International


Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad Lauds KRG Cooperation as Oil-for-Budget Deal Talks Reach Conclusion

Dec 3, 2019 | Fazel Hawramy, Rudaw

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation in Baghdad negotiating its share of next year’s federal budget showed an unprecedented willingness to strike a deal, members…


Myanmar: Myanmar to Establish School for Forest Rangers

Dec 3, 2019 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

The government will establish the first wildlife conservation college for forest rangers in a bid to strengthen its campaign to protect and conserve the country’s…


Climate Change: Could Climate Change become a Security Issue — and Threaten Democracy?

Dec 2, 2019 | Farz Edraki and Ann Arnold, ABC News

Action to address climate change has been left so late that any political response will likely become an international security issue — and could threaten…


Afghanistan: President Orders Contract Termination of Afghan Major Gold, Copper Mines, Contractor Considers It Politically Biased

Dec 1, 2019 | Khushnood Nabizada, Khaama Press

The two major Afghan mining contracts are to be terminated, Afghan president has ordered in a high economic council meeting. Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani…


Colombia: Indigenous Colombians Escalate Fight to Rescue Ancestral Lands

Dec 1, 2019 | Santiago Navarro, Truthout

The Nasa are one of 102 Indigenous peoples of Colombia who were pushed up into the mountains by European conquest in the 16th century, and…


Afghanistan: Payment Sought for Land under Refugee Camp Use

Dec 1, 2019 | Dawn

The elders of Junglekhel have demanded monthly payment for their land given to the Ghamkol Afghan refugee camp by the Afghan commissionerate since 1980. Speaking…


Bring Women to the Table to Build Peace in Africa, Say Gender Experts

Nov 30, 2019 | Newsroom

Women bear the brunt of conflict and for peace building to be successful they must be involved in conflict resolution and reconstruction at every stage,…


Land: Dealing with Land Conflicts and Improving Land Governance for Peace and Stability in Africa at the Heart of a High-Level Dialogue in Abidjan

Nov 29, 2019 | UN Economic Commission for Africa

Friday in Abidjan, the conference on land policy in Africa, a high-level dialogue on ethnicity and land conflicts were held. As part of the 3rd…


Colombia: For Sustainable Cacao Farming in Colombia, Going Organic Is Not Necessarily the Only Good Answer

Nov 27, 2019 | Maria Eliza Villarino, International Center for Tropical Agriculture

If there’s one word that encapsulates Colombia, it is diversity. You see that in its people, you see that in its climate, and you even…


Conflict Minerals: Consensus Eludes New Definition for ‘Blood Diamonds’

Nov 27, 2019 | Tribune

An attempt for a new, expanded definition of conflict diamonds eluded consensus during a meeting of the Kimberley Process countries here. India is the current…


Climate Change: How Conflict and Climate Change Are a Threat to Food Security [Video]

Nov 27, 2019 | Bloomberg

Colleen Kelly, chief operating officer of Concern Worldwide U.S., discusses the world hunger index, climate change and the threat to food security. She speaks with…


Climate Change: Pete Buttigieg Says Climate Change Is Our Greatest Security Threat [Video]

Nov 26, 2019 | Caitlin McFall, Daily Caller

On the campaign trail this week, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg reiterated his belief that climate change contributed to the Syrian civil war. Speaking at a…


Myanmar: Wild Elephants Destroy Plantations in Myanmar's Western State

Nov 26, 2019 | Xinhua

On Oct. 21 this year, three houses were destroyed by two wild elephants' raid in the same township. It was learnt that wild elephant raids…


Lebanon: How Warming Helped Spark a Revolution in Lebanon

Nov 26, 2019 | Jennifer Hijazi, E&E News

Experts say environmental stressors, including climate change and the recent fires in the Shouf mountains, are contributing to a turbulent uprising that is still filling…


Myanmar: Villagers Protest Namtu Hydropower Project

Nov 26, 2019 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

Residents held a protest during the visit of U Sai Sam Tip, Shan State minister for Electricity and Energy, in Talong village, which will be affected…


FAO Stands with Generation Equality to Oppose Rape

Nov 25, 2019 | FAO

FAO is taking a stand against sexual and gender-based violence by participating in the UN Secretary-General’s campaign: UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women.


Syria: US Occupation of Syria’s Oil Fields Is ‘Legal’ under International Law: Envoy

Nov 24, 2019 | Al-Masdar News

Washington is not doing anything illegal by securing oil fields in Syria, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey told reporters on Friday. Jeffrey…


Syria: A Convoluted System for Syria’s Oil Revenues

Nov 23, 2019 | Mohamed Homs, Enab Baladi

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been confused by the decision of its American ally to withdraw from Syria, as its mission to fight and…


Vietnam: Strengthen Women’s Livelihoods and Participation for Greater Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Viet Nam

Nov 22, 2019 | Thao Hoang, UN Women

When Tran Thi My Linh, a 51-year-old rural woman first said that she would replace her rice fields with lotus fields, she raised many eyebrows.…


Can the US Take Syria’s Oil? [Audio]

Nov 21, 2019 | Shirin Jaafari, Public Radio International

Over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to keep American troops in Syria to “guard the oil” and that…


Syria: Syria War: Who Benefits from Its Oil Production?

Nov 21, 2019 | BBC

President Donald Trump says he expects the United States to benefit by millions of dollars per month from Syria's oil revenues while US troops remain…


Colombia: Colombian Military Combats Unprecedented Deforestation

Nov 21, 2019 | Oliver Barrett, Diálogo

Colombia is home to a large swath of the Amazon; an area roughly the size of Germany and England combined, and its unique ecosystem is…


Somalia: GEF, UNDP Project Advances SDGs in Somalia through Hydromet Services

Nov 21, 2019 | Delia Paul, International Institute for Sustainable Development

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have announced a USD 10 million programme to build capacity for flood and drought…


Senate Bill Could Make It Easier for Troops Exposed to Burn Pits to Claim Disabilities

Nov 21, 2019 | Steve Beynon, Stars and Stripes

A bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday could make it easier for veterans to claim disability from burn pit exposure, despite the Department of…


Afghanistan: A Remote Paradise: Afghanistan Establishes the Bamyan Plateau Protected Area

Nov 21, 2019 | Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society extends congratulations to the ​Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for the establishment of the Bamyan Plateau Protected Area, a spectacular landscape of ​4,200 square kilometers…


Colombia: Colombia's President: New Hope as 38 Municipalities Are Free from Landmines

Nov 21, 2019 | HALO Trust

President Ivan Duque of Colombia met this week with The HALO Trust Colombia programme and other and mine clearance organisations to mark the handover of…


The List of Military Sites with Suspected ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contamination Has Grown

Nov 20, 2019 | Patricia Kime, Military Times

The number of places where the U.S. military spilled or suspects it discharged perfluorinated compounds has grown, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, but they did not…


Liberia: Liberia Develops Policies to Replace Lost Generation of Trees

Nov 20, 2019 | Observer

A policy document, which aims to brace the National Forestry reform law of 2006, and radically enforce the culture of reforestation and afforestation program in…


China/South China Sea: US Increased Sea Patrols to Send Message to China, Defense Secretary Says

Nov 19, 2019 | Bloomberg

The U.S. is conducting more patrols in the South China Sea to send a signal to China that it intends to maintain freedom in the…


Afghanistan: Increased Support for Afghan Farmers Hit by Conflict and Natural Disasters

Nov 19, 2019 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) has contributed $9.5 million to an FAO-led project that aims to boost the resilience of farmers affected by conflict and…