International


Myanmar: Unused Land Seized from Farmers Has Been Returned, Myanmar Military Says

Jul 18, 2018 | Radio Free Asia

Myanmar’s military said Wednesday that it has been returning to its rightful owners all unused land it confiscated for decades from farmers, a day after…


Afghanistan: Parkour for Peace: Kabul Youth Turns War-Pocked Landscape into a Playground for Dare Devils

Jul 18, 2018 | Getee Ramazan Habibi, Global Voices

Parkour, a form of urban acrobatics born in France, has found a welcome home in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. There, in a city that…


Myanmar: Myanmar Must Provide Justice in Decades-Old Land Grab Cases: HRW

Jul 17, 2018 | Richard Finney, Radio Free Asia

Myanmar should move quickly to settle decades-old claims by farmers forced from their land by the country’s military, a rights group said on Tuesday, adding…


Afghanistan/Iran: In Parched Afghanistan, Drought Sharpens Water Dispute with Iran

Jul 17, 2018 | Rupam Jain, Reuters

Severe drought across much of Afghanistan is spurring plans to build new dams to help farmers. It is also aggravating tensions with Iran over supplies…


Colombia: Colombia Pledges Deforestation-Free Cocoa by 2025

Jul 17, 2018 | Oliver Nieburg, Confectionary News

The world’s tenth largest cocoa producer has joined the Cocoa & Forests Initiative as it looks to combat a 46% increase in tree cover loss…


Liberia: New Report Spotlights Financiers of Palm Oil Giant Clearing Liberia’s Forests

Jul 17, 2018 | Daniel Pye, Mongabay

An Indonesian-owned plantation company operating in Liberia has come under renewed scrutiny for allegedly clearing hundreds of hectares of protected forestland, including chimpanzee habitat, wetlands…


South Sudan: South Sudan Minister Summoned over Oil Pollution

Jul 16, 2018 | Joseph Oduha, East African

A South Sudan parliamentary committee has summoned Oil minister Ezekiel Gatkuoth Lol for failure to report on the pollution in the Upper Nile states. Mr…


Iraq: Roots of Iraq’s Protests Run Deep – Corruption, Mismanagement: Analyst

Jul 15, 2018 | Rudaw

With the end of the war against ISIS, the many problems of Iraq that had been on the back burner have resurfaced, according to Yaseen…


Afghanistan: Afghan Saffron Coming to US Stores

Jul 14, 2018 | NPR

NPR's Renee Montagne asks Keith Alaniz and Emily Miller about the spice company they founded with a group of veterans who served in Afghanistan.


Myanmar: Landslide at Myanmar Jade Mine Kills at Least 15, Injures 45: Official

Jul 14, 2018 | Shoon Naing, Reuters

A landslide killed at least 15 people in northern Myanmar on Saturday, with 45 others injured after the latest disaster in the Hpakant jade mining…


Liberia: Oil Block #13: Did NOCAL Circumvent 2002 Petroleum Law?

Jul 13, 2018 | John H. T. Stewart, Daily Observer

Former legal advisor to President Sirleaf, Cllr. Seward Cooper, one of those persons named by Global Witness (GW) in the ExxonMobil alleged bribery scheme, has…


Afghanistan: Kabul’s Underground Water Reserves 'to Dry up within Years'

Jul 13, 2018 | Sharif Amiri, TOLOnews

The National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) has warned that underground water reserves in Kabul will dry up within the next 10 years amid an increasing…


Climate Change: UN Security Council Addresses Climate Change as a Security Risk

Jul 13, 2018 | Leila Mead, International Institute for Sustainable Development

The UN Security Council convened a session to discuss the nexus between climate change and global conflicts and to deepen understanding of climate-related security risks.…


Climate Change: 11 July: Climate Security Takes Centre Stage at UNSC

Jul 12, 2018 | Planetary Security Initiative

On the 11th of July, the UN Security Council will host a debate on the risks relating to climate security. It will take place at…


Climate Change: Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström at the UN Security Council Debate on Climate-Related Security Risks

Jul 12, 2018 | Government of Sweden

National statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Margot Wallström, on behalf of Sweden, at the United Nations Security Council Debate on Climate-Related Security…


