International


South Sudan: South Sudan Set to Take over China-Operated Oilfields by 2027

Aug 26, 2020 | Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com

South Sudan’s state-controlled Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet) has started preparations to take over the management of some oilfields in the country by 2027, when it…


Ethiopia: Women in Ethiopia Face Challenges During COVID-19 Pandemic

Aug 24, 2020 | Crux

Women in Ethiopia often suffer from “traditional gender roles” where they are expected to defer to men in society. “During gatherings where men and women…


Kenya: Kenya – Indigenous Women Overcome Discrimination to Lead Community COVID-19 Responses

Aug 24, 2020 | Climate & Development Knowledge Network

In Kenya, indigenous women are tapping into local resources, and undertaking individual and collective initiatives to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. Rose Wamalwa reports. This is…


Liberia: Charcoal Burners to Plant Trees for Sustainability

Aug 24, 2020 | Global News Network

As part of efforts in sustainably managing the forest, members of the Suehn/Mecca District Charcoal Producers Association in Suehn/Mecca District, Bomi County have taken the…


Afghanistan: Taliban Taxes Illegal Gold Mines in Northeastern Afghanistan

Aug 24, 2020 | Nimatullah Ahmadi and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Residents and officials in Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Badakhshan say the Taliban is raking in considerable revenues by taxing illegal gold mining in the remote…


DRC: Mining Major Backs Fair Cobalt Alliance Launched in the DRC

Aug 24, 2020 | Mining Review Africa

As the demand for the minerals in battery production, including cobalt, is set to increase to power the transition to a greener economy, the Fair…


Syria: Farmland on Fire in Northeast Syria

Aug 24, 2020 | PAX

A substantial number of the fires are the result of ongoing tension between Turkish-backed Syrian militias and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria,…


Afghanistan: Fortescue Opens Talks with Afghanistan on Nation’s Mining Riches

Aug 20, 2020 | Eltaf Najafizada and David Stringer, Bloomberg

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. has held talks with Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani on potential mining sector opportunities in the nation, which has struggled to accelerate…


Liberia: Fessibu First to Complete Customary Land Process, as More Communities Line up

Aug 20, 2020 | Varney Kamara, FrontPage Africa

The town in the Gizzimah clan Zorzor District of Lofa County made history in June when it was certificated by the Liberian government after becoming…


Myanmar: The Fight over Myanmar's Marble Hills

Aug 20, 2020 | Asean Post

Around 80 percent of the village of some 2,000 households work in the marble business, but people fear they are being pushed out. The big…


Syria: Where the Oil Runs Deep, Water Turns Foul

Aug 20, 2020 | Elena Bruess, Circle of Blue

It has been decades since the oil fields in northeastern Syria began poisoning land and water. Production took off in the late 1960s, and before…


Yemen: Yemeni Government Rejects Houthi Extraction of Oil from 'Safer' Tanker

Aug 19, 2020 | Mina Adroubi, National

Yemen’s internationally recognised government on Wednesday rejected conditions set by Houthi rebels to extract oil from a rusting tanker off the country's western coast. The…


Myanmar: Over 360 Tons of Illegal Timbers Seized across Myanmar in One Week

Aug 19, 2020 | Xinhua

Myanmar authorities seized over 360 tons of illegal timbers across the country in one week, according to a release from the Forest Department under the…


Burkina Faso: Conflict and Coronavirus Spark a Hunger Crisis in Burkina Faso

Aug 19, 2020 | Sam Mednick, New Humanitarian

The number of people in need of emergency food aid in Burkina Faso has tripled to more than 3.2 million – some 11,000 of whom…


South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Firm Plans Survey of Minerals, Oil to Attract Potential Investors

Aug 19, 2020 | Xinhua

South Sudan's state-owned oil company plans to undertake a survey of both its mineral resources and oil in a bid to attract more investors to…


Syria: Turkish-backed Militias Cut Down Half a Million Olive Trees in Syria’s Afrin – Local Monitor

