International


Sexual Violence Rampant and Expanding in Armed Conflicts, UN

Aug 6, 2020 | Aasim Saleem, InfoMigrants

Despite a decade of efforts and various resolutions, the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war and to spread terror remains rampant in…


Myanmar: After a Century of Logging, Myanmar Struggles to Preserve Its Teak Groves

Aug 6, 2020 | National Geographic

Demand in China, India, and Europe drives illegal logging of this valuable, versatile hardwood.


Liberia: Lack of Awareness on Land Rights Law: A Recipe for Future Conflict

Aug 6, 2020 | Abednego Davis, Observer

In September 2018, Liberia passed the Land Rights bill into law. Its passage by then was highly embraced by community members, civil society activists, and…


Liberia: Land Authority Grants 6 Communities Full Ownership of Ancestral Land in Lofa

Aug 4, 2020 | FrontPage Africa

The Liberia Land Authority has officially certified six communities in Foya, Lofa County  as land-owning communities, a major milestone in the implementation of a ground-breaking…


Iraq: In Heat-Struck Iraq, Power Shortages Prompt Protests

Aug 4, 2020 | Samya Kullab and Nabil Al-Jurani, Associated Press

In Iraq’s oil-rich south, the scorching summer months pose painful new choices in the age of the coronavirus: stay at home in the sweltering heat…


Afghanistan/Iran: Kamal Khan Dam in Nimroz Set to Plug Flow of Free Water into Iran

Aug 3, 2020 | Salaam Times

The days of Iran siphoning off free water from Afghanistan are numbered, according to President Ashraf Ghani. Excess water will no longer freely flow to…


South Sudan: Interview: Coronavirus Adds to South Sudan's Oil Industry's Woes

Aug 3, 2020 | Eklavya Gupte, S&P Global Platts

Logistical and technical issues continue to hinder South Sudan's oil sector, which has already been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the country's senior oil…


Syria/Turkey: Turkey Joins Syria in Slamming Oil Agreement between US Firm, Syrian Kurds

Aug 3, 2020 | Joe Snell, Al-Monitor

Turkey condemned a new oil agreement between an American-based company and the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, according to a release Monday by the country’s…


Syria: Syria Says US Oil Firm Signed Deal with Kurdish-Led Rebels

Aug 2, 2020 | Reuters

Syria’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that an American oil company had signed an agreement with Kurdish-led rebels who control northeastern oilfields in what it…


Colombia: Double Blow to Colombian Amazon and Indigenous Groups from Armed Militants, COVID-19

Jul 31, 2020 | Dimitri Selibas, Mongabay

Colombia’s environment minister, Ricardo Lozano, says 70% of deforestation in the country stems from illegal activities, for which he blames former FARC rebels and other…


Syria/Yemen: Years of Fighting in Middle East Has Devastated Food Security, Says UN

Jul 31, 2020 | Gerald Butt, Church Times

More than 22 million people in Yemen and Syria are “in crisis or worse” in terms of food security, according to the UN World Food…


Mali: The Wells Bringing Hope in the Desert

Jul 30, 2020 | Soumaila Diarra, BBC

Water has long been at the centre of conflict in the northern regions of Mali, in West Africa. This vast water-scarce area spans 827,000 square…


Sudan: Sudan Exports Two Tonnes of Gold to Improve Economy

Jul 29, 2020 | Xinhua

Sudan on Monday exported two tonnes of gold in a bid to provide foreign currencies for the Central Bank of Sudan and improve the status…


Liberia: River Gee Citizens Reject Internal Affairs Ministry-Guided Land Dispute Resolution

Jul 29, 2020 | Gerald C. Koinyeneh, FrontPage Africa

A group of citizens hailing from River Gee County have rejected the latest decision reached by Internal Affairs Minister Varney Sirleaf in a bid to…


DRC: Workers at Copper Cobalt Mining Companies in DRC at COVID19 Risk

Jul 29, 2020 | Steelguru

Workers in the industrial copper-cobalt mines of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces, many owned and operated by multinationals, have been forced to choose between being confined…


