International


Climate Change Hits Women Hardest, Report Finds

Mar 6, 2020 | Sarah Mac Donald

Women are disproportionately hurt by climate change and corporate human rights violations throughout the world, according to a new study by Trócaire, the aid and development…


Ethiopia: Trouble as Trump Dives into the Dispute over Ethiopia's Nile Mega-Dam

Mar 6, 2020 | Benita van Eyssen, Deutsche Welle

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a massive hydroelectric power plant being constructed on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. In mid-January, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reached…


Bangladesh: The Women Fighting Climate Change in Bangladesh

Mar 6, 2020 | Marigold Warner, British Journal of Photography

In disaster-prone areas like Barishal, a major city that lies on the bank of Kirtankhola river in Bangladesh, life for women is a constant struggle.…


Colombia: Where Indigenous Women Take Lead on Land Rights, Communities Thrive

Mar 6, 2020 | Andrew J. Wight

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA – Across the globe, women are on the front lines of protecting traditional and Indigenous land from threats like mining, ranching, and a…


Hidden in Plain Sight: Women and Girls in Internal Displacement

Mar 5, 2020 | Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

More than half of the 41 million people worldwide living in internal displacement at the end of 2018 were women and girls. They experience displacement…


Afghanistan: The Afghan Scorpion Farmer Harvesting Valuable Venom for International Buyers

Mar 5, 2020 | Kern Hendricks, National

Scorpion venom is highly prized among medical researchers. “Not all the venom components of scorpions are dangerous to humans, and there are actually many components…


Iraq: As Oil Prices Fall, How Will Iraq Pay the Bills?

Mar 4, 2020 | Agence France-Presse

As crude prices plunge, Iraq's oil sector is facing a triple threat that has slashed revenues, risks denting production, and may spell trouble for future…


Liberia: Resolution Underway in Boniken-Weleken Land Dispute

Mar 4, 2020 | New Dawn

A team of local authorities headed by County Superintendent, George A. Prowd have instituted measures aimed at restoring peace over a disputed farmland between Boniken…


Conflict Minerals: UN General Assembly Highlights Importance of Regime to Curb Conflict Diamonds

Mar 3, 2020 | Xinhua

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution that acknowledges the successful role that the Kimberley Process, a mechanism aimed to prevent "conflict diamonds"…


Myanmar: Myanmar Govt Faces Setbacks in Enforcing Compliance with EITI Database

Mar 3, 2020 | John Liu and Thompson Chau, Myanmar Times

Myanmar’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) unit, a government body under the finance ministry, held a press conference on February 28 to address criticisms over…


Climate Change: Report Warns of Climate Change Induced Global Security Risks

Mar 3, 2020 | Leila Mead, International Institute for Sustainable Development

National security, military and intelligence experts are warning of high to catastrophic threats to security at different warming scenarios, and urging a rapid reduction and phasing…


South Sudan: UN: South Sudan’s Oil Patch Is Living on Borrowed Time

Mar 3, 2020 | Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com

South Sudan continues to spend oil revenues in advance and its oil sector continues to lack transparency, according to a UN report that was made…


Conflict Minerals: Civil Society Calls for Transparency about Companies Subjected to the EU Regulation on 3TG Conflict Minerals

Mar 3, 2020 | Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations

EU member states seem to be adopting a loose interpretation of the text of the Regulation on the responsible sourcing of minerals from conflict-affected and…


Colombia: Colombia’s ‘Peace Laboratory’ Decries Government Failures in Coca Substitution

Mar 2, 2020 | Alex Diamond and Pedro Arenas, Colombia Reports

Former coca farmers from Colombia’s “Peace Laboratory” fear a return to war if the government doesn’t live up to the peace process’ coca substitution program.


DRC: Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo Mine for Coltan and Face Abuse to Supply Smartphone Industry

Feb 29, 2020 | Esdras Tsongo, ABC News

Years of violence and political conflict across the Democratic Republic of Congo have made its vast mineral wealth an attractive revenue raiser — and rebel…


Myanmar: Myanmar Seizes over 600 Tons of Illegal Timbers in Single Week

Feb 29, 2020 | Star

Myanmar authorities recently seized over 626.1 tons of illegal timbers across the country in a week, state-run media reported on Saturday (Feb 29).