Aug 19, 2020 | Jiwan Shkaki, North Press Agency

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition armed groups have cut down at least 500,000 olive trees in Syria’s Turkish-held northwestern region of Afrin since March 2018, reports said.…


Sudan: Flooding, Heavy Rainfall Leave over 60 Dead

Aug 18, 2020 | Environment & Energy News

Flash floods have ravaged swaths of Sudan for weeks, leaving at least 60 people dead and destroying thousands of homes since late July, authorities and…


Colombia: Deforestation in Colombia

Aug 17, 2020 | Daniel Henryk Rasolt, Ecologist

Deforestation is on the rise in megadiverse Colombia. Attempting to understand the complex and interconnected web of social, political, economic and environmental drivers of deforestation…


Colombia: Deforestation in Colombia

Aug 17, 2020 | Daniel Henryk Rasolt, Ecologist

Deforestation is on the rise in megadiverse Colombia. Attempting to understand the complex and interconnected web of social, political, economic and environmental drivers of deforestation…


Nigeria: Herders/Farmers Conflict: Gombe to Establish Cattle Grazing Reserves

Aug 16, 2020 | Chima Azubuike, Punch

The Gombe State Government has said the state was in the process of establishing cattle grazing reserves to resolve the perennial herders-farmers conflict in the…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Agrees to Pay Kurdistan Region Share of Federal Budget

Aug 16, 2020 | Mina Aldroubi, National

Iraq has agreed to resume monthly payments from its federal budget to the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil. The deal represents a positive step towards…


Afghanistan: Afghan Province Grows Bananas to Replace Opium Poppies

Aug 14, 2020 | Mohammad Ilyas Dayee and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Officials in Helmand say they hope to add bananas to alternative cash crops such as saffron and aloe vera to help the region’s farmers move…


Conflict Minerals: Searching for Blood Diamonds

Aug 13, 2020 | John Jeffay, IDEX

Search for blood diamonds on Google and you'll find plenty of entries. But try finding the real thing, also known as conflict diamonds, in a…


Nigeria: FEC Approves Gender Action Plan  on Climate Change

Aug 13, 2020 | Saghir el Mohammed, Press Release Nigeria

Nigeria on Wednesday made history as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the first ever National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change as a…


Afghanistan: UAE to Invest in Afghanistan’s Solar Project, Eyes to Generate 3000 MW Power

Aug 12, 2020 | Khaama Press

The Afghan Government and United Arab Emirates-based PAL 4 Solar Engery LLC signed a memorandum of understanding to provide electrical energy through solar panels in…


Wildlife: WildEyes™ AI: Helping to Save Wild Elephants and Prevent Human-Elephant Conflict

Aug 12, 2020 | RESOLVE

On World Elephant Day 2020, the NGO RESOLVE and the AI software company CVEDIA announce a novel solution to reduce harm to wild elephants and…


Students Study Conflict and Collaboration at Bears Ears

Aug 12, 2020 | Emma Venarde, Columbia University

This summer Josh Fisher, the director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, has been teaching a summer course at the Columbia…


Nigeria: Nigeria Developing Plan to Address Effects of Climate Change - Minister

Aug 12, 2020 | Alfred Olufemi, Premium Times

The Nigerian government is developing a gender-based plan that aims to address the vulnerability of Nigerian women to climate change, the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmood,…


Kenya: Kenya Is Trying to End Child Marriage. But Climate Change Is Putting More Young Girls at Risk

Aug 12, 2020 | Neha Wadekar, Time

In a small hut in the village of Bubisa, a young bride named Tunne sits alone on a makeshift pallet bed. Smoke from a smoldering…


Iraq: Addressing Iraq's Fragility Crucial to Recovery from COVID

Aug 11, 2020 | Iraq Business News

Failure to address Iraq's multi-faceted fragility could lead to an increase in extreme poverty across the country, according to a new report released today by…