International


Syria: Syria Fighting Destroying Crops as Food Used as 'Weapon of War', UN Says

Jun 5, 2019 | Mina Aldroubi, National


South Sudan: South Sudan Sets up Transparent Mechanism to Boost Non-Oil Revenue

Jun 5, 2019 | Xinhua

South Sudan said Wednesday its efforts to boost non-oil revenue collection will be enhanced with the recently set up harmonized system code aimed at ensuring…


Climate Change: Global Peace and Stability Depend on Climate Security

Jun 5, 2019 | Government of the UK

Foreign and Commonwealth Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, highlighted the importance of factoring the risks of climate change into all…


Gaza: Collapsing Environmental State of Gaza Poses Threat to Israel's National Security, Report Warns

Jun 5, 2019 | Zafrir Rinat

Sewage dumping and air pollution could severely effect desalination plants and smog levels, experts say, warning none of Gaza's groundwater will be fit for human…


Syria: Vital Cropland Destroyed by Escalation of Syria's Violence - WFP

Jun 5, 2019 | Kuwait News Agency

The senior spokesperson of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Geneva Herve Verhoosel on Tuesday said, "The latest outbreak in violence in Idlib and…


Afghanistan: Glacial Melt Stokes Fears in Northeast Afghanistan

Jun 5, 2019 | Naimatullah Ahmadi and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Melting glaciers in a remote Afghan province pose a major threat to the country’s water resources, climate, and economic prospects. Ziaul Haq Kamran heads Afghanistan’s…


Colombia: Avocado Diplomacy: Supporting Peace in Colombia

Jun 4, 2019 | Marc Gilkey, American Foreign Service Association

Avocado market access was at the core of all issues. It was a talking point in nearly every speech by Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos.…


Colombia: Colombia's Push for Land Titles Brings Hope for Farmers amid Fragile Peace

Jun 4, 2019 | Anastasia Moloney, Reuters

Granting land titles is part of government efforts to promote rural development as set out in the 2016 peace deal signed with the Revolutionary Armed…


Middle East: How the Middle East's Drought Cycle Will Probably Lead to Even More Refugees

Jun 4, 2019 | Rachel Delia Benaim, Weather Channel

The Middle East is experiencing its most severe drought in 900 years, according to NASA-- one which is seemingly endless. The drought peaked between 2006-2010,…


DRC: Cobalt: The Dark Side of a Clean Future

Jun 4, 2019 | James Gordon, Raconteur

An estimated 35,000 children work in perilous conditions to extract cobalt from the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So what will the impact…


Myanmar: Karen Groups Aim to Strengthen Customary Land Management System in KNU Areas

Jun 4, 2019 | Karen News

The Kaw Customary Land Seminar was attended by 519 people including representatives from local community and civil society, donors, INGOs, political parties, and officers of…


Afghanistan: Greenhouses Could Hold the Key to Tackling Afghanistan’s Food Shortages

Jun 4, 2019 | ACTED

While Afghanistan continues to import a large proportion of its most basic food needs, ACTED is working in Samangan province to help rural women become…


Climate Change: Germany Pushes Climate Change as Security Risk

Jun 4, 2019 | Austin Davis, Deutsche Welle

Floods, drought and mass migration: all factors why Germany has made the UN's response to climate change its priority at the Security Council. But political…


Climate Change: Germany Wants UN Security Council More Involved in Mitigating Climate Crisis

Jun 4, 2019 | Alicia Prager, EURACTIV

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas launched a call for action on Tuesday (4 June) that aims to develop real solutions that would mitigate the security…


Iraq: Torching and Extortion: OSINT Analysis of Burning Agriculture in Iraq

Jun 3, 2019 | Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat

In early May 2019, it was reported that agricultural areas of central and northern Iraq were being set ablaze — allegedly by remaining pockets of fighters…


