International


Conflict Minerals: Consensus Eludes New Definition for ‘Blood Diamonds’

Nov 27, 2019 | Tribune

An attempt for a new, expanded definition of conflict diamonds eluded consensus during a meeting of the Kimberley Process countries here. India is the current…


Climate Change: How Conflict and Climate Change Are a Threat to Food Security [Video]

Nov 27, 2019 | Bloomberg

Colleen Kelly, chief operating officer of Concern Worldwide U.S., discusses the world hunger index, climate change and the threat to food security. She speaks with…


Climate Change: Pete Buttigieg Says Climate Change Is Our Greatest Security Threat [Video]

Nov 26, 2019 | Caitlin McFall, Daily Caller

On the campaign trail this week, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg reiterated his belief that climate change contributed to the Syrian civil war. Speaking at a…


Myanmar: Wild Elephants Destroy Plantations in Myanmar's Western State

Nov 26, 2019 | Xinhua

On Oct. 21 this year, three houses were destroyed by two wild elephants' raid in the same township. It was learnt that wild elephant raids…


Lebanon: How Warming Helped Spark a Revolution in Lebanon

Nov 26, 2019 | Jennifer Hijazi, E&E News

Experts say environmental stressors, including climate change and the recent fires in the Shouf mountains, are contributing to a turbulent uprising that is still filling…


Myanmar: Villagers Protest Namtu Hydropower Project

Nov 26, 2019 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

Residents held a protest during the visit of U Sai Sam Tip, Shan State minister for Electricity and Energy, in Talong village, which will be affected…


FAO Stands with Generation Equality to Oppose Rape

Nov 25, 2019 | FAO

FAO is taking a stand against sexual and gender-based violence by participating in the UN Secretary-General’s campaign: UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women.


Syria: US Occupation of Syria’s Oil Fields Is ‘Legal’ under International Law: Envoy

Nov 24, 2019 | Al-Masdar News

Washington is not doing anything illegal by securing oil fields in Syria, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey told reporters on Friday. Jeffrey…


Syria: A Convoluted System for Syria’s Oil Revenues

Nov 23, 2019 | Mohamed Homs, Enab Baladi

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been confused by the decision of its American ally to withdraw from Syria, as its mission to fight and…


Vietnam: Strengthen Women’s Livelihoods and Participation for Greater Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Viet Nam

Nov 22, 2019 | Thao Hoang, UN Women

When Tran Thi My Linh, a 51-year-old rural woman first said that she would replace her rice fields with lotus fields, she raised many eyebrows.…


Somalia: GEF, UNDP Project Advances SDGs in Somalia through Hydromet Services

Nov 21, 2019 | Delia Paul, International Institute for Sustainable Development

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have announced a USD 10 million programme to build capacity for flood and drought…


Senate Bill Could Make It Easier for Troops Exposed to Burn Pits to Claim Disabilities

Nov 21, 2019 | Steve Beynon, Stars and Stripes

A bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday could make it easier for veterans to claim disability from burn pit exposure, despite the Department of…


Afghanistan: A Remote Paradise: Afghanistan Establishes the Bamyan Plateau Protected Area

Nov 21, 2019 | Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society extends congratulations to the ​Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for the establishment of the Bamyan Plateau Protected Area, a spectacular landscape of ​4,200 square kilometers…


Colombia: Colombia's President: New Hope as 38 Municipalities Are Free from Landmines

Nov 21, 2019 | HALO Trust

President Ivan Duque of Colombia met this week with The HALO Trust Colombia programme and other and mine clearance organisations to mark the handover of…


Syria: Syria War: Who Benefits from Its Oil Production?

Nov 21, 2019 | BBC

President Donald Trump says he expects the United States to benefit by millions of dollars per month from Syria's oil revenues while US troops remain…


Colombia: Colombian Military Combats Unprecedented Deforestation

Nov 21, 2019 | Oliver Barrett, Diálogo

Colombia is home to a large swath of the Amazon; an area roughly the size of Germany and England combined, and its unique ecosystem is…


Can the US Take Syria’s Oil? [Audio]

Nov 21, 2019 | Shirin Jaafari, Public Radio International

Over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to keep American troops in Syria to “guard the oil” and that…


The List of Military Sites with Suspected ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contamination Has Grown

Nov 20, 2019 | Patricia Kime, Military Times

The number of places where the U.S. military spilled or suspects it discharged perfluorinated compounds has grown, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, but they did not…


Liberia: Liberia Develops Policies to Replace Lost Generation of Trees

Nov 20, 2019 | Observer

A policy document, which aims to brace the National Forestry reform law of 2006, and radically enforce the culture of reforestation and afforestation program in…


China/South China Sea: US Increased Sea Patrols to Send Message to China, Defense Secretary Says

Nov 19, 2019 | Bloomberg

The U.S. is conducting more patrols in the South China Sea to send a signal to China that it intends to maintain freedom in the…


Afghanistan: Increased Support for Afghan Farmers Hit by Conflict and Natural Disasters

Nov 19, 2019 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) has contributed $9.5 million to an FAO-led project that aims to boost the resilience of farmers affected by conflict and…


Afghanistan: Afghan Pomegranate Growers Squeezed as Prices Drop

Nov 17, 2019 | Channel News Asia

Pomegranate farmers in southern Afghanistan - where growing the juicy fruit is an important alternative to opium poppy production - say they are feeling the squeeze…


Iraq: Despite Rising Tide of Birth Defects, Fallujah Shuns Iraq Protests in Fear of Backlash

Nov 17, 2019 | Alex MacDonald, Middle East Eye

The Fallujah Educational Hospital for Women and Children has one of the most sought-after maternity facilities in Iraq's Anbar province. The lack of quality maternity…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: South China Sea Crisis: How Vietnam’s Challenge to China May Result in Beijing Aggression

Nov 16, 2019 | Charlie Bradley, Express

South China Sea waters have been the subject of complex and hostile political fallout as numerous nations seek to thwart Beijing’s aggression, but Vietnam’s efforts…


Afghanistan: Largest Cold Storage Facility Build in Kabul

Nov 16, 2019 | Daily Outlook Afghanistan

A cold storage facility has been built by the private sector in the capital Kabul. The facility, which is the largest cold storage build in…


Climate Change: Where Climate Change Drives Conflict, Peacebuilding Combats It

Nov 15, 2019 | Mercy Corps

As the effects of climate change play out globally in more extreme weather and diminishing natural resources like this, it’s people like Moses — those…


Syria: Who Will Control Syria's Oil and Gas?

Nov 14, 2019 | Omar Moradi, Rudaw

It seems as though Syria’s civil war will come to an end, and its president Bashar al-Assad will retake all of the country’s territory. As…


Myanmar: Fishermen’s Friends: Dolphins under Threat in Myanmar, but Eco-Tour Group Works to Save Them

Nov 14, 2019 | Marissa Carruthers, South China Morning Post

U Aung Thinn is one of about 60 remaining cooperative fishermen who work alongside the small pocket of Irrawaddy dolphins along this stretch of the…


Afghanistan: Parks and Restoration

Nov 14, 2019 | Ingrid Gonçalves, University of Chicago Magazine

Leopards, tigers, and bears were just the beginning. In 2006 conservationist Alex Dehgan, SM’03, PhD’03, ventured by horse, donkey, and yak to some of Afghanistan’s…


Climate Change: Climate Change May Be Blowing up Arms Depots

Nov 14, 2019 | Peter Schwartzstein, Scientific American

It was a little before 4 A.M., on an airless morning in June 2018, when the arms depot in Baharka, Iraqi Kurdistan, blew up. While…