International


Afghanistan: Supporting Saffron Production in Afghanistan

Nov 2, 2020 | Antoinette Fang, Borgen Magazine

SEATTLE, Washington — Saffron is one of the most prized spices in the world, termed by some as “red gold.” It is one of the…


Afghanistan: Taliban Fund War Machine by Mining Raghistan's Gold

Nov 2, 2020 | Afghanistan Times

Residents of Raghistan district in northeastern Afghanistan say that Badakhshan gold mines are now under Taliban control as insurgency has gained momentum in the provinces.…


Afghanistan: Making Waves: Kabul Launches Novel Plan to Address Water Crisis

Nov 1, 2020 | Sayed Salahuddin, Arab News

Afghanistan’s government has started building nearly 2 million trenches and 25 small dams to address a water crisis in the capital city of Kabul, caused…


Sudan/South Sudan: Oil Crisis and Recession Bring Two African Rivals Closer Together

Nov 1, 2020 | Viktor Katona, OilPrice.com

Times of recession usually bring up overused terms like belt-tightening or company restructuring though distressed periods are just as useful for settling old scores and…


Afghanistan: Making Waves: Kabul Launches Novel Plan to Address Water Crisis

Nov 1, 2020 | Sayed Salahuddin, Arab News

Afghanistan’s government has started building nearly 2 million trenches and 25 small dams to address a water crisis in the capital city of Kabul, caused…


Colombia: Women the ‘Driving Force’ for Peacebuilding in Colombia: Deputy UN Chief

Oct 30, 2020 | UN News

The Deputy Secretary-General held a meeting, via videoconference, with President Iván Duque where they discussed the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country, protecting the…


Kenyan: The Fight for Laikipia’s Key Rivers: Why Locals Are Fighting for Rivers in Laikipia

Oct 30, 2020 | Jacinta Mutura, Standard

River Mutara is a lifeline for more than 30,000 households, livestock and wildlife in Laikipia County. But in the past five years, it has been…


Liberia: First Rural Women Land Rights Conference Ends in Gbarnga

Oct 29, 2020 | Selma Lomax, Front Page Africa

Gbarnga, Bong County – Advocacy for women land ownership rights and call to empower women in Liberia were some of the topics that dominated a three-day…


Speakers Call for Expedited Action to Empower, Protect Women in Conflict Zones, as Security Council Marks 20 Years since Adoption of Landmark Resolution

Oct 29, 2020 | UN Security Council

Despite Notable Progress, Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Still Rampant, Women’s Leadership in Peace Processes Sorely Lagging, Secretary-General Warns. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the head of the…


UN: 20 Years After Landmark UN Resolution, Women Still Excluded in Peace Processes

Oct 29, 2020 | Margaret Besheer, Voice of America

NEW YORK - Twenty years after a landmark U.N. Security Council resolution seeking to include more women in the prevention and settlement of conflicts, the…


Colombia: Embracing Organic in Colombia

Oct 29, 2020 | Tom Joyce, Fruitnet.com

Eosta's first shipment of limes from Colombian exporter Persian arrived last week with a surprise attached: almost 100 postcards from farmworkers in the valley of…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Achieves Transparency Despite Barriers

Oct 29, 2020 | Afghanistan Times

Following its second Validation, Afghanistan has made  meaningful progress in implementing the EITI Standard . The country has improved its transparency of licenses and contracts,…


Colombia: Years after Defeating a Giant Gold Mine, Activists in Colombia Still Fear for Their Lives

Oct 29, 2020 | Juan Zuleta Valencia, Mongabay

Residents of the municipality of Cajamarca in eastern Colombia said “no” to what would have been the second-largest open-pit gold mine in the world. Now…


Kenya: In Northern Kenya, the Climate Crisis Shifts Gender Roles

Oct 26, 2020 | Lauren Evans

Drought has disrupted the traditional way of life for pastoralists, pushing many women into business for the first time.

