International


Afghanistan/Iran: Iran, Afghanistan Exchange Heavy Cross-Border Fire over Water Dispute

May 27, 2023 | TRT World

Two Iranian border guards and one Afghan soldier have been killed after Afghanistan and Iran exchanged heavy gunfire in the border area, sharply escalating rising…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Budget Vote Delayed as Kurds Oppose Amendments on Oil

May 27, 2023 | Agence France-Presse

Iraqi Kurdish leaders on Saturday denounced amendments over oil in the draft federal budget, delaying a parliamentary vote more than two months after legislators received…


Colombia: Colombia Studies Need for New Oil and Gas Exploration as Reserves Dwindle, Minister Says

May 25, 2023 | Oscar Medina and Eric Martin, Bloomberg

Colombia is studying the need for more exploration contracts after a report showed oil and gas reserves dropping, according to a senior minister. The government…


Liberia: ‘Kpokolo’ Explained: What We Know About the Illegal Trade

May 25, 2023 | James Harding Giahyue, The DayLight

Last week, the two Turkish nationals were arrested in Ganta, Nimba County for their alleged involvement in illegal logging activities in that region. Police finally picked up Hasan Uzan…


South Sudan: Toxic Floods: Environmental Risks around Oil Infrastructure put South Sudan on Edge

May 25, 2023 | Madhumita Paul, DownToEarth

A recent report has flagged environmental risks associated with severe flooding near South Sudan’s national oil infrastructure. Oil infrastructure in the country lacks adequate protection and…


Climate Change: Asia Water, Energy Supplies at Risk as Climate Woes Mount

May 25, 2023 | David Stanway, Reuters

Climate-related disruptions to the crucial Hindu Kush-Himalayan water system are posing risks to economic development and energy security in 16 Asian countries, and concerted action…


Myanmar: Northern Rakhine State Townships Face Water Shortage in Aftermath of Cyclone Mocha

May 24, 2023 | Myanmar Now

Locals in northern Rakhine State have been left with no choice but to drink boiled “dirty water,” as a shortage of freshwater continues to plague…


DRC: DR Congo Accuses Rebel Forces of Looting Its Natural Resources [Video]

May 24, 2023 | CGTN Africa

The Democratic Republic of Congo has again made a formal complaint to the International Criminal Court over what it claims is the systematic looting of…


Egypt/Ethiopia: Egypt Criticises Ethiopia over Claim Gerd Dam Dispute Has become Arab-African Conflict

May 24, 2023 | Hamza Hendawi, National

Egypt rebuked Ethiopia on Wednesday for branding their dispute over a Nile dam being built by Addis Ababa as an Arab-African conflict, saying the Horn…


Afghanistan: How Miners Use War Weapons to Hunt Rare Jewels in Afghanistan [Video]

May 24, 2023 | Insider News

Miners in Afghanistan use dangerous methods to hunt for jewels many of them couldn’t afford to buy. Most gems leave the country illegally and Afghan…


Colombia: How Preserving a Colombian Forest Protects One City’s Water Supply [Video]

May 24, 2023 | CGTN America

Colombia’s western Andes Mountains are home to cloud forests and a special biodiverse ecosystem with about two million plant and animal species. It is also…


Afghanistan/Iran: Iran Says Taliban Must Adhere to Water Treaty to End Deepening Dispute

May 24, 2023 | Iran International

Tehran's water dispute with the Taliban must be solved through arbitration, says the country's vice president for legal issues who claimed the Afghan fundamentalists were…


China/DRC: China and the DRC Are Set to Sign a $6 Billion Infrastructure-for-Minerals Agreement

May 23, 2023 | Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa

Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will go to China from May 24 to May 29 and is scheduled to…


Liberia: Logging Company Exports US$2.7M Logs, Ignoring Contract with Local Community

May 23, 2023 | Jacob S. Tweh Jr. and Paul M. Kanneh, Observer

A Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW) investigation has revealed that Horizon Logging Company Limited exported a whopping 10,355 cubic meters of logs via the Greenville…


Cambodia: Cambodian Land Activists Arrested for Allegedly Inciting Farmers to Hate the Rich

May 23, 2023 | Sopheng Cheang and Grant Peck, Associated Press

Three Cambodian land rights activists who were arrested on charges of plotting against the government planned to provoke a peasant revolution by teaching farmers about…


