International


Food Security: No Food Security without Peace, Says FAO chief

May 21, 2019 | IANS

Hunger and conflict are interlinked and sustaining impoverished rural communities can help break the cycle, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation chief Jose Graziano da…


Afghanistan: Taliban Ramp up Mining in Southern Afghan Region

May 20, 2019 | Mohammad Ilyas Dayee and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Lawmakers and locals in a southern Afghan province say the illegal mining of gold and other precious minerals has dramatically increased in Taliban-controlled regions close…


Libya: UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya Strongly Condemns the Blockage of the Great Man-Made River, Cutting off Water Supply for Hundreds of Thousands of Libyans

May 20, 2019 | UN Support Mission in Libya

On 19 May 2019, during late night hours, a water control station in the Jabal al-Hasawna – southwestern Libya, was deliberately shut down cutting off…


Myanmar: Five from China Charged over Illegal Banana Plantation in Myanmar Protected Forest

May 20, 2019 | Radio Free Asia

The forestry department of northern Myanmar’s Kachin state has filed charges against five Chinese nationals and their company manager for allegedly expanding a banana plantation…


For Many Women in Colombia, Peace Never Arrived

May 19, 2019 | Kimberley Brown, Al Jazeera

More than 340 human rights defenders in Colombia were killed from the beginning of 2016 to mid-August 2018 - mostly by paramilitaries trying to squash…


Liberia: Liberia Women Forum Wants Stakeholders Tune Down Rhetoric & Maintain Peace

May 19, 2019 | Alaskai Moore Johnson

Monrovia – Liberia Women Forum (LWF), a woman’s advocacy group, is appealing to the main stakeholders on the Liberian political landscape to tune down the…


Somalia: UN Warns of Humanitarian Crisis in Drought-Stricken Somalia

May 18, 2019 | Africa News

Drought has left nearly two million Somalis in desperate need of food, a humanitarian agency warned Monday, as poor rainfall pushes communities to the brink…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Concerned Sudan Turmoil Could Hurt Oil Exports

May 17, 2019 | Paul Burkhardt, Bloomberg

South Sudan, recovering from a civil war in which 400,000 people died and and a quarter of the population was displaced, is concerned that an…


Sudan: Community-Led Rainfall Monitoring in Sudan’s Darfur

May 16, 2019 | UN Environment

Darfur, in Sudan, as most of arid and semi-arid Africa, is marked by a good deal of climatic variability. Climate change has also led to…


Climate Change: EU Security Community Considers Climate Security

May 16, 2019 | Planetary Security Initiative

Climate-related security issues were prominently discussed in Brussels. Luxembourg Minister of Defense François Bausch addressed the topic in a meeting with his counterparts in the…


Bomb-Laden Drones Threaten Arabian Oil Fields, Nuclear Plant

May 16, 2019 | Energy & Environment News

A Yemen rebel drone strike this week on a critical Saudi oil pipeline shows that the otherwise-peaceful sandy reaches of the Arabian Peninsula now are…


Colombia: No Peace without a Piece of the Land

May 15, 2019 | Augusta Dwyer, Global Landscapes Forum

After more than half a century of conflict, the Colombian government signed a peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas in 2016, taking a massive step…


Somalia: Online Course Inspires Former Envoy to Counter Environmental Degradation in Somalia

May 15, 2019 | UN Environment

An interview with Abshir H Abshir is Executive Director, Centre for the Rule of Law and Development. Based in Garowe, the capital of Somalia’s semi-autonomous…


Afghanistan: A Connecticut Soldier Exposed to Smoke from 'Burn Pits’ in Afghanistan Now Fights for Benefits and Battles Terminal Brain Cancer

May 15, 2019 | Peggy McCarthy, Hartford Courant

Every day for 10 months in 2012, Peter Antioho walked through dense, black smoke from an open burn pit on his Army base in Afghanistan.…


