International


Colombia: Impact of Climate Change on Colombia’s Coffee Farmers

Jul 21, 2019 | Emily Sims, Speaker

The livelihoods of many small independent coffee farmers in Colombia are being threatened by climate change. These impacts are intensifying at a rate never seen…


The US’s Toxic Agent Orange Legacy

Jul 20, 2019 | Charles Dunst, Atlantic

Paris Dauk, 24, is among several people in border villages in southeast Cambodia who, despite being born to families with no history of deformities, came…


Sudan: The Ruthless Mercenaries Who Run the Country for Gold

Jul 20, 2019 | BBC News

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of widespread abuses in Sudan, including the 3 June massacre in which more than 120 people were…


Iraq: Iraq Kills Daesh Oil Minister

Jul 20, 2019 | Middle East Monitor

Iraq’s intelligence services have killed the oil minister of Daesh in Syria, according to Iraqi security expert Fadel Abu-Ragheef. Abu-Ragheef wrote on Twitter: “The Iraqi…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China and Vietnam Face off in South China Sea over Resource Rich Vanguard Reef

Jul 19, 2019 | Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News

Tensions are rising in the South China Sea, with a potential flashpoint developing between China and Vietnam, who are engaged in a weeks-long “stand-off” over…


DRC: USAID Awards $3.7 Million for Artisanal Mine Sites in DRC

Jul 19, 2019 | Mining Review

The US government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID)has awarded a new funded mine site validation project in North and South Kivu. The $3.7…


Women Key in Peace Negotiations- UN Women

Jul 19, 2019 | Sarah Mazirwe, New Vision

The UN Women has urged the government to increase the engagement of women in peace negotiations in conflicts. Anna Mutavati, the deputy representative UN Women…


Climate Change: House Passes Intelligence Legislation with Climate Rider

Jul 19, 2019 | Nick Sobczyk, E&E News

The House this week passed a measure as part of its annual intelligence authorization bill to create a Climate Security Advisory Council under the director…


Israel/Palestine/Gaza: Israeli Spraying of Herbicide Near Gaza Harming Palestinian Crops

Jul 19, 2019 | Miriam Berger, Guardian

Israeli aircraft spraying herbicide beside the buffer zone along the Gaza strip is directly affecting the livelihoods of Palestiniansin violation of international standards, a new…


DRC: USAID Awards a New Artisanal Mine Site Validation Project

Jul 18, 2019 | Africanews

The US government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID), is pleased to announce the award of a new USAID-funded mine site validation project in North…


Myanmar: Myanmar's Yangon Former Dump Fire Site Set to Receive Trash Again

Jul 18, 2019 | Xinhua

The former dump fire site in the outskirts of Myanmar's Yangon has been set to receive trash again more than one year after the site…


Climate Change: Two New Studies Warn That a Hotter World Will Be a More Violent One

Jul 17, 2019 | Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post

As the planet warms, experts have increasingly sounded the alarm over the potential for increased climate-driven geopolitical conflict. Two new studies underscore how rising temperatures…


Liberia: ‘Unregulated’ Artisan Mining In Several Counties Robbing Gov’t of Revenue

Jul 17, 2019 | Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, FrontPage Africa

Liberia’s revenue is “seriously being drained” due to rampant illicit mining by individuals suspected to be foreigners, some Liberians residing in artisanal mining communities have…


Afghanistan: Lapis Lazuli Deposit in Badakhshan Falls to Militants

Jul 17, 2019 | Tamim Hamid, TOLOnews

A lapis lazuli deposit in Keran Wa Manjan district in the northeastern province of Badakhshan fell to the Taliban after a clash between the security…


DRC: Send in the Troops: Congo Raises the Stakes on Illegal Mining

Jul 16, 2019 | Aaron Ross, Reuters

Deploying soldiers to clear tens of thousands of illegal informal miners from mining concessions is a new approach by the authorities in Democratic Republic of…


DRC: Refugees Blame Chronic Violence on Battle for Mineral Wealth

Jul 16, 2019 | Halima Athumani, Voice of America

For decades, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo -- the Ituri and North Kivu provinces especially -- has endured ethnic violence leaving thousands dead and…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam, China Embroiled in South China Sea Standoff

Jul 16, 2019 | James Pearson and Khanh Vu, Reuters

Vietnamese and Chinese ships have been embroiled in a weeks-long standoff near an offshore oil block in disputed waters of the South China Sea, which…


Colombia: Climate Change: A Challenge for Colombia’s Campesinos

Jul 16, 2019 | Erik Apolinar, Bogota Post

Climate change is a challenge in every country – and the past G20 summit shows that even amongst world leaders, there is not a lot…


Afghanistan: Driving Improvements in Agriculture through Better Education

Jul 16, 2019 | ACTED

While Afghanistan society has experienced a wide range of positive changes over the recent past, not all Afghans are able to benefit equally from these…


Afghanistan: Farmer Field Schools Help Afghan Women to Step out from the Shadows

Jul 16, 2019 | ACTED

Working with over 300 female farmers, ACTED provided field school trainings in five provinces across Afghanistan. They aimed at teaching participants new techniques and developing…


Nigeria: Land Grabbing behind Herdsmen-Farmers Crisis – Yuguda

Jul 16, 2019 | Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Vanguard

Former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda on Tuesday said that land grabbing and population explosion were responsible for the crisis between farmers and herdsmen in…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam 'Safeguarding Waters' in Reported South China Sea Standoff

Jul 16, 2019 | Straits Times

Vietnam is exercising its "sovereign rights and jurisdiction in a peaceful and lawful manner", the government said on Tuesday (July 16) amid reports of a…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Forests Are Turning a Profit for the Islamic State

Jul 15, 2019 | Stefanie Glinski, Foreign Policy

Small numbers of fighters for the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, the Afghan branch of the militant group, have been in Kunar since 2015. But…


Colombia: Colombia Launches Coffee Price Stabilization Fund

Jul 15, 2019 | Nick Brown, Daily Coffee News

Colombian President Iván Duque signed into law a new fund late last week designed to support the country’s smallholder farmers in times of downward price…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi MP Accuses KRG of ‘Treason’ for Failure to Send Oil

Jul 14, 2019 | Lawk Ghafuri, Rudaw

An Iraqi MP has called national leadership silence over the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) refusal  to send Baghdad 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in exchange…


Afghanistan: Fish Farming Booms in S. Afghan Province

Jul 14, 2019 | Xinhua

The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock has been supporting local farmers in southern province of Kandahar in raising fish to cater to the…


Syria: ISIS Oil Minister Killed in Eastern Syria

Jul 14, 2019 | Al-Masdar Al-'Arabi

The Islamic State oil minister was killed in eastern Syria this week after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a joint operation with the…


Climate Change: UNFAO: Conflict and Climate Conditions Continue to Exacerbate Food Insecurity

Jul 13, 2019 | OOSKAnews

Variable climate conditions and persistent conflicts contine to cause high levels of food insecurity in 41 countries, with 31 of these in Africa, UNFAO has reported. The Crop…


Myanmar: How a Singaporean Is Changing the Fates of Rice Farmers in Myanmar [Video]

Jul 13, 2019 | Desmond Ng and Alistair Ang, Channel News Asia

Against a backdrop of climate change and a cyclone disaster, David Chen is helping to tackle the problem of poverty through the way rice is…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China and Vietnam in Stand-off over Chinese Survey Ship Mission to Disputed Reef in South China Sea

Jul 12, 2019 | Liu Zhen, South China Morning Post

Chinese and Vietnamese coastguard vessels have been involved in a week-long confrontation over a reef in the South China Sea, risking the biggest clash between…