International


United Nations Compensation Panel Pays out $270M for Kuwait Oil Company

Jul 23, 2019 | New Indian Express

A United Nations panel that oversees compensation claims stemming from Iraq's 1990-1991 invasion of Kuwait says it has paid out $270 million to Kuwait's national…


Iraq: Water Crisis in Basra

Jul 22, 2019 | Human Rights Watch

Iraqi authorities have failed to ensure for almost 30 years that Basra residents have sufficient safe drinking water, resulting in on-going health concerns, Human Rights…


Iraq: Revenue from Oil Price Rise Will Fund Reconstruction in Iraq, Oil Officials Say

Jul 22, 2019 | Hiwa Shilani, Kurdistan 24

As oil prices in Iraq become more stable, the cost of crude has gradually risen to nearly $70 per barrel for the first time in…


Afghanistan: Three Land Grabbers Arrested in Logar

Jul 22, 2019 | Afghanistan Times

Afghan National Police in southern Logar province have arrested three land grabbers—a lucrative but black business where many powerful individuals have been involved in this…


Myanmar: More Than 45,000 People Affected by First Monsoon Flood

Jul 22, 2019 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

Flooding caused by the first monsoon of the season displaced more than 45,000 people, according to a statement issued by the United Nations Office for the…


Iraq: Iraq Races to Save Last of Middle East's Forests from Burning

Jul 22, 2019 | Peter Schwartzstein, National Geographic

Iraq is on fire, and Aram Ismail has no idea how to stanch the flames. As a 12-year veteran of the Iraqi Kurdish forest police,…


Myanmar: Over 10,000 Tons of Illegal Timber Seized in Four Months

Jul 21, 2019 | Eleven

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation seized over 10,000 tons of illegal timber during four months of this fiscal year, with Sagaing Region topping…


Inclusive Peace in Afghanistan Means ‘Women at the Centre’ Urges UN Deputy Chief in Kabul

Jul 21, 2019 | UN

The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts…


Timor-Leste: Oil and Gas Is Timor-Leste's Ticket to Prosperity. Is This Impoverished Nation Blowing Its One Chance?

Jul 21, 2019 | Anne Barker and Michael Barnett, ABC News

East Timor is almost wholly reliant on oil and gas for its revenue. But rather than pocket the royalties from offshore processing without spending a…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…


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…