Amid Fed Shake-Up Fears and Trade Uncertainty

The U.S. dollar fell sharply on Monday, hitting multi-year lows against major currencies as fears mounted over the independence of the Federal Reserve and escalating trade tensions. Investor sentiment weakened after...

Politics

China Imposes Sanctions on U.S. Officials Over Hong Kong Dispute

BEIJING China has announced sanctions targeting several U.S. lawmakers, government officials, and heads of non-governmental organizations in retaliation for what it described as egregious behavior concerning Hong Kong....

JD Vance Visits India Amid U.S.-India Trade Talks and Growing Diplomatic Ties

U.S. Vice President JD Vance began a four-day visit to India on Monday, aiming to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations as both countries work toward a potential trade deal. Vance is scheduled to meet Prime Minister...

Trump Threatens to Cut $1B in Health Research Funds to Harvard Amid Campus Protest Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump is escalating his administrations conflict with elite universities, threatening to cut an additional $1 billion in federal health research funding to Harvard University, according to the Wall...

China Warns Against Trade Deals That Undermine Its Interests

China has issued a strong warning against any economic or trade agreements made at its expense, responding to reports that the U.S. is pressuring other nations to curb trade with China in exchange for tariff exemptions. In...

Pentagon Leak Probe Sparks Backlash After Advisor Ouster

Dan Caldwell, a former top adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has spoken out following his sudden removal from the Pentagon amid a controversial leak investigation. In a joint statement with fellow ousted...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

Nintendo Faces Tariff Hurdles Ahead of Switch 2 Launch

Nintendo is preparing to launch the highly anticipated Switch 2 on June 5, marking eight years since the original Switch debuted. The console, which sold over 150 million units globally, became a pandemic-era favorite....

Apple iPhone Sales Drop 9% in China as Xiaomi Surges 40%

Apples iPhone shipments in China dropped 9% year-over-year in Q1 2025, making it the only major smartphone brand to report a decline, according to IDC. The U.S. tech giant shipped 9.8 million iPhones during the quarter,...

Nvidia Faces $5.5B Hit as U.S. Restricts H20 AI Chip Exports to China

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) announced it will incur $5.5 billion in charges after the U.S. government indefinitely restricted exports of its H20 AI chip to China, a critical market for its data center products. The H20 chip,...

Intel Restructures Leadership Under New CEO to Boost AI and Engineering Focus

Intels new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has initiated a major leadership shakeup aimed at streamlining operations and reviving the chipmakers competitive edge. In a recent internal memo obtained by Reuters, Tan announced a flatter...

TSMC Q1 Profit Surges 60% on Booming AI Chip Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the worlds largest contract chipmaker, reported a 60% year-over-year surge in first-quarter net profit, driven by skyrocketing demand for chips powering artificial intelligence...