Afghanistan: Search for Survivors after Afghanistan Landslide Destroys 300 Homes

Jul 12, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

A landslide destroyed nearly 300 homes, killing at least 10 people, as it swept through an Afghan village where residents were using only basic digging…


Afghanistan: Kandahar Farmers Fear ‘Catastrophic Situation’

Jul 12, 2018 | Bashir Ahmad Naadim, Pajhwok Afghan News

The humanitarian situation in southern Kandahar province could turn ‘catastrophic’ if wastage of water is not stopped in the drought-province, residents and officials say. Although the…


Myanmar: Transparency Concerns Raised About 7 Dam Projects in Southern Myanmar

Jul 12, 2018 | Nan Lwin, Irrawaddy

Local residents are concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding seven proposed dam projects backed by international companies in southern Myanmar, some of which have…


Colombia: 16000 Displaced in Guerrilla Turf War in Northeast Colombia: UN

Jul 12, 2018 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

Some 16,000 people from northwest Colombia have been displaced since fighting broke out between ELN and EPL guerrillas in mid-March, according to the United Nations.…


South Sudan: South Sudan Government Confirms Widespread Oil-Caused Environmental Catastrophe

Jul 12, 2018 | Terry Swartzberg, ViaNews

In May 2018, the United Nation‘s Environment Programme published the South Sudan‘s First State of Environment Report and Outlook. From literally its first page on,…


Nigeria: UN Food Agencies Team up to Secure Livelihoods in Northeast Nigeria

Jul 12, 2018 | World Food Programme

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a joint effort to support conflict-affected people in northeastern…


Climate Change: UN Security Council Considers ‘Cycle of Conflict and Climate Disaster’

Jul 12, 2018 | Megan Darby, Climate Home News

Climate change is contributing to instability in many parts of the world, the UN security council heard on Wednesday, in its first debate dedicated to the topic in…


Colombia: ‘Businessmen in Northwest Colombia Plan to Kill Social Leaders to Prevent Land Restitution’

Jul 12, 2018 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

Businessmen in northwest Colombia are conspiring with death squads to assassinate social leaders to prevent the restitution of land that was stolen during the armed…


Liberia: Liberia, EU Sign Aide Memoire of Joint Implementation Committee

Jul 11, 2018 | New Dawn Liberia

European Union Ambassador Hélène Cavé and Chairman of the FDA Board of Directors Harrison Karnwea have agreed on the final version of the document that…


Climate Change: Fragile Countries Risk Being ‘Stuck in a Cycle of Conflict and Climate Disaster,’ Security Council told

Jul 11, 2018 | UN

Climate change ­– and the shortages of water and food that come from it – is becoming increasingly linked to conflict, a senior United Nations…


Syria/Islamic State: ISIS Recaptures Two Oil Fields in Oil-Rich Syrian Region

Jul 10, 2018 | Tsvetana Paraskova, Oil Price

Islamic State militants recaptured on Monday two oil fields in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region in Syria, a Turkey-based Syrian news agency reported on Tuesday.…


Myanmar: Myanmar Urged to Review Hydropower Dam Projects Seen Damaging to Rural Communities

Jul 10, 2018 | Radio Free Asia

The Myanmar government must undertake reforms in its hydropower sector to prevent dam projects from negatively impacting rural ethnic minority communities in southeastern Kayin state,…


Afghanistan: Pistachio, Not Poppy

Jul 10, 2018 | Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Local authorities in the southern Afghan province of Helmand are hoping to provide local farmers with an alternative to growing poppy by rolling out a…


Afghanistan: Underground Water Level Goes 20 Meters Down in Kabul

Jul 9, 2018 | Navid Ahmad Barakzai, Pajhwok Afghan News

Officials of the water supply company and urban canalization on Monday said the underground water level in the capital has severely polluted and lowered by…


South Sudan: Rising Health Risks in South Sudan: Radioactive and Toxic Contamination

Jul 9, 2018 | Francis Michael, Via News

Plug County is located in the Melut Basin, home to South Sudan’s most productive – and hence polluting – oil fields. In view of this…