Iraq: The Exodus Begins as Foreign Oil Companies Exit Iraq on Security Concerns

May 15, 2019 | Julianne Geiger, OilPrice

ExxonMobil is starting to evacuate its engineers working on Iraq’s West Qurna 1 field due to security concerns, according to Al Arabiya. Earlier in the…


Afghanistan: Casualty of War: Deforestation and Desertification in Afghanistan

May 15, 2019 | Austin Bodetti, New Arab

While gridlock is keeping the Taliban and the United States from reaching a political settlement to the war in Afghanistan, a lacklustre peace process represents just…


Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: Security Council Extends Mandate of United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei until November, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2469 (2019)

May 14, 2019 | UN

The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 15 November today, deciding also to reduce its authorized troop…


Syria: Syrian Conflict Leaves 93 Percent of Population in Poverty

May 14, 2019 | Ibrahim Hamidi, Asharq Al-Awsat

The conflict in Syria has led to a food safety disaster in the country, with 93 percent of the population living in poverty. A number…


South Sudan: Canada's Feminist Policy a Perfect Fit for South Sudan, Says UN Refugee Official

May 13, 2019 | Mike Blanchfield

OTTAWA — Canada could find a win for its feminist foreign policy in the spiralling famine and refugee crisis gripping South Sudan and neighbouring African…


Iraq: Iraq Reveals Big Corruption File in Basra Oil Contracts Involving Two Int. Companies

May 13, 2019 | Sangar Ali, Kurdistan 24

Iraq’s Commission of Integrity on Monday revealed corruption marred contracts between the state-run Basra Oil Company and two international firms over the purchase of loading arms. The…


Myanmar: Myanmar Loses about 150,000 Acres of Forest Annually: Survey

May 13, 2019 | Zeya Nyein, Eleven

Forest erosion rate in Myanmar is reached to about 150,000 acres annually within five-year time and Myanmar stood third place in the list of countries…


Iraq: The Battle for Control over Iraq’s Oil

May 13, 2019 | Simon Watkins, OilPrice

Iraq regards the U.S.’s refusal to extend waivers for countries importing oil from Iran as a tacit endorsement for it to pump its own oil…


Myanmar: Plan under Way to Increase Forest Coverage Areas

May 11, 2019 | Eleven

The Forest Department is working to designate 30 per cent of the country’s total area as reserved forests and protected public forests and 10 per…


Myanmar: Crowdfunding Brings Life-Saving Water to Myanmar's Deer

May 10, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

A herd of endangered deer wait under the shade of one of the sparse trees in this parched central Myanmar landscape, watching as rangers dispatch…


Middle East: Could Desalination Help Prevent Water Wars in the Middle East? [Video]

May 10, 2019 | Yolande Knell, BBC

In the Middle East it’s long been feared that increasing competition over shared natural supplies of fresh water – because of growing populations and climate…


Liberia: FDA Decries Forest Depletion, Degradation

May 10, 2019 | David S. Menjor, Observer

The managing director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), C. Mike Doryen has decried the “degradation of the forests” across the country. Doryen raised the…


Afghanistan: National Procurement Commission Cancels Takhar Mining Contract

May 10, 2019 | Wadsam Afghanistan Business News

The National Procurement Commission (NPC), has canceled the contract for exploration of Nuraba gold in mine in Chahab District of northern Takhar province. According to…


Liberia: Civil Society Breaking Barriers with Land Rights Law in Bong Communities

May 9, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

Communities in the Suakoko District in Bong County are breaking traditional barriers around the ownership of land, thanks to a project being run by three…


Yemen: Yemen’s Forests Another Casualty of War amid Fuel Crisis

May 9, 2019 | Adel Aldaghbashy, SciDev.Net

The four-year conflict in Yemen which has pushed huge swathes of the population close to famine has also left the country with a severe fuel…


Colombia: Goldman Prize Winner Survives Armed Attack on Afro-Colombian Social Leaders

May 9, 2019 | Taran Volckhausen, Mongabay

Renowned environmental activist and Goldman Prize winner Francia Márquez has survived an attack against a meeting of Afro-Colombian human rights defenders by unknown gunmen in…