International


DRC: Program to Monitor Congo Artisanal Cobalt Miners Expanded

Apr 21, 2020 | Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com

A scheme to monitor and improve artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will reach four times the number of sites it…


Food Security: Pandemic Disruptions Spark Fears of Food Shortages in Arab World

Apr 21, 2020 | Mona Alami, Arab Weekly

COVID-19 has triggered fears of food shortages across the Arab region. Distributors and experts now warn that the pandemic is creating significant disruptions in global…


Afghanistan: Can the Afghan State Intervene Successfully In The Conflict Between Nomads And Settlers? – Analysis

Apr 19, 2020 | Antonio Giustozzi, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

The conflict between nomads and settlers is no longer limited to a few districts of Hazarajat. It has spread to many corners of the country…


Iraq: Oil Price Drop Fuels Economic Crisis [Video]

Apr 19, 2020 | Simona Foltyn, Al Jazeera

Iraq has been hit by political instability that has effectively left it without a government. The country has also been caught in the middle of…


DRC: Congo Mine Closures Would Cause Economic and Social Crisis, Minister Says

Apr 17, 2020 | Helen Reid and Hereward Holland, Reuters

Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining minister warned mine shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic would trigger a “catastrophic” economic and social crisis in the country,…


South Sudan: US Watchdog Sounds Alarm on Mismanaged Mining Sector in South Sudan

Apr 16, 2020 | Ajifowoke Michael Gbenga, Ventures

Despite boasting of the potential to become a catalyst for major economic growth, South Sudan’s mining sector could, on the contrary, be the next source…


China: Roses in the Battlefield: Rural Women Farmers Join the Fight against COVID-19 in China

Apr 15, 2020 | UN Women

In January 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic began spreading across China. Of the 42,600 medical workers dispatched to the hardest-hit Hubei Province, as of early March, two-thirds…


India: Agrobiodiversity Initiatives Open Women’s Horizons in Kerala

Apr 15, 2020 | Mahima Jain, Mongabay

Kaliamma Nanjan, 70, sings as she cuts through her farm in Kerala’s Western Ghats. She deftly navigates the slopes of Attappady in Palakkad district with…


DRC: Congo Governor Condemns Rising Insecurity at Mines in Gold Province

Apr 15, 2020 | Reuters

Illegal mining and trading are fuelling worsening violence on mine sites, the governor of Democratic Republic of Congo’s gold-rich Ituri province said, after armed robbers…


Colombia: Deforestation Surged Following End of Armed Conflict in Colombia

Apr 15, 2020 | Sonia Aronson, Phys.org

Deforestation is skyrocketing in the country with the world's second-highest number of species. The cause? Ineffective conservation in protected areas following decades of civil war.


East Africa: Two New Generations of Locusts are Set to Descend on East Africa Again -- 400 Times Stronger

Apr 15, 2020 | Neha Wadekar, Quartz Africa

This infestation of desert locusts first arrived in East Africa last June, feeding on hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops and pastureland and chomping…


Myanmar: Myanmar Seizes 800 Tonnes of Illegal Timber in Single Week

Apr 15, 2020 | The Star

Myanmar's Forest Department recently seized over 846 tonnes of illegal timber in a week, according to the Information Ministry on Thursday (April 9).


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: US ‘Seriously Concerned’ over China Sinking Vietnamese Fishing Boat

Apr 15, 2020 | VNExpress

U.S. State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus Monday condemned China for sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat, calling it an assertion of an "unlawful" claim. Ortagus said…


Colombia: Colombia's Indigenous Land Defenders

Apr 15, 2020 | Al Jazeera

Celia Umenza is a high-ranking leader of the largest Indigenous group in Colombia, the Nasa. The Nasa is an unarmed civilian defence force that has been…


Colombia: Caffeinated Conservation: Colombian Farmers Switch Coca for Coffee to Protect Wildlife

