International
Egypt/Ethiopia: Egypt, Ethiopia Discuss Nile Dam Dispute at UN Security Council
Jun 30, 2020
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James Bays, Al Jazeera
Egypt has told the United Nations it faces an existential threat, from a hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia…
Libya: State Company: Russian Mercenaries Enter Major Oil Field
Jun 29, 2020
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Energy & Environment News
Russian and other foreign mercenaries have entered Libya's largest oil field, the country's National Oil Corp. said Friday, describing the development as an attempt to…
Iraq: Iraq to Review Some Oil Contracts at High-Cost Fields
Jun 28, 2020
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Reuters
Iraq is reviewing oil contracts with some companies operating fields where costs are high, in order to reduce expenses while cutting production, Al-Sabah newspaper quoted…
Vietnam: Vietnamese Family Held after Spreading News of Deadly Land Dispute
Jun 26, 2020
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Agence France-Presse
Four members of a Vietnamese family who spread news online about a deadly land dispute have been arrested, authorities said Thursday, as the communist government…
Afghanistan: New World Drug Report: Opium Production in Afghanistan Remained the Same in 2019
Jun 25, 2020
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Jelena Bjelica, Afghanistan Analysts Network
The United Nations Drugs and Crime Office’s (UNODC) World Drug Report, released today, shows a decrease in the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan in 2019 following price…
Libya: Women, Peace, and Security in Libyan Context
Jun 25, 2020
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United Nations Support Mission in Libya
Full and effective participation of women in public life, including all political processes and peace building initiatives remains essential and a core priority for UNSMIL.…
Uganda: Integrating Gender into Climate Change Interventions
Jun 25, 2020
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Sarah Kenyi, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung
The effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts and unreliable weather patterns adversely impact smallholder coffee growing farmers in Uganda. To mitigate this, the…
Myanmar: Mogok Bans Entry to Unlicensed Gem Mines
Jun 25, 2020
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Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times
Mogok township in Mandalay Region will prohibit people from entering gem-mining concessions that have expired licenses. Ko Soe Min Hlaing, a local resident, described the…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Uses Green Stimulus to Hire Lockdown Jobless, Boost Kabul's Water Supply
Jun 25, 2020
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Sayed Hassib, Reuters
Lockdown measures to curb the spread of the disease have taken their toll on Afghanistan's economy, so the government is employing more than 40,000 jobless…
Colombia: A Community’s Struggle to Protect Itself from Land Mines in the Colombian Amazon
Jun 25, 2020
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Camila Osario, New Yorker
The Siona indigenous territories are located in the state of Putumayo, which has, since the nineteen-sixties, been the crossroads of a war between the Colombian…
Yemen: Seawater Seeping into Decaying Oil Tanker off Yemen Coast
Jun 25, 2020
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Maggie Michael, Associated Press
The United Nations said an abandoned oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is…
DRC: UN Calls for 'Sustained Efforts' against DRC Natural Resource Trafficking
Jun 25, 2020
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Agence France-Presse
The UN Security Council called Thursday for "sustained efforts" in preventing the illegal trade of natural resources from the DR Congo, as gold in particular…
Climate Change: Foreign Ministers Flag Climate Change as Major Spark for Conflicts
Jun 25, 2020
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Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Climate change impacts - including growing food and water scarcity - are becoming increasingly important drivers of conflict and unrest around the world, and security…
Nigeria: Deforestation, Land Grabbing on the Rise in Cross River ― ERA
Jun 25, 2020
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Ike Uchechukwu Calabar
Environmental Right Action/ Friends of the Earth, ERA/FoEN have asserted that the incident of land grabbing and deforestation was becoming increasingly alarming in various Cross…
Iraq: Iraq Passes Bill to Unlock Funds for Cash-Strapped State
Jun 24, 2020
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Samya Kullab, Associated Press
Iraqi lawmakers Wednesday passed a crucial bill allowing the country to finance a widening fiscal deficit amid an unprecedented economic crisis spurred by falling oil…
Climate Change: Dhaka Seeks UNSC's Bold Steps to Address Climate Challenges
Jun 24, 2020
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Dhaka Tribune
Bangladesh has sought a “bold decision” from the UN Security Council to ensure security and peace across nations addressing climate challenges through partnership and collaboration.
