International


Colombia: Deforestation Increase Dovetails with Armed Conflict in Colombia, Study Finds

Sep 18, 2019 | Antonio José Paz Cardona, Mongabay

Colombia is home to so many species that it is considered “megadiverse,” and it has also experienced relatively high levels of armed conflict. A new…


South Sudan: South Sudan Signs Mineral Exploration Agreement with US, Canada Firms

Sep 18, 2019 | AlBawaba

South Sudan has signed a mineral exploration agreement with two mining and metal refining companies in Canada and the USA. The pact allows the mining…


Yemen: Fishing for a Future

Sep 18, 2019 | Paul Ireland, Norwegian Refugee Council

Coastal communities have suffered greatly in Yemen’s ongoing bloody conflict. Fishing boats, ports and processing sites have been destroyed or damaged, and many fishermen have…


Colombia: Linking Climate Change and Peacebuilding in Colombia through Land Access

Sep 18, 2019 | Sebastian Lema and Johanna Kleffmann, Climate Diplomacy

Colombia’s long-standing internal conflict and the country’s contribution to climate change share one common root cause: land concentration. Policies to strengthen access to land and…


Conflict Minerals: London Metal Exchange to Delay Ban on Tainted Metal until 2025 - Sources

Sep 18, 2019 | Pratima Desai, Zandi Shabalala, and Tom Daly, Reuters

The London Metal Exchange (LME) will postpone plans to ban metal tainted by human rights abuses until 2025, giving producers three more years to comply…


Syria: Modest Recovery in Syrian Agriculture Masks Ongoing and Intractable Problems

Sep 18, 2019 | Phoebe Sleet, Future Directions International

A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization predicted that Syrian wheat production would double this year. The report estimates that wheat production will…


Liberia: Stakeholders Want Forest Reforms Law Amended for Effective Management, Benefit Sharing

Sep 16, 2019 | Gerald C. Koinyeneh, FrontPage Africa

Stakeholders including lawmakers and environmental experts have made a commitment to initiate activities aimed at promoting effective management of Liberia’s forest to enhance its economic,…


Climate Change: Why Climate Change Is a National Security Issue [Video]

Sep 16, 2019 | Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle, MSNBC

President Trump doesn’t acknowledge that climate change is real, but the Pentagon does. Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle are joined by the director of the…


Liberia: Beekeeping Has a Big Impact in Liberia Thanks to North Shore Foundation

Sep 15, 2019 | Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Sun

People ask them when they’re coming home. In fact, Kent Bubbs Jr.  and Landis Wyatt arrived home on Friday when they landed at Monrovia, the…


Saudi Arabia: Drones Just Attacked the World’s Largest Oil Refinery

Sep 14, 2019 | Justin Rohrlich, Quartz

Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for an armed drone attack early today (Sept. 14) on Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq refinery, the world’s largest oil processing…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Digs in on South China Sea Oil and Gas Projects amid Chinese Pressure

Sep 14, 2019 | Tan Hui Yee, Eleven

Vietnam, locked in one of its most protracted test of wills with China of late, is trying to allay fears that yet another foreign joint…


India: India Is Working on Climate Change and Biodiversity: Prakash Javadekar Calls for Synergy Between All Three Rio Conventions

Sep 13, 2019 | 5 Dariya News

The 12-day long 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has come to a close today, with thought-provoking discussions…


Colombia: Women in Colombia Are Risking Their Lives Every Day to Clear the Minefields Left After 50 Years of Armed Conflict

Sep 13, 2019 | Luke Taylor, i News

When Paola Sanchez heard she was being recruited for a job in late 2018 after a friend had recommended her, she knew little more than…


Meet 15 Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change

Sep 12, 2019

From sinking islands to drought-ridden savannas, women bear an outsize burden of the global—warming crisis, largely because of gender inequalities. In many parts of the…


Kenya: Kenyans Sue UK over Colonials Land Grab

Sep 12, 2019 | Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza, African Exponent

Kenyans are suing Britain for being violently forced off their land which they rightfully owned. In the spirited and earnest attempts to hold the United…


