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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

Gold Prices Surge as Moody’s Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating

Gold prices climbed sharply on Monday, driven by renewed safe-haven demand after Moodys downgraded the U.S. credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa, citing rising fiscal risks and soaring government debt. The downgrade triggered...

Asian Currencies Stay Flat Despite US Dollar Dip; Yen Rises on BOJ Rate Hike Hopes

Asian currencies remained largely flat on Monday, even as the U.S. dollar weakened following a credit rating downgrade by Moodys. The U.S. Dollar Index dropped 0.3% after the agency cut the governments credit rating by one...

China’s Economic Growth Slows Amid Tariff Tensions Despite Strong Q1

Chinas industrial output and retail sales growth slowed in April, reflecting mounting pressure from ongoing trade tensions with the United States. Industrial production rose 6.1% year-on-year, outperforming market...

China Property Investment Drops 10.3% Amid Prolonged Real Estate Slump

Chinas property sector continues to decline, with property investment falling 10.3% year-on-year in the first four months of 2025, deepening from a 9.9% drop in the first quarter, according to official data released...

Asian Stocks Slip as US Rating Downgrade and China Data Rattle Markets

Asian stock markets declined on Monday amid growing concerns over global economic health, following a surprise U.S. credit rating downgrade by Moodys and mixed economic data from China. SP 500 futures fell 0.8% in Asian...

Politics

Pope Leo XIV Meets U.S. VP JD Vance Amid Ongoing Immigration Policy Tensions

Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on May 19, 2025. The meeting marked the first high-level U.S.-Vatican encounter since Leos election on May 8....

Trump’s $500B “Golden Dome” Missile Shield Advances Amid Budget Concerns

The Pentagon has submitted multiple proposals to the White House for Golden Dome, a massive U.S. missile defense initiative backed by President Donald Trump. Designed as a space-based shield against advanced missile...

Poland Seizes Boeing Aircraft Tires in EU Sanctions Enforcement

Polish customs officials have seized five metric tons of aircraft tires intended for Boeing (NYSE:BA) civilian planes, citing a violation of European Union sanctions on Russia. The National Revenue Administration announced...

South Korea’s Kim Moon-soo Open to Higher U.S. Military Cost Share

South Koreas conservative presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo said he is open to increasing Seouls contribution toward the cost of stationing U.S. troops, aligning with demands made by U.S. President Donald Trump in recent...

Trump Administration Warns Tariffs Will Rise Without 'Good Faith' Trade Talks

President Donald Trump plans to reinstate higher tariffs on trading partners that fail to negotiate in good faith, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Speaking on Sunday, Bessent said nations unwilling to...

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

Nvidia Plans New AI Chips for China Amid U.S. Export Restrictions

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is preparing to launch a new AI chip for China in the coming months that complies with U.S. export controls, according to Nikkei Asia. The upcoming chip will be a downgraded version from its previous...

Alibaba Stock Falls as Trump Administration Scrutinizes Apple AI Deal in China

Alibaba shares dropped 3.8% to HK$118.60 on Monday, leading losses on the Hang Seng Index, which dipped 0.2%. The decline followed a New York Times report that the Trump administration is reviewing a major AI partnership...

Xiaomi Commits $6.9 Billion to Chip Design Over 10 Years

Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF), a leading Chinese smartphone and electric vehicle manufacturer, plans to invest over 50 billion yuan (approximately $6.93 billion) into semiconductor chip design by 2031. The strategic initiative,...

Nvidia Eyes Major Quantum Leap with Investment in PsiQuantum

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is reportedly in advanced talks to invest in quantum computing startup PsiQuantum, signaling a major strategic move into next-gen computing, according to The Information. The deal would...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Showcase AI Innovations at Computex 2025

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is set to headline Computex 2025 in Taipei, with a 90-minute keynote on Monday at 11 a.m. local time (0300 GMT). Known for transforming Nvidia from a gaming graphics card maker into a dominant force...