International


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…


Republic of Korea and UNFPA Partner to Prevent Gender-Based Violence in Sudan’s Conflict Zones

Aug 11, 2020 | UNFPA

The Republic of Korea and the United Nations Population Fund launched a new partnership in July to tackle gender-based violence in West Darfur, a region…


Myanmar: Ministry to Probe Suspected Illegal Mining in Mon Forest

Aug 11, 2020 | Yee Ywal Myint, Myanmar Times

Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Ministry will investigate reports of illegal gold mining in a forest near Watwun mountain in Kyaikto township, Mon State, a…


Scientists, Policy Experts Assess Environment's Impact on Stability, Defense Strategy

Aug 10, 2020 | Jim Garamone, US Department of Defense

Environmental factors affecting war and security have long been known, but a new Defense Department group seeks to increase awareness of these factors in making policy…


Scientists, Policy Experts Assess Environment's Impact on Stability, Defense Strategy

Aug 10, 2020 | Jim Garamone, US Department of Defense

Environmental factors affecting war and security have long been known, but a new Defense Department group seeks to increase awareness of these factors in making policy…


Kenya: KWS Pays out Ksh 98.5M to Victims of Human-Wildlife Conflicts

Aug 10, 2020 | Kenya Broadcasting Corporation

County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed said the compensation was paid out to 45 families for wildlife attacks reported between 2014 and 2016. Maalim said of the…


Sierra Leone: Gender Lens Is Needed to Fully Understand Climate Crisis, Experts Say

Aug 7, 2020 | Cami Mondeaux, The Washington Diplomat

Although the effects of climate change are a threat to everyone, many experts say the ramifications will not be felt equally, with a warming planet…


Colombia: In Colombia, ‘Climate-Smart’ Villages Show How the Future of Farming Could Look

Aug 7, 2020 | Anmar Frangoul, CNBC

A country of vivid beauty, Colombia is home to vast swathes of fertile land producing everything from coffee and sugarcane to bananas, cocoa and rice. …


Colombia: In Colombia, a Protected Park Is Buffeted by Social, Environmental Conflicts

Aug 7, 2020 | Antonio José Paz Cardona, Mongabay

Las Quinchas is an Important Area for Bird Conservation (AICA), a significant carbon sink and a biodiversity hotspot. Despite its diversity, this protected area continues…


Liberia: Prominent Liberian Women Say ‘Discrepancy’ in the Law Contributes to Women’s Property Rights Violation

Aug 7, 2020 | J. H. Webster Clayeh, FrontPage Africa

Participants at the policy dialogue on women’s property rights and the implications of Sexual Gender-Based Violence say discrepancy in the service provisions and the laws…