China’s unbridled ambitions could affect the world in many positive ways. Its global programme of foreign investment and infrastructure development can bolster economic growth and food security, as well as enriching many poor nations. But what about the environmental consequences? Bill Laurance unpacks claims by the country’s leaders that it’s embracing “green development”.

Russia will not be allowed to participate in next year’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. It’s been banned from the competition by the International Olympic Committee because a state-sponsored doping regime was put in place for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Country bans are not unprecedented. But, explains Jack Anderson, Russia is the first nation to be punished for a lack of sporting integrity rather than for political reasons.

Migingo, an island in the Eastern waters of Lake Victoria, is barely the size of half a football pitch. It has become a popular spot for fishermen to hunt the Nile perch and developed into a tiny slum that houses hundreds of people. The increased commercial activity has sparked competing claims by Uganda and Kenya over who owns Migingo. Christopher R. Rossi discusses the important international legal issues at play.