Apr 15, 2020 | Oliver Griffin, Reuters

In a clearing around his modest smallholding, farmer Arcadio Barajas stands before a sea of coffee plants, cloaked in the shadow cast by a wall…


Female-Led, Island-Based Solutions to Climate Change

Apr 14, 2020 | Rebecca Root, Devex

According to the United Nations, the majority of people displaced by climate change are women. Given that small island developing states are among the most vulnerable to the…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Chinese Ship back in Waters off Vietnam amid Coronavirus 'Distraction'

Apr 13, 2020 | Khanh Vu and James Pearson, Reuters

A Chinese ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels last year has returned to waters near Vietnam as the United States accused China of…


Afghanistan: What the COVID-19 Outbreak Means for Afghanistan’s Troubled Economy

Apr 11, 2020 | Shoaib A. Rahim, Diplomat

Even before the novel coronavirus took the world hostage, the World Economic Outlook Report 2019 produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had already raised…


Afghanistan: Salma Dam Resumes Operations as Reservoir Fills up

Apr 10, 2020 | Afghanistan Times

Salma hydroelectric dam in Herat became fully operational on Sunday after the reservoir behind it filled with water. With water levels rising in the reservoir,…


Somalia: 'Most of the Men are your Enemies': One Woman's Crusade in Somalia

Apr 9, 2020 | Neha Wadekar and Will Swanson

Ibado Mohammed Abdulle is a counsellor, friend and campaigner for women who have been made refugees in their own country by the impact of the…


Solomon Islands: Machetes in Hand, Women Join Forces to Fight Logging in Solomon Islands

Apr 8, 2020 | John Beck, Reuters

IGWA, Solomon Islands - Jessica Jacinta was just a child when loggers first arrived in the forest a few miles from her Solomon Islands village…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Women Are the Key to a Lasting Peace

Apr 7, 2020 | Sohrab Azad, The Diplomat

To guarantee a peace process that will materialize and come to fruition, women need to be substantively involved at every level, from pre-negotiation to talks.


Climate Change: Study Finds Link between Climate Disasters, Armed Conflict

Apr 7, 2020 | Nathanial Gronewold, Energy & Environment News

Climate-linked disasters increase the odds of armed strife, according to researchers who found that one-third of all conflicts since 1980 began within days of a…


UN Chief Calls for Domestic Violence ‘Ceasefire’ Amid ‘Horrifying Global Surge’

Apr 6, 2020

UN chief António Guterres is calling for measures to address a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” directed towards women and girls, linked to lockdowns…


Indonesia: Empowering Indonesia’s Women Farmers

Apr 5, 2020 | Dewa Made Agung, The Asean Post

An empirical study in the Springer Journal titled, Gender in Agriculture reveals that women lack access to agricultural inputs, training, information and marketing services. Furthermore,…


Cameroon: Cameroon Anglophone Crisis: Women Bear the Brunt of Violence

Apr 4, 2020 | Nicolas Haque

The United Nations secretary-general is repeating his appeal for a global ceasefire during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some armed groups have answered that call, including separatists in…


Iran: Iran, UNDP Sign MOU to Revive Hamoun Wetland

Apr 4, 2020 | Tehran Times

The Department of Environment and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to carry out a joint project for the…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Condemns Sinking of Boat off Paracels, Demands China Compensate

Apr 4, 2020 | VnExpress

Vietnam has demanded that China take action against the Chinese Coast Guard vessel that sank a Vietnamese fishing boat and compensate the fishermen for their…


Myanmar: Myanmar Shorebirds Get Four-Fold Expansion in Protected Wetland

Apr 3, 2020 | Ding Li Yong, BirdLife International

Twenty years ago, few conservationists knew about the Gulf of Mottama and the secrets hidden within its complex coastline. Its location in southern Myanmar is,…


Burkina Faso Crisis and COVID-19 Concerns Highlight Pressure on Sahel Food Security

Apr 2, 2020

Food insecurity levels in the Sahel region are “spiralling out of control”, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday, as it expressed concerns about…