International


Peace on the ground, through ecological conservation

Jan 28, 2014 | The Jerusalem Post

To Prof. Saleem Ali, transforming a slab of greenery sandwiched between northern Israel and Jordan into a shared ecological park would be nothing less than…


Israeli-Palestinian Agreement on Water Within Sight

Jan 28, 2014 | International Institute for Sustainable Development

Many people have said that the last thing on which Israelis and Palestinians will be able to agree is fresh water.  They are very likely…


Security Council Grants Year-long Mandate Extension for United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Central African Republic

Jan 28, 2014 | United Nations

The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) for one year today, deciding also…


Rebels in Syria Claim Control of Resources

Jan 28, 2014 | New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamist rebels and extremist groups have seized control of most of Syria’s oil and gas resources, a rare generator of cash in…


Côte d’Ivoire’s Great West: Key to Reconciliation

Jan 28, 2014 | International Crisis Group

Western Côte d’Ivoire’s land, security and identity problems make this vast border territory the country’s most unstable area. Reconciliation has yet to begin there and…


Oil price volatility undermines economic growth, says Sir David King

Jan 27, 2014 | The Guardian

Governments need to deter oil speculators, set aside reserves of crude oil and take steps urgently to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels in order…


WikiLeaks, Drought and Syria

Jan 21, 2014 | New York Times

In the 1970s, I got both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in modern Middle East studies, and I can assure you that at no time…


Machar Calls on S. Sudan to Recognise Abyei Referendum

Nov 14, 2013 | Sudan Tribune

November 14, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s deputy chairman of the ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Riek Machar Teny, has called on…


Igad Condemns Abyei Referendum

Nov 7, 2013 | Daily Nation

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) condemned a recent unilateral referendum on the final status of Abyei region, which is currently controlled by Sudan but…


On International Day, Ban calls for protection of natural resources in war-torn countries

Nov 6, 2013 | United Nations


World: Empowering Women in Natural Resource Management Critical for Lasting Peace in War-Torn Countries, Says UN Report

Nov 6, 2013 | UNEP

Geneva /New York/Nairobi, 6 November 2013 - Ensuring that women have better access to and control of natural resources such as land, water, forests and…


No Need to Dig: Many of Africa’s Fastest-growing Economies Have Not Relied on Oil or Mining

Nov 2, 2013 | The Economist

AFRICA is a continent rich in minerals and oil. China has an economy that requires them in abundance. Since the mid-1990s the economy of sub-Saharan…


Abyei opts to join South Sudan in unofficial referendum

Oct 31, 2013 | BBC News

Residents of the disputed region of Abyei have voted overwhelmingly to join South Sudan in an unofficial referendum.But the Arabic-speaking Misseriya nomadic community favouring union…


Burma’s Old Guard Clings to $8B Jade Empire

Sep 30, 2013 | The Irrawaddy

HPAKANT, Kachin State — Tin Tun picked all night through teetering heaps of rubble to find the palm-sized lump of jade he now holds in…


Syria: Drought Helped Cause Syria’s War. Will Climate Change Bring More Like It?

Sep 10, 2013 | Brad Plumer, Washington Post

Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell are co-founders of the D.C.-based Center for Climate and Security, a think tank focused on the interactions between climate change and security issues. In…


Q&A: Aynak and Mining in Afghanistan

Apr 2, 2013 | The World Bank

Aynak is a large undeveloped copper resource, located about 40 km southeast of Kabul in Afghanistan’s Logar province.  After a competitive bidding process, the government…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan's Forests a Casualty of Timber Smuggling

Mar 18, 2013 | Sean Carberry, WBFO

Despite Afghanistan's fierce winter, it's rare to find a house with insulation or a modern heating system. So Afghans rely on bukharis, stoves that look…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pakistan Had Buried the Nuclear Waste in Helmand and Kandahar

Oct 9, 2012 | Sobah 8

Experts from environment are saying that the government of Pakistan, after testing a nuclear bomb in Baluchistan in the 1999-2001, at the time of the…


Afghanistan Bright Spot: Wildlife Surviving in War Zones

Jun 12, 2011 | Brian Handwerk

Despite decades of deadly fighting among humans, many of Afghanistan's mammals are doing surprisingly well in the country's remaining forests, according to a new study.

Recent…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pakistan 'Dumped Nuclear Waste'

Apr 1, 2008 | Martin Vennard , BBC News

The Afghan government says it has evidence that nuclear waste from Pakistan was dumped in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taleban. Parliamentary affairs minster…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Gem Hunters Risk All for Precious Minerals [Video]

Sean Callebs, CGTN America

Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley is home to one of the richest supplies of gems in the world. But the big challenge is getting them out with…


South Sudan: You (Yes, You) Can Help Scientists Identify Wildlife In South Sudan

Christine Ro, Forbes

Zooniverse bills itself as the largest citizen science website, with projects open to anyone regardless of educational background. One of the more intriguing projects is…


Afghanistan: Summer Heat Threatens People Uprooted by Drought and War

Doctors without Borders

Spiking summer temperatures in Afghanistan are threatening some 100,000 displaced people sheltering on the outskirts of the city of Herat. At the same time, humanitarian…


Conflict Minerals: Want an Ethical Smartphone? Fairphone 3 Is on the Way – but Tiny Market Share Suggests Few Care

Tim Anderson, Register

Fairphone, whose devices are designed to be sustainable and made in exploitation-free factories, will kick out its third unit in mid-September, priced at €450.00 including…


South Sudan: South Sudan Turns to Tourism in Bid to Draw Line under Past Unrest

Sam Mednick, Guardian

As South Sudan slowly emerges from conflict, with a fragile peace deal signed last September, it is looking to diversify revenues instead of relying almost…


Liberia: Liberia Passes New Licensing Law

Barry Morgan, Upstream

Liberian President George Weah has signed into law the amended Petroleum Act of 2019, enabling the government and the National Oil of Liberia to proceed…


Colombia: One World Pharma and Colombia's Misak Tribe Enter into Cultivation and Sale Agreement

Globe Newswire

One World Pharma Inc., a fully licensed cannabis and hemp producer in Colombia, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to partner with Colombia’s Misak…


Myanmar: Burma’s Indigenous Karen Communities Move to Protect Rivers, Forests

Karen Information Center

Communities in rural Karen State don’t refer to climate change by name, but they have experienced its negative impacts and are responding. At the foot…


Nigeria: What’s Triggered New Conflict between Farmers and Herders in Nigeria

Oludayo Tade, Conversation

Previous studies have established land resource struggles and weather among the factors fuelling clashes between farming and herding communities in Nigeria. While these factors remain…


DRC: Developing Clean Energy Potential in the DRC

Africa Oil & Power

As global energy focus shifts towards renewables, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is gaining traction as an…