Food Security: Conflict Resolution Crucial for Food Security, Poverty Alleviation, Say Experts

Feb 28, 2020 | Ibe Wada, Guardian

Professionals have explained that food insecurity is aggravated by conflicts, crimes, terrorism and religious extremism, especially from the grain and arable crop-producing zones of the…


South Sudan: South Sudan Targets 200,000 b/d Production This Year: Official

Feb 28, 2020 | Namala Doreen, S&P Global Platts

South Sudan crude production is stuck at 185,000 b/d, hindered by rising water shortages and power rationing, but the country is targeting 200,000 b/d this…


South Sudan: Ruweng Community Demands Compensation for Oil Spills

Feb 28, 2020 | Viola Elias, Voice of America

Residents of South Sudan's oil-rich Ruweng County have petitioned the country's Supreme Court, demanding millions of dollars in compensation for oil spills that have polluted…


Myanmar: Myanmar Court Jails 9 People for Timber Smuggling

Feb 27, 2020 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

A local court sentenced nine people to 10 years in jail each for timber smuggling, an official of the Yangon Region Forestry Department said. They…


Myanmar: Rising Sea Levels Put Myanmar's Villages on Frontline of Climate Change

Feb 26, 2020 | Rozanna Latiff and Zaw Naing Oo, Reuters

Ta Dar U is among hundreds of villages at the frontline of Myanmar’s climate crisis, where extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels have amplified…


Colombia: Colombian Armed Forces to Form Special Unit to Protect National Parks

Feb 25, 2020 | Reuters

Colombia will create a special military unit to protect its national parks and step up operations against illegal armed groups who burn vegetation to clear…


Food Security: More Funding Needed to Combat Locust Swarms ‘Unprecedented in Modern Times’

Feb 25, 2020 | UN

Along with climate shocks, conflict and acute food insecurity, the East Africa region now faces a hunger threat from desert locusts, top UN relief officials…


Climate Change: National Security Experts Call for Eliminating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Feb 25, 2020 | Thomas Frank, E&E News

National security experts urged the elimination of all greenhouse gas emissions in a report yesterday that warns of international catastrophe if the global temperatures continue…


Rwanda: Rwandan Tin Smelting Firm Certified as Conflict Free

Feb 25, 2020 | Collins Mwai, New Times

A Rwandan tin smelting plant, LuNa Smelter, has been certified as a conflict free smelter by the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP). The qualification is…


Colombia: Colombia Is Still the Deadliest Place for Environmental Activists

Feb 25, 2020 | Carlos Dela Vega, Latin Post

Colombia has remained the deadliest place to live in for environmental and human rights activists according to a recent study. Human rights and environmental activists…


South Sudan: NGO Urges Shutdown of 'Dilapidated' South Sudan Oil Pipeline

Feb 25, 2020 | Agence France-Presse

A key South Sudan oil export pipeline suffered at least two massive spills last year, an NGO reported Tuesday, urging the government to shut it…


Colombia: Colombia Was the Deadliest Place on Earth for Environmental Activists. It's Gotten Worse.

Feb 23, 2020 | Teresa Tomassoni, NBC News

Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world for activists who seek to help protect land and other natural resources, according to a recently…


Libya: East Libya FM Demands 'Fair Distribution' to End Oil Closure

Feb 22, 2020 | Asharq Al-Awsat

Foreign Minister of the interim government in eastern Libya, Abdelhadi Lahouij, said Saturday the shutdown of vital oil facilities in the country would come to…


Afghanistan: The Nature and Pace of Afghanistan’s Economic Growth in Last Two Decades

Feb 22, 2020 | Mohammad Zahir Akbari, Outlook Afghanistan

Despite notable progress since 2001, Afghanistan still faces many challenges and considered as one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half of…