International


Afghanistan: Taliban Arrest Chinese Nationals for Allegedly Smuggling Afghan Lithium

Jan 22, 2023 | Ayaz Gul, Voice of America

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have arrested five men, including two Chinese nationals, for allegedly trying to smuggle an estimated 1,000 metric tons of lithium-bearing rocks…


Afghanistan/Uzbekistan: Muttaqi Asks Uzbekistan to Stay Committed to Power Supply Pact

Jan 22, 2023 | Bibi Amina Hakimi, TOLOnews

The acting minister of foreign affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, on Sunday called on Uzbekistan to provide the amount of electricity mentioned in an agreement signed…


Liberia: The ‘Kpokolo’ Kingpin: How FDA Created a Serial Illegal Logger

Jan 20, 2023 | Mark B. Newa, DayLight

On one sunny day in Karnwee late last year, forest rangers and police officers seized a truck with 80 pieces of boxlike timber, ending an…


Myanmar: The Refugee Who Created a Refuge for Nature in a Conflict Zone

Jan 20, 2023 | Abby Young-Powell, Positive.News

Indigenous leaders across the globe are winning gamechanging environmental victories against the odds. In our ‘guardians of the wild’ series, we hear from those who…


War and the Environment: UN Adopts New Principles

Jan 19, 2023 | Isabella Kaminski, China Dialogue

The 27 legal principles on the Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts (PERAC) were passed by the UN General Assembly on 7…


Nigeria: Gov Ganduje Admits Political Obstacles in Plan to Curb Herder-Farmer Conflict

Jan 19, 2023 | National

Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has admitted that the plans to curb herder-farmer conflict is still facing political obstacles. He spoke in Abuja…


Climate Change: Report: Climate Change Fueling Conflict in Lake Chad Basin

Jan 19, 2023 | Press Trust of India

Droughts, flooding and a shrinking Lake Chad caused in part by climate change is fueling conflict and migration in the region and needs to be…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad to 'Halt Pressures' on KRG Oil, Gas Sector until Hydrocarbon Law Enacted, Says PM Barzani

Jan 18, 2023 | Kurdistan 24

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government have agreed to “halt pressures” on the Kurdish oil and gas sector until the country enacts…


Liberia: At a Rubber Plantation in Liberia, History Repeats in a Fight over Land

Jan 17, 2023 | Ashoka Mukpo, Mongabay

Sexual harassment of its workers isn’t the only charge that’s been leveled against Socfin here in Liberia: in 2019, 22 communities filed a complaint against…


Liberia: Gov’t Clears Export of US$4M ‘Illegal Logs’

Jan 17, 2023 | William Q. Harmon, Observer

The government of Liberia will finally give Renaissance Group Incorporated, a controversial logging company, the green light on January 28, to go ahead with the…


Afghanistan: UN Employ Technology to Stop Afghanistan’s Illicit Opium Cultivation

Jan 16, 2023 | Fidel Rahmati, Khaama Press

On Monday, a British University, Cranfield, released a statement indicating a research partnership with United Nations. The report said that the researchers from the University…


DRC/UAE: DR Congo and UAE Join Forces against Illicit Gold

Jan 16, 2023 | Brussels Times with Belga

A joint venture created by a new partnership between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a view to…


Afghanistan: Nimroz Underground Water Depletion Worries Farmers

Jan 15, 2023 | Shaima Sediqi, Pajhwok Afghan News

The residents of southwestern Nimroz province have complained against the groundwater depletion, while local officials have say steps had been taken to address it.


