International


India/Pakistan: Climate Wars? Major India-Pakistan Conflict Predicted over Ownership of Water

Jun 9, 2019 | Nirad Mudur, New Indian Express

A whole range of issues — unending cross-border terrorism and the radicalisation of youth in Kashmir being the most prominent among them — keep India…


Myanmar: World Oceans Day 2019: This Luxury Eco-Resort in Myanmar Is Cleaning up the Sea

Jun 8, 2019 | Hayley Skirka, National

Despite having opened its doors just six months ago, the Awei Pila Resort in Myanmar’s remote Mergui archipelago has already had a positive impact on…


Venezuela: Venezuela's Mining Arc: A Legal Veneer for Armed Groups to Plunder

Jun 8, 2019 | Bram Ebus, Guardian

Venezuela claims to possess some of the largest untapped gold and coltan reserves in the world, and the country’s gold rush picked up when the…


Groups Join Forces to Fight Military Toxic Exposure

Jun 7, 2019 | Leo Shane III, Military Times

More than a dozen veterans advocacy groups will join forces to track and highlight toxic exposure illnesses among former military members in an attempt to…


Women as Climate Action Ambassadors in Coastal Districts of India's Odisha State

Jun 7, 2019 | UN Environment

People in the coastal districts of the eastern Indian state of Odisha are increasingly suffering from the effects of climate change. Most households in the…


Sierra Leone: Academic Uses Film to Raise Plight of Sierra Leone Diamond Miners

Jun 7, 2019 | Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education

It is widely known that “blood diamonds” played a major role in funding the rebel Revolutionary United Front during the ghastly civil war in Sierra…


Iraq: Iraq Harvests Go up in Smoke, but Who Lit the Fires?

Jun 6, 2019 | Marwan Ibrahim with Ammar Karim, Agence France-Presse

Resurgent jihadists, ethnic land disputes or regular field burning? Iraq's northern farmlands are on fire, but the area's complex patchwork of grievances has made it…


Afghanistan: As Pressure for Afghan Peace Grows, Drug Threat Remains

Jun 6, 2019 | Reuters

As pressure grows for a political settlement to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan, the drug trade remains a major threat, leaving the country…


South Sudan: South Sudan Sets up Transparent Mechanism to Boost Non-Oil Revenue

Jun 5, 2019 | Xinhua

South Sudan said Wednesday its efforts to boost non-oil revenue collection will be enhanced with the recently set up harmonized system code aimed at ensuring…


Climate Change: Global Peace and Stability Depend on Climate Security

Jun 5, 2019 | Government of the UK

Foreign and Commonwealth Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, highlighted the importance of factoring the risks of climate change into all…


Syria: Syria Fighting Destroying Crops as Food Used as 'Weapon of War', UN Says

Jun 5, 2019 | Mina Aldroubi, National


Afghanistan: Glacial Melt Stokes Fears in Northeast Afghanistan

Jun 5, 2019 | Naimatullah Ahmadi and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Melting glaciers in a remote Afghan province pose a major threat to the country’s water resources, climate, and economic prospects. Ziaul Haq Kamran heads Afghanistan’s…


Gaza: Collapsing Environmental State of Gaza Poses Threat to Israel's National Security, Report Warns

Jun 5, 2019 | Zafrir Rinat

Sewage dumping and air pollution could severely effect desalination plants and smog levels, experts say, warning none of Gaza's groundwater will be fit for human…


Syria: Vital Cropland Destroyed by Escalation of Syria's Violence - WFP

Jun 5, 2019 | Kuwait News Agency

The senior spokesperson of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Geneva Herve Verhoosel on Tuesday said, "The latest outbreak in violence in Idlib and…


Middle East: How the Middle East's Drought Cycle Will Probably Lead to Even More Refugees

Jun 4, 2019 | Rachel Delia Benaim, Weather Channel

The Middle East is experiencing its most severe drought in 900 years, according to NASA-- one which is seemingly endless. The drought peaked between 2006-2010,…


DRC: Cobalt: The Dark Side of a Clean Future

Jun 4, 2019 | James Gordon, Raconteur

An estimated 35,000 children work in perilous conditions to extract cobalt from the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So what will the impact…


Myanmar: Karen Groups Aim to Strengthen Customary Land Management System in KNU Areas

Jun 4, 2019 | Karen News

The Kaw Customary Land Seminar was attended by 519 people including representatives from local community and civil society, donors, INGOs, political parties, and officers of…


Colombia: Avocado Diplomacy: Supporting Peace in Colombia

Jun 4, 2019 | Marc Gilkey, American Foreign Service Association

Avocado market access was at the core of all issues. It was a talking point in nearly every speech by Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos.…


Colombia: Colombia's Push for Land Titles Brings Hope for Farmers amid Fragile Peace

Jun 4, 2019 | Anastasia Moloney, Reuters

Granting land titles is part of government efforts to promote rural development as set out in the 2016 peace deal signed with the Revolutionary Armed…


Climate Change: Germany Pushes Climate Change as Security Risk

Jun 4, 2019 | Austin Davis, Deutsche Welle

Floods, drought and mass migration: all factors why Germany has made the UN's response to climate change its priority at the Security Council. But political…


Climate Change: Germany Wants UN Security Council More Involved in Mitigating Climate Crisis

Jun 4, 2019 | Alicia Prager, EURACTIV

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas launched a call for action on Tuesday (4 June) that aims to develop real solutions that would mitigate the security…


Afghanistan: Greenhouses Could Hold the Key to Tackling Afghanistan’s Food Shortages

Jun 4, 2019 | ACTED

While Afghanistan continues to import a large proportion of its most basic food needs, ACTED is working in Samangan province to help rural women become…


Iraq: Torching and Extortion: OSINT Analysis of Burning Agriculture in Iraq

Jun 3, 2019 | Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat

In early May 2019, it was reported that agricultural areas of central and northern Iraq were being set ablaze — allegedly by remaining pockets of fighters…


Myanmar: Govt to Introduce More Control in Jade Mining Sector

Jun 3, 2019 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

The authorities are expected to limit the issue of new licenses for jade mining in the future, said U Aung Nyunt Thein, managing director of…


Afgahnistan: Nearly Half of Rural Afghans Face Food Insecurity: UN

Jun 3, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Nearly half of all rural Afghans now face some level of food insecurity, a UN agency said Monday, as a historic drought and deteriorating security…


India: Running Dry: Competing for Water on a Thirsty Planet

Jun 3, 2019 | Laurie Goering, Reuters

Bangalore’s groundwater is running dry. A government think tank last year predicted the city - like others in India, including New Delhi - could run…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Ambitious Oil Plan Faces One Major Problem

Jun 3, 2019 | Simon Watkins, OilPrice

The Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) in Baghdad moved swiftly when the U.S. re-imposed sanctions against Iran, ordering its Oil Ministry to breach part of…


Myanmar: Myanmar Seizes over 326 Tons of Illegal Timbers in NW Region

Jun 2, 2019 | Xinhua

Myanmar authorities seized a total of 326.8 tons of illegally harvested timbers in Sagaing region during the month of May, police said Sunday. The illegal…


Vietnam/South China Sea: Revisiting Vietnam’s Efforts to Resolve the South China Sea Conflict

Jun 1, 2019 | Your Say, Independent

As a coastal state and a jurisdictional party in the South China Sea, Vietnam has played an active role to solve the conflict based on…


Timor-Leste: The Looting of Timor-Leste’s Oil Wealth

Jun 1, 2019 | Bardia Rahmani, Diplomat

In development speak, a “white elephant” is a building project that is extremely expensive but that has little use or practical value. It would not…