International

Afghanistan: Reinforcing Afghanistan Water Diplomacy

Dec 27, 2019 | OOSKAnews

Afghanistan has many natural resources, especially in terms of water and mines, but they haven't been tapped effectively so far. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran have…

Liberia: Southeast Women’s Land Rights Group Formed

Dec 27, 2019 | Observer

A group whose goal is to protect and promote the rights of women in Southeastern Liberia was formed recently at a regional women’s conference held…

South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Spill Causes Environmental Damage, Health Problems

Dec 27, 2019 | Dimo Silva Aurelio, Voice of America

Two months after a pipeline ruptured and spilled crude oil over a wide swath of South Sudan's former Unity State, residents and government officials are…

Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Extend Oil Agreement until March 2022

Dec 26, 2019 | Al-Bawaba

Sudan and South Sudan on Monday signed an agreement that will see the current oil deal and other related economic arrangements extended until March 2022.…

Afghanistan: Saffron Production Hits Record High in Afghanistan

Dec 25, 2019 | Xinhua

Saffron production in Afghanistan has soared to record levels in 2019, with a 22 percent increase compared to last year, Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation…

Iraq/Islamic State: Islamic State Suspected of Oil field Attack Tuesday Near Kirkuk

Dec 25, 2019 | Rawaz Tahir, Mohammed Hussein, and Amir Ali, Iraq Oil Report

One oil facilities protection officer was shot to death late Tuesday in a suspected Islamic State (IS) group attack on a vulnerable well of the…

Afghanistan: 6 Mining Contracts Inked with Local Companies, 2 in Pipeline

Dec 25, 2019 | Daily Outlook Afghanistan

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed six contracts of sand and gravel excavation with local companies, an official said on Wednesday. Acting Mines…

Nigeria: Elephant Herd Sighted in Nigeria’s Boko Haram Warzone

Dec 25, 2019 | Rosie Collyer, Radio France Internationale

A herd of some 250 elephants has been spotted in Nigeria’s far northeast, close to the borders with Cameroon and Chad. It is the first…

Iran/Iraq/Syria: Iran Militias Revive Islamic State Oil Trade into Syria from Iraq: Sources

Dec 24, 2019 | Herman Wang and Brian Scheid, S&P Global Platts

Iranian proxy militias are thought to be smuggling crude oil from western Iraq to Syria, picking up a lucrative business left behind by the Islamic…

Nigeria: Nigeria Plans to End Herder-Farmer Conflicts

Dec 24, 2019 | Oluwatosin Adeshokan, Africa Report

Nigeria is breathing new life into its Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) project by relaunching it with a new name. The government has rebranded RUGA as…

Conflict Minerals: Civil Society Exasperated at Inflexible Kimberley Process

Dec 24, 2019 | Africa Intelligence

The coalition of civil society members given the status of Kimberley Process (KP) observers came away disappointed from the international diamond certification institution's latest plenary…

Iraq/Islamic State: At Kirkuk Oil Plant, ISIS Targets Iraq Energy Police Second Time in 5 days

Dec 24, 2019 | Kurdistan 24

Members of the so-called Islamic State on Tuesday clashed with local security forces near an oil plant located in the western part of Iraq’s disputed…

Liberia: NaFAA Establishes Women in Maritime Liberia Chapter

Dec 24, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

Liberia has joined others countries in Africa in the establishment of a chapter of Women in Maritime in Africa (WIMAFRICA) in partnership with the International…

Liberia: Two Communities Sign Logging Contracts, but Sector Woes Loom

Dec 23, 2019 | James Harding Giahyue, FrontPage Africa

There are huge expectations throughout Korninga after this remote chiefdom in Gbarpolu’s Bopolu District signed a logging contract with Coveiyalah Investment Enterprises. Like in all…

Afghanistan: For Women in Kabul, ‘It Is Just Me and the Water’

Dec 22, 2019 | Fatima Faizi and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times

Though the city has become markedly more politically progressive in the nearly two decades it has been governed by a Western-backed democracy, Kabul is still…

Brazil: ‘The Forest is Shedding Tears’: The Women Defending Their Amazon Homeland