Myanmar: Ministry Urges Farmers to Save Water

Sep 10, 2019 | Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation has urged farmers to use water more efficiently as there is less water behind the country’s more than 300…


Conflict Minerals: Companies Stall in Tracking Supply Chain for Conflict Minerals

Sep 10, 2019 | Bloomberg Law, Andrea Vittorio

Many companies are having trouble following minerals found in their products, from cell phones to cars, that can fuel conflict in central Africa. An estimated…


"Blue Peace Index" Assesses, Encourages Sustainable, Collaborative Water Resource Management

Sep 10, 2019 | OOSKAnews

The inaugural Blue Peace Index, an assessment tool to measure the extent to which countries and water basins manage shared water resources in a sustainable and collaborative manner,…


Myanmar: The Salty Taste of Climate Change

Sep 10, 2019 | Kyaw Nyunt Linn, Myanmar Times

Salt water is seeping into freshwater underground aquifers that are used to irrigate crops and provide communities with water for drinking and washing, but because…


Myanmar: Workers Protest Lack of Fishing Rights in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Region

Sep 10, 2019 | Salai Thant Zin, Irrawaddy

Fishery workers in Kyonepyaw and Lemyethna townships in Irrawaddy Region staged a protest against the regional agriculture minister on Monday in Pathein, the regional capital,…


Myanmar: Into the Forest with Myanmar’s Bamboo-Shoot Harvesters

Sep 10, 2019 | Htet Wai, Irrawaddy

The life of a bamboo harvester is a difficult one. Ko Pho La is a bamboo shoot harvester living in Kyee Bin Village in Irrawaddy…


Iraq: In Iraq, Water Woes and Corruption Gripes Signal Trouble in Key City

Sep 10, 2019 | Lizzie Porter, New Humanitarian

Last summer, Iraq’s oil-rich southern city of Basra was rocked by violent protests over a number of grievances, including unemployment and the lack of safe…


Climate Change: A Pacific Perspective on Climate Security Risks and the UN Security Council

Sep 9, 2019 | International Peace Institute, Anna Maria Link

As the debate over climate-related security risks grows, many Pacific Island states are calling for more action by the international community to better address the…


Colombia: Peace with Nature: Helping Former Colombian Guerrilla Fighters to Become Citizen Scientists

Sep 9, 2019 | Jaime Gongora and Federica Di Palma, The Conversation

Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world with more than 56,000 recorded species, some 9,000 of which are unique. However protecting and…


Nigeria: WANEP to Implement Peace Projects in Six States to Check Rising Conflicts

Sep 8, 2019 | Sun News

The West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP)-Nigeria, has expressed concerns over the escalation of violent conflicts across the country, which has resulted in wanton…


Myanmar: Farmers Protest over Farmland Compensation for Oil Exploration

Sep 7, 2019 | Tin Shwe, Mizzima

Farmers in the Mann oilfield area in Minbu Township, Magway Region staged a protest yesterday over alleged failures by the authorities in correctly offering compensation…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Seeking to Promote Ancient Woodcarving Craft

Sep 6, 2019 | Rohullah Anwari and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

In pre-Islamic Nuristan, woodcarving held a symbolic significance, but the craftsmen came from Bari, a lower caste who were not considered members of Nuristan’s hierarchical…


Nigeria: WANEP Restates Inclusive Peacebuilding Approach

Sep 6, 2019 | Ene Osang, Blueprint

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding Nigeria (WANEP) has reiterated the call for an inclusive approach to peacebuilding, saying this will prevent violence, promote peaceful…


Syria: Food Aid Reaches Syria's Rukban Camp for First Time in Seven Months

Sep 6, 2019 | Madeline Edwards, Middle East Eye

For the first time in seven months, thousands of displaced Syrians in a desolate camp on the Syrian-Jordanian border are receiving organised supplies of food…


Syria: Syria's Wheat Crop almost Doubles but Food Security Still a Challenge: UN

Sep 5, 2019 | Maha El Dahan, Reuters

Syria’s wheat and barley crops this year improved helped by favorable rainfall and better overall security but food security remains a challenge, a joint report…