Afghanistan: Helmand Residents Say Crops Dying as Musa Qala River is Dry

May 23, 2023 | Najibullah Sahil, TOLOnews

The residents of Musa Qala district in southeastern Helmand province are facing a dire situation as the only river in the district has recently dried…


Myanmar: Cyclone Mocha and Return of El Niño: A Crisis of Climate-Conflict-Humanitarian Triple Nexus in Myanmar

May 22, 2023 | ISP-Myanmar

Cyclone Mocha, one of the strongest storms ever to hit the Bay of Bengal, made landfall near Sittwe on May 14, 2023. It wreaked havoc…


Colombia: Sustainable Agriculture Is Building Peace in Colombia

May 21, 2023 | Eurasia Review

In areas of Colombia once controlled by guerillas, conflicts over land continue and deforestation has risen considerably. But it’s in these same areas that researchers…


Nigeria: Envoy Says Modern Ranching Will Curb Farmer-Herder Conflict in Nigeria

May 21, 2023 | Matthew Bruce, Freedom Online

The Denmark Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Sune Krogstrup, has called for modern ranching as a way of curbing the perennial farmer-herder conflict and empowering local…


Liberia: Horizon Logging Company Exports US$2.7 Million Worth of Logs In Flagrant Disregard to Logging Contract

May 21, 2023 | Jacob S. Tweh, Jr and Paul M. Kanneh, Global News Network

On 4th May 2021, Horizon Logging Company Limited signed a Commercial Use Contract (CUC) with residents of Konobo Community Forest in Grand Gedeh County to…


Afganistan/Iran: Iran Gives Afghanistan One Month to Resolve Iran's Water Rights Issue

May 20, 2023 | Mohammad Farshad Daryosh, TOLOnews

Following the rise of tension over Iran's water rights from the Helmand River in recent days, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan, said the…


Afghanistan: Taliban Restarts War-Postponed Dam Construction, Sparking Tension with Iran over Water Rights [Video]

May 20, 2023 | Edmond Ng, South China Morning Post

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban has restarted construction of the Bakhsh Abad Dam in the Farah province, which neighbours Iran. Tehran has warned that it reserves the…


DRC: East DR Congo Gold Venture Aims to Stamp out Illicit Trade

May 19, 2023 | Agence France-Presse

Experts say illicit trade in gold and other minerals in eastern DRC has long fuelled the dozens of armed groups that have plagued the region…


Syria: 17 Iranian ‘Ghost Tankers’ Bring Oil Worth $1 Billion to Syria

May 18, 2023 | Avi Scharf, Haaretz

Defying Iran sanctions with dangerous ship-to-ship transfers and transceivers turned off, eight tankers made 17 deliveries of oil to Syria in the last six months.…


Climate Change: Climate Change amid Armed Conflict Exacerbating Humanitarian Needs across Middle East

May 18, 2023 | Jennifer Bell, Al Arabiya

Armed conflict in the Middle East is exacerbating the effects of climate change across parts of the region, with the most vulnerable places are almost…


Colombia: Sustainable Agriculture Is Building Peace in Colombia, Finds Research

May 17, 2023 | Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture

In areas of Colombia once controlled by guerillas, conflicts over land continue and deforestation has risen considerably. But it's in these same areas that researchers…


Afghanistan: Farmers Complain Unfair Use of Sar-i-Pul River Water

May 16, 2023 | Ghulam Sakhi Frotan, Pajhwok Afghan News

Some farmers in northern Sar-i-Pul province have complained against the unfair use of river water and said the use of water pumps by the residents…


Myanmar: Award-Winning, Indigenous Peace Park Dragged into Fierce Conflict in Myanmar

May 15, 2023 | Carolyn Cowan, Mongabay

On 27 March 2021, the natural sounds of the teak and bamboo forests of eastern Myanmar — calling birds, croaking frogs and barking deer —…


Zimbabwe: Human, Wildlife Conflict Escalating

May 15, 2023 | Esther Shavi, CAJ News

For years, human and wildlife in Kariba have coexisted in peace. However, as the population of the elephants rises, the relations have tragically deteriorated. This…


Afghanistan: Climate Change Reducing Access to Clean Water in Afghanistan

May 14, 2023 | Abdullah Azizi, Pajhwok Afghan News

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) has said that climate change is reducing access to water across Afghanistan. OCHA…