Dec 21, 2019 | Jonathan Watts, The Guardian

It is midnight at an almost deserted bus station and one of the Amazon’s most courageous warriors is sitting on a plastic chair and breastfeeding…

Liberia: Ethnic Tension Thwarts Court’s Ruling in Ganta Land Case

Dec 18, 2019 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Observer

The Eighth Judicial Circuit in Sanniquellie, Nimba County passed its ruling in a land case in 2018, giving right of possession to Fred Suah of…

Kenya: Kenya Places Climate Disorder at Centre of UN Security Council Bid

Dec 18, 2019 | Leopold Obi, Climate Home News

Kenya has made climate change a core part of its bid to obtain a seat on the UN security council, making an effort to “seek…

Colombia: 2018 Delegation of Parliamentarians in Conversation with Rural Women in Villavicenco

Dec 18, 2019

Members of the British Parliament participating in the August 2018 Delegation were: Chris Bryant MP and Patrick Grady MP. MP’s Conversation in Villavicencio with rural women: Diana,…

Afghanistan: Over 600,000 Afghan Women to Attain Self-Sufficiency in Next Four Years through Agriculture

Dec 17, 2019

Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Nasir Ahmad Durrani announced Tuesday that over 600,000 women would become self-reliant through an economic empowerment program in…

China/Vietnam: Vietnam Fights China's 'Nine-Dash Line' amid Old Enmities

Dec 17, 2019 | Sen Nguyen, Al Jazeera

It came as no surprise to Vietnamese student Doan Thanh Hai that China's infamous nine-dash line has been causing trouble in his country. China has…

Liberia: Liberia Risks Conflict over Natural Resources Governance – Says Greg Coleman

Dec 16, 2019 | Moses R. Quollin, Liberia Forest Media

Former Director General of the National Bureau of Concession, Gregory O. Coleman says Liberia current approach to managing investments, mostly the natural resources sector risks…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Hopes for Chinese Restraint in South China Sea in 2020

Dec 16, 2019 | Reuters

Vietnam said it hoped China would show restraint in the South China Sea next year after a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts spent…

Afghanistan: We Survived War in Afghanistan – but Kabul's Pollution Could Kill Us

Dec 16, 2019 | Stefanie Glinski, Telegraph

Between November and March, Afghanistan’s capital is wrapped in a thick blanket of choking smog. As temperatures drop in high altitude Kabul, sitting at almost…

Colombia: Death Threats for Defending Land and Water from a Coal Mine: Force of Wayúu Women in Colombia

Dec 16, 2019 | Land Rights Now

Members of the organization Fuerza de Mujeres Wayúu (Force of Wayúu Women) have received death threats and been subject to defamation and stigmatization for opposing…

Ghana: National Peace Council Trains Members on Gender Roles in Peacebuilding

Dec 15, 2019 | Modern Ghana

As part of the mandate of the National Peace Council to facilitate measures to prevent, manage and resolve issues that threaten the development and peace…

Afghanistan: Saffron Processing Center Built in Afghanistan's Badghis Province

Dec 15, 2019 | Xinhua

A saffron processing center was recently built in the western Baghis province, as the precious plant cultivation is gradually expanding across the mostly poppy growing…

Syria: Why Syria’s Small Oil Reserves Have become the Linchpin for Political Control in the Region

Dec 13, 2019 | Justin Higginbottom, CNBC

Times have changed in Syria. The oil has attracted another foreign power — the U.S. military — and Kurdish-led forces are the ones controlling the…

Conflict Minerals: Switzerland Probes Illegal Trading of Coltan by Swiss Trader during DRC Civil War

Dec 12, 2019 | William Clowes, Business Day

Swiss prosecutors are investigating a trader of one of the world’s most sought-after-minerals over allegations he illegally dealt in metals during Democratic Republic of Congo’s…

Nepal: Rickshaw Drivers Break Stereotypes in Nepal

Dec 12, 2019 | UN Women

Hira Kumari Sewa is among the few female rickshaw drivers in Nepal. Service is literally in her name.