OLDONYIRO, Kenya—On a Tuesday morning at the…


Mining Forum Reviews Impacts of COVID-19 on Climate Action, Gender Equality

Oct 26, 2020 | International Institute for Sustainable Development

The 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) convened online to discuss issues related to…


Kenya: In Northern Kenya, the Climate Crisis Shifts Gender Roles

Oct 26, 2020 | Lauren Evans, Foreign Policy

OLDONYIRO, Kenya—On a Tuesday morning at the Oldonyiro livestock market in November, Samaria Leyagu was doing what just a few years ago would have been…


Myanmar: Myanmar Land Rights Activism in New Animation from PRIO [Video]

Oct 26, 2020 | Peace Research Institute Oslo

What drives the small but often heroic everyday acts of people in their attempts to challenge dehumanization and abuse in violent conflict? In this story,…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan's First Saffron Institute to Be Inaugurated in Herat

Oct 25, 2020 | Afghanistan Times

The first Afghanistan Saffron Institute would be inaugurated by the end of this year in the western Herat province. The State Radio Television reported that…


Iraq/Kurdistan: As Oil Dives, Kurds Return to Sidelined Farms

Oct 25, 2020 | Qassim Khider, Agence France-Presse

Iraq’s Kurdish region has for decades lived off its oil wealth, but plummeting energy prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic and financial mismanagement are forcing locals…


Colombia: Colombia’s 34th Massacre This Year: 5 Indigenous Murdered amid Land Dispute

Oct 25, 2020 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

Five people were murdered over an apparent land dispute on Saturday in Colombia’s 34th massacre this year. According to preliminary media reports, the members of…


Climate Change: Climate Wars: The New Cold War [Audio]

Oct 25, 2020 | BBC

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at more than twice the global average, and as the ice pack melts, battle lines are being drawn between…


Libya: What's Next for Libya's Oil Surge as Rivals Talk Peace

Oct 22, 2020 | Environment & Energy News

After years of setbacks and false starts, Libya is back in the oil game. A stalemate between the armed forces battling to control the OPEC…


Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: Little Progress on Disputed Abyei Region between Sudan and South Sudan

Oct 22, 2020 | UN

Despite the strengthening of the relationship between Sudan and South Sudan, little progress has been made regarding the disputed Abyei region, the head of UN…


Mobilizing to Address Gender in Forests and Climate Change Actions

Oct 21, 2020 | Augusta Dwyer, Forest News

The role of women in the success of climate action initiatives and the sustainable management of forest resources has been proven many times. Recent work by the…


Iraq/Kurdistan: As Oil Prices Dive, Iraqi Kurds Seek to Diversify Economy

Oct 21, 2020 | Mam Rostam, Agence France-Presse

Iraq's Kurdish region has for decades lived off its oil wealth, but plummeting energy prices amid the pandemic and financial mismanagement are forcing locals to…


Colombia: Colombia Sees Surge in Femicides Amid Uptick in Violence

Oct 20, 2020 | Megan Janetsky, Al Jazeera

Medellin, Colombia – Letica Estacio hoped the wave of gender-based violence that surged during the coronavirus lockdown in Colombia would slow after the South American country eased restrictions…


USIP Announces New Grants on Environment, Conflict and Peacebuilding

Oct 19, 2020 | US Institute of Peace

The US Institute of Peace (USIP) is pleased to announce the eight new grantees of the Environment, Conflict and Peacebuilding Competition. The grants strengthen the…


Philippines: West Philippine Sea Oil Exploration OK, but Not with China

Oct 19, 2020 | Paolo Romero, Philippine Star

President Duterte’s move to lift the moratorium on oil exploration in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) would be beneficial for the country, but the government…


Afghanistan: Increase in Figs Production in Herat, Kandahar, and Faryab

Oct 18, 2020 | Wadsam

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) announced fig production has increased in Kandahar, Herat and Faryab provinces this year. Herat agriculture department has…


Myanmar: Myanmar Farmers to Receive Land Compensation

Oct 18, 2020 | Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times

A total of K2 billion has been appropriated as compensation for agricultural lands that were confiscated from local farmers to develop government-related projects, the Department…