Myanmar: Govt to Introduce More Control in Jade Mining Sector

Jun 3, 2019 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

The authorities are expected to limit the issue of new licenses for jade mining in the future, said U Aung Nyunt Thein, managing director of…


Afgahnistan: Nearly Half of Rural Afghans Face Food Insecurity: UN

Jun 3, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Nearly half of all rural Afghans now face some level of food insecurity, a UN agency said Monday, as a historic drought and deteriorating security…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Ambitious Oil Plan Faces One Major Problem

Jun 3, 2019 | Simon Watkins, OilPrice

The Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) in Baghdad moved swiftly when the U.S. re-imposed sanctions against Iran, ordering its Oil Ministry to breach part of…


India: Running Dry: Competing for Water on a Thirsty Planet

Jun 3, 2019 | Laurie Goering, Reuters

Bangalore’s groundwater is running dry. A government think tank last year predicted the city - like others in India, including New Delhi - could run…


Myanmar: Myanmar Seizes over 326 Tons of Illegal Timbers in NW Region

Jun 2, 2019 | Xinhua

Myanmar authorities seized a total of 326.8 tons of illegally harvested timbers in Sagaing region during the month of May, police said Sunday. The illegal…


Vietnam/South China Sea: Revisiting Vietnam’s Efforts to Resolve the South China Sea Conflict

Jun 1, 2019 | Your Say, Independent

As a coastal state and a jurisdictional party in the South China Sea, Vietnam has played an active role to solve the conflict based on…


Timor-Leste: The Looting of Timor-Leste’s Oil Wealth

Jun 1, 2019 | Bardia Rahmani, Diplomat

In development speak, a “white elephant” is a building project that is extremely expensive but that has little use or practical value. It would not…


Iraq: Explosions in Iraqi Oil Hotspot Kill Five

May 31, 2019 | Julianne Geiger, OilPrice

A series of explosions in Iraqi oil hotpot Kirkuk has killed at least five people and injured 18 more, medical sources reported to Reuters on…


Myanmar: Go Fish! But, Please, Do So Legally

May 30, 2019 | Kundhavi Kadiresan, Myanmar Times

The people of Myanmar love fish and both demand and consumption of fish is on the rise. On the one hand that’s good, because fish…


Colombia: Land Grabbing, Cattle Ranching Ravage Colombian Amazon after FARC Demobilization

May 30, 2019 | Taran Volckhausen, Mongabay

In 2017, the first year following the FARC’s demobilization, deforestation in the Colombian Amazon region exploded, more than doubling from 70,074 hectares (173,000 acres) the…


Iraq/Syria: Deliberate Crop Burning Blamed on ISIS Remnants Compounds Misery in War Torn Iraq and Syria

May 30, 2019 | Associated Press

It was looking to be a good year for farmers across parts of Syria and Iraq. The wettest in generations, it brought rich, golden fields…


Sudan: Land Grabbing and Its Implications for Sudanese – Views from a Scholar

May 30, 2019 | Fredrick Mugira and Annika McGinnis, Water Journalists Africa

Investors from largely food-insecure Gulf countries are increasingly buying vast swaths of fertile land irrigated by the Nile River in Sudan to grow food crops…


'I'll Keep Fighting': Philippine Women Keep Alive Memory of Sex Slave Horrors During World War II

May 30, 2019 | Regine Cabato

MANILA —  Rosa Henson, a survivor of wartime sexual slavery at the hands of Japanese forces, went public in 1992 with her story. She had no…


Diamond Development Initiative Seeking Executive Director

May 29, 2019 | Rob Bates, JCK

The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), the Ottawa, Canada–based group that works on the issues surrounding artisanal diamond diggers, is looking for a new executive director to replace longtime…


Myanmar: Illegal Jade Trade Still Thriving Despite Mining Suspension

May 29, 2019 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

Myanmar jade is still being smuggled across the border to China in large quantities despite the government having suspended new licenses for two years now,…