Afghanistan: Badghis Herdsmen Seek Help after Losing Animals to Cold

Jan 15, 2023 | Mohammad Arif Hasrat, Pajhwok Afghan News

Cattle farmers in western Badghis province say extreme cold has killed some of their animals and if not assisted immediately by the government, they may…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Authorities Reach Preliminary Deal with Baghdad to Resolve Oil Tensions

Jan 15, 2023 | Daniel Stewart, News 360

The prime minister of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masrur Barzani, announced Sunday a series of preliminary agreements with the Iraqi government to resolve…


DRC/UAE: Gold Partnership Seal with First Export from DRC and UAE

Jan 14, 2023 | William Kennedy, Tumbler Ridge News

Congolese authorities have now turned to the United Arab Emirates, a hub for smuggling the metal to market gold. Both countries have established a company…


Aishwarya Sharma: First Indian Fashion Activist & Climate Advocate At COP27 Demands Global Collective Climate Action

Jan 13, 2023 | Outlook India

Aishwarya is also a global goals ambassador with the TogetherBand (United Nations) representing Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities of the 17 The Global Goals and a…


Uganda: Cultural Leaders Petition Alupo Over Emorimor

Jan 12, 2023 | Simon P. Emwamu, Monitor

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has started the mediation process between two warring factions of the Iteso Cultural Union (ICU) over who…


Bolivia: Landmark Global Biodiversity Agreement Enshrines Rights of Indigenous Peoples—Providing Hope for Bolivia’s Guarani

Jan 11, 2023 | Juana Vera-Delgado

After more than four years of negotiations, on Dec.19, 2022, nearly 200 nations adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—a binding agreement to protect at least 30…


This Month in ESG: COP15 and EU Gender Balance Laws

Jan 11, 2023 | Terence Jeyaretnam, Pro Bono Australia

Nothing slowed down in ESG during the last month of the year, with events, new laws and a raft of government announcements, write Terence Jeyaretnam.


Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Extractives Industry Never Achieved Its Potential: SIGAR

Jan 10, 2023 | Nazir Shinwari, TOLOnews

The US Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a new report says that Afghanistan’s extractives industry never achieved its potential, despite years of US…


Liberia: One Dismissed, Two Suspended at Forestry Development Authority for Illegal Practices

Jan 10, 2023 | FrontPage Africa

he Government of Liberia, through the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), has instituted legal actions against several individuals discovered to be engaged in illegal logging activities.…


Myanmar: Green Power Energy Opens 20-Megawatt Mountain Solar Power Project in Myanmar

Jan 10, 2023 | Pooja Chandak, SolarQuarter

GE’s Build-Own-Operate (BOO) system has opened a new page for the 20 MW Taung Taukin solar power generation project to contribute to the nation’s 100%…


Sudan: Largest Unit of Indian Women Peacekeepers in Sudan Conflict Zone

Jan 7, 2023 | Amrita N. Dutta, Indian Express

The contingent has 25 women soldiers from the Corps of Military Police (CMP) and the Assam Rifles, senior Defence officials familiar with the matter said.


Ukraine’s Need for Women in War Conflicts With Nation’s Gender Norms, VCU Professor’s New Research Finds

Jan 6, 2023 | Mary K. Brogan, VCU News

“The Ukrainian military has tried to adopt more equal policies, but those have faced pushback from Ukrainian society, which largely sees women’s place in society…


Liberia: Communities Affected by Commercial Logging in Liberia Demand Payment of Their Land Rental Fees

Jan 6, 2023 | Joel Cholo Brooks, Global News Network

Representatives of Communities affected by commercial logging in Liberia are calling on the Government of Liberia through the National Legislators to ensure that the communities’…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan's Taliban Administration in Oil Extraction Deal with Chinese Company

Jan 5, 2023 | Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Reuters

Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration is to sign a contract with a Chinese company to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin in the country's north, the…


DRC: NGOs Stand against Resource Plundering, Target China and Russia, Seek US Support

Jan 3, 2023 | Mwangi Maina, Standard

Regrouped in a coalition they labelled the Civil society action group for the protection, monitoring and citizen control of natural resources in the Democratic Republic…


Afghanistan: Growers View Asafoetida as Alternative to Poppies

Jan 2, 2023 | Pajhwok Afghan News

Growers in central Uruzgan province say asafoetida, if properly marketed, could be a good alternative to poppy cultivation. The cultivation of asafoetida, a medicinal herb…


Iraq: Iraqi Security Dismantles Largest Crude Oil Smuggling Network in Basra

Jan 1, 2023 | Asharq Al-Awsat

The Iraqi National Security Agency has announced that the committee investigating the oil theft in Basra uncovered the largest crude oil smuggling network. The new…