Sudan: 'We Had to Eat Our Seeds for Planting': 10 Million in Sudan Facing Food Shortages

Jul 28, 2020 | Zeinab Mohammed Salih, Guardian

Almost a quarter of the population of Sudan are going hungry as conflict, rising food prices and the coronavirus take their toll. About 9.6 million…


Climate Change: Pacific Expert Urges UN Security Council to Help Stop Climate Change

Jul 28, 2020 | Radio New Zealand

A Pacific climate change expert has told the UN Security Council that stopping climate change and reversing its effects is still the most important measure…


Ukraine/Russia: Crimea Running out of Water Due to Annexation, Looks for Water Sources

Jul 28, 2020 | Oleg Sukhov, Kyiv Post

The situation with water supply in Ukraine’s Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula is becoming more critical as the Russian occupation government is looking for new water sources.…


Afghanistan: Solar Sows Surge in Afghan Opium Harvest

Jul 28, 2020 | Pamela Largue, Power Engineering International and Clarion

Solar panel arrays have been popping up across farmlands in Afghanistan to turn arid land into fertile ground. This has been widely evident in the…


Guyana: Rice, Climate Change and a Post-COVID Opportunity for Women In Guyana

Jul 24, 2020 | Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes

Rice, the most widely consumed staple in the world, has been one of the central protagonists in the global food crisis caused by COVID-19. Three…


Summer Academy 2020: Expansive Possibilities for the Future - Caux Dialogue on Environment and Security 2020

Jul 24, 2020 | Alan Channer and Karina Cheah, Inititives of Change

The effusive feedback from participants in the five-day 2020 Summer Academy on Land, Climate and Security vindicated the difficult decision to take the course online.…


Climate Change: Climate Emergency ‘a Danger to Peace’, UN Security Council Hears

Jul 24, 2020 | UN

The climate emergency generated by global warming, is exacerbating existing risks to international peace and security, while also creating new ones, a senior UN official…


DRC/Uganda: How Smuggled DRC Gold Passes through Entebbe

Jul 24, 2020 | Franklin Draku, Monitor

Uganda has continued to offer an exit route for gold smuggled from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) despite international concerns of fueling conflict…


Diamond Development Initiative Becomes Part of Resolve

Jul 24, 2020 | Rob Bates, JCK

The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), the Ottawa, Canada–based group that works on issues affecting artisanal diamond miners, will now become part of Resolve, the Washington, D.C.–based nongovernmental…


Iraq: Iraq on the Brink

Jul 24, 2020 | Adnan Bahiya, Ecologist

Covid-19 and the fall in oil prices has pushed Iraq towards calamity, underlining the urgency of ending the country's fossil fuel dependency.


Syria: Black Waters: Oil Spills Pollute Northeast Syria Creeks

Jul 22, 2020 | Delil Souleiman, Agence France-Presse

Oil pollution in Syria has been a growing concern since the 2011 onset of a civil war that has taken a toll on oil infrastructure…


Liberia: Liberia Responds to COVID-19 Impact on the Oil Industry

Jul 22, 2020 | William Q. Harmon, Observer

The Government of Liberia, through the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), has made significant adjustments to its bid evaluation criteria for the 2020 Offshore Licensing…


Yemen: Yemen Sees Return to Alarming Levels of Food Insecurity - UNICEF, WFP, FAO & OCHA

Jul 22, 2020 | UNICEF

Economic shocks, conflict, floods, desert locusts and now COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen, warns the…


Myanmar: Many Myanmar Mining Firms Fail to Name Politically Connected Owners: Global Witness

Jul 22, 2020 | Nan Lwin, Irrawaddy

At least 10 companies in Myanmar have failed to identify “politically exposed persons”—those with links to high-ranking present or former military officials and ethnic armed…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Oil and Gas Fueling South China Sea Tensions

Jul 22, 2020 | Helen Clark, Asia Times

Vietnam’s crucial offshore energy industry is being squeezed as US-China tensions rise in the South China Sea. According to reports, China is pressing for the…