Afghanistan: Drought, Desertification Threaten Future of Agriculture in Afghanistan
Jun 23, 2020
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Afghanistan Times
A former official warns against the successive droughts in the country, calling it a threat for the future of agriculture since deserts are widening as…
China/South China Sea: South China Sea Surveys Pressure Claimants, Mine Info with Military Use
Jun 23, 2020
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Drake Long, BenarNews
Beijing has increased the tempo of its deep sea surveys in the South China Sea, worrying claimant states and other nations. Experts say the mapping…
Afghanistan: 'Divorce Isn't an Option': Afghan Women Find Hope in Saffron Scheme
Jun 23, 2020
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Stefanie Glinski, Guardian
In Zadid’s village in Herat province’s Pashtun Zarghun district, an area disputed by the Afghan government and the Taliban, an increasing number of men are…
South Sudan: East African Court Bars South Sudan, Two Firms from Exporting Oil
Jun 23, 2020
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Luke Anami, East African
The government of South Sudan and two mining companies have been barred from operating and exporting oil due to spills that have polluted the environment.…
Egypt/Ethiopia: Dispute Over Africa’s Biggest Hydro Dam Set for Discussion at UN
Jun 22, 2020
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David Wainer, Bloomberg
The United Nations Security Council will discuss for the first time Monday a growing dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over a giant hydropower dam being…
Liberia: Leaders of Maryland and River Gee Restore Calm into Disputed Goldmine
Jun 22, 2020
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E. Varney Kamah, Global News Network Liberia
At long last the elders of both Maryland and Rivergee Counties have finally agreed to suspend activities at the Besseken goldmine dispute between of the…
Iraq: Water Hyacinth Pest Chokes Iraq's Vital Waterways
Jun 22, 2020
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Agence France-Presse
The water hyacinth, nicknamed the "Nile flower" in Iraq, is an invasive plant native to South America's Amazon basin that has ravaged ecosystems across the…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Sends Ship as Warning to Vietnam: No Court Case, No Oil Drilling
Jun 22, 2020
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Ralph Jennings, Voice of America
China sent a survey vessel through waters claimed by its maritime sovereignty rival Vietnam this month to warn Hanoi against starting new energy exploration projects…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Last Chance for the Persian Leopard: The Fight to Save Iraqi Kurdistan’s Forests
Jun 20, 2020
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Wil Crisp, Guardian
Between 1999 and 2018, almost half of Iraqi Kurdistan’s forests – more than 890,000 hectares (2.2m acres) – were destroyed, mostly by logging and forest…
Somalia: For these Women, an Age-Old Way of Life is Ending in the Horn of Africa
Jun 19, 2020
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Aurora Almendral, National Geographic
So many died at once “it was like they were poisoned,” said Rahma Hassan Mahmoud, a herder in Somaliland, of the catastrophe that befell her…
Iraq: As Conflict Abates, Iraqi Villages Begin to Tackle “Huge” Problem of Rubble
Jun 19, 2020
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UN Environment
On the ground, the level of destruction seems endless. Homes, schools and shops have been reduced to piles of cement and stone, the fall-out from…
Myanmar: Twenty-Six Killed, Over 100 Injured by Land Mines in Myanmar Since January, Says Report
Jun 18, 2020
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Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint, Irrawaddy
More than 20 civilians were killed and 100 more were injured in landmine blasts in Myanmar from January and to the end of May, according…
Colombia: BHP-Backed Coal Mine in Colombia Rocked byHuman Rights Claim
Jun 18, 2020
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NIck Toscano, Sydney Morning Herald
Three global miners including Australia's BHP have become embroiled in an alleged human rights crisis in Colombia, with indigenous communities claiming the jointly owned Cerrejón…
Myanmar: Military-Corporate Conflicts of Interest ‘Inflame’ Myanmar’s Civil Wars, Rights Group Says
Jun 17, 2020
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Myanmar Now
The military officials in charge of defence budgeting and military procurement preferentially buy from the companies they run and own, incentivizing the continuation of Myanmar’s…