International


Myanmar: China Again Seeks Myanmar Regime's Assurances on Oil, Gas Pipelines Security

Apr 2, 2021 | Irrawaddy

China has reportedly requested a meeting with Myanmar over growing concerns about the security of its oil and natural gas twin pipelines project after ethnic…


Colombia: Deforestation Rises in Colombia’s Chiribiquete National Park as Cattle Invade

Apr 2, 2021 | Antonio José Paz Cardona, Mongabay

For the past several years, the Colombian Amazon has been hit harder by deforestation than any other region in the country, according to the Institute…


India: Environment, the Unsuspecting Victim of Cross-Border Conflicts

Mar 31, 2021 | Vaishnavi Rathore, Bastion

Be it the deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, or the Himalayan regions of Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Arunachal Pradesh, these strategically sensitive and secluded landscapes…


Policy Brief Describes New Mindset Needed to Accelerate Gender Equality

Mar 31, 2021 | International Institute for Sustainable Development

A policy brief published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development offers a “formula” for accelerating implementation of the 2030 Agenda – enabling women’s participation…


Yemen: Women Struggle to Get by as Yemen Conflict Hits Six-Year Mark

Mar 31, 2021 | Jean Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR

As the world’s worst humanitarian crisis rages on, women and children make up three-quarters of the four million people forced from their homes, putting them…


Afghanistan: Country’s Four Million Internally Displaced Need Urgent Support amid Pandemic

Mar 30, 2021 | Amnesty International

The Afghan government and the international community must urgently scale up efforts to support the country’s four million internally displaced people (IDPs), who have been…


Conflict Minerals: UCLA Researchers Evaluate Efforts to Curb Trade of Conflict Minerals

Mar 30, 2021 | Stan Paul, University of California Los Angeles

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act requires that US-listed companies sourcing so-called “conflict minerals” from Africa’s Great Lakes region conduct due diligence. (The EU now imposes similar…


Participants at “Gender, Climate Change, and Migration” Event Were Briefed on the VC Platform

Mar 29, 2021 | UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Gender equality, women’s protection, and empowerment are keys to the disaster risk reduction and climate change agendas, and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. To…


United States: DOD Officials Give Report on Women Peace and Security Compliance

Mar 29, 2021 | Jim Garamone, US Department of Defense

The Women Peace and Security program fits right into the Defense Department's breadbasket because "it is a tool for smart power," Air Force Brig. Gen.…


Egypt: Market Movers Americas, March 29-April 2: Suez Blockage Impacts Brent-WTI Spread [Video]

Mar 29, 2021 | Joe Fisher, S&P Global Platts

In this week's Market Movers Americas, presented by Joe Fisher: Brent-WTI spread widens amid Suez closure, Traders watch US-Northwest Europe jet fuel arbitrage amid Suez…


Afghanistan:Taliban Kill Faryab Dam Guards

Mar 28, 2021 | Afghanistan Times

Two police officers guarding the Dahan-e-Dara water dam were killed in a Taliban attack on the dam in the north-western province of Faryab. The dam…


Afghanistan: Afghan Part of CASA-1000 Project 30% Completed

Mar 28, 2021 | Zabihullah Jahanmal, TOLOnews

In the last solar year, only 30% of the construction on the CASA -1000  power transmission project was completed, falling short of a more optimistic pledge that…


Afghanistan: Herati Farmers Fear Drought as Rainfalls Drop Significantly

Mar 28, 2021 | Afghanistan Times

Officials in the western Herat province have warned of severe drought challenges in the ongoing year as rainfalls have vastly dropped across the province. Head…


Sierra Leone: Witness at Massaquoi Trial Links Charles Taylor to Blood Diamonds

Mar 28, 2021 | Premium Times

A witness told the Finnish court hearing the war crimes trial of Gibril Massaquoi on Friday, that the former leader of the Sierra Leonean rebel…


Oil & Gas: Oil Nations Tipped for Political Instability If the World Moves away from Fossil Fuels

Mar 26, 2021 | Elliott Smith, CBNC

Algeria, Chad, Iraq and Nigeria will be among the first countries to experience political instability as oil producers feel the effects of a transition to…


South Sudan: Reducing Imports and Retaining Revenue through Domestic Refining Capacity

Mar 26, 2021 | Charnè Hundermark, Africa Oil & Power

Despite holding the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, until recently, South Sudan did not have an operating oil refinery in-country, therefore relying heavily on…


Empowering Women in Peace Operations Remains Top Priority, Says UN Peacekeeping Chief

Mar 25, 2021 | UN News

Praising women’s fundamental contributions to peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts, the UN peacekeeping chief reiterated on Thursday that empowering women in the military remains a top priority,…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan No Longer Relinquish Free Water: Ghani

Mar 25, 2021 | Daily Outlook Afghanistan

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday during the inauguration of Kamal Khan Dam in southwestern Nimroz province stressed on implementation of Helmand Water Accord, saying…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Inaugurates Hydropower Dam in Western Province

Mar 24, 2021 | Xinhua

Afghanistan's President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday inaugurated a key hydropower dam in the western province Nimroz, which is expected to boost economy and agriculture…


Conflict Minrals: Recent Climate and ESG Disclosure Activity — What Does It Mean for the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule?

Mar 24, 2021 | National Law Review

In its first two months, the Biden Administration has given significant attention to climate-related and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure issues. Of course, these…


Indonesia: In Indonesia, an Illegal Leopard Trade Thrives out of Sight, New Study Shows

Mar 24, 2021 | Claudia Geib, Mongabay

This is the story of how Indonesia is losing its spots. In a recent paper published in Nature Conservation, researchers found that the archipelagic nation…


Ethiopia/Sudan/UAE: Sudan Accepts UAE Offer to Mediate Border and Dam Disputes with Ethiopia

Mar 23, 2021 | Middle East Eye

Sudan has accepted an offer by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to mediate with Ethiopia over a contested border region and Addis Ababa's construction of a…


Cambodia: Lands Grabs and Other Destructive Environmental Practices in Cambodia Test the International Criminal Court

Mar 23, 2021 | Katie Surma, Inside Climate News

Three leading climate and human rights nonprofits have asked the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague to pursue rampant “land grabbing” by…


Middle East/North Africa: Of Water and Peace

Mar 22, 2021 | Tara Kavaler, The Media Line

March 22 marks World Water Day, celebrating a precious resource in the Middle East North Africa region. In a locale seemingly prone to conflict, water…


Liberia: Farmers Demand ‘Balance’ Payment In Land Deal with Equatorial Palm Oil in Grand Bassa County

Mar 22, 2021 | James Harding Giahyue, FrontPage Africa

This story is the first of a two-part series on growing tension between Equatorial Palm Oil and villagers in Grand Bassa County over land rights.


Turkey: Erdoğan’s Family Venture Brought back the Man Who Set up Illicit Kurdish, ISIS Oil Scheme

Mar 22, 2021 | Abdullah Bozkurt, Nordic Monitor

The Turkish president’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, brought his operative back from the shadows to run front company Powertrans, which has long been accused of transporting…


Afghanistan: Breaking the Mold: Landless Afghans Turn to Fungi Farming

Mar 21, 2021 | Sayed Salahuddin, Arab News

Jamila Khoshbo is one of a growing number of landless women who are growing highly nutritious mushrooms in their kitchens or backyards rather than working…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Inching Closer to Revive Forest Cover

Mar 21, 2021 | Shadi Khan Saif, Anadolu Agency

With a renewed devotion to the deep-rooted tradition of tree planting and preservative measures, Afghanistan is inching closer to reviving most of its lost forest…


South Sudan: Drowned Land: Hunger Stalks South Sudan's Flooded Villages

Mar 19, 2021 | Susan Martinez, Guardian

After the unprecedented floods last summer, the people of Old Fangak, a small town in northern South Sudan, should be planting now. But the flood…


Climate Change: ‘Climate-Proofing Our Security’ Critical at Sea and at Bases, Congress Hears

Mar 19, 2021 | Bridget Johnson, Homeland Security Today

The Coast Guard and other services need to act now in concert with Congress and private industry to mitigate the effects climate change will have…