International


Gender Lens Essential to Addressing Linked Climate Change and Security Crises, Urges Joint UN Report

Jun 8, 2020 | UN Environment

As countries reel from the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, gender inequality is shaping the experience of crisis, as well as…


Colombia: The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office Indicates that Displaced Peasants Do Not Receive the Aid Ordered by the Justice

Jun 8, 2020 | Europa Press

The Colombian Public Prosecutor’s Office has alerted this Sunday that up to 93 percent of the judicial rulings that decree the delivery of housing and…


Zimbabwe: Climate-Change Conflict Resolution

Jun 8, 2020 | Emily Jones and Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite World Review

As climate change takes its toll on Zimbabwe, millions who rely on agriculture are threatened with food scarcity. But Edfil Moyo, a subsistence farmer in…


China/Indonesia/Malaysia/South China Sea: Pressures Increasing on Indonesia and Malaysia in the South China Sea

Jun 8, 2020 | Ben Westcott and Brad Lendon, CNN

Chinese and Malaysian vessels were locked in a high-stakes standoff for more than one month earlier this year, near the island of Borneo in the…


Liberia: Liberia Auctions Oil Blocks Online Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

Jun 7, 2020 | Oil & Gas Republic

The Liberian Government is seeking interest from companies on participating in the offshore license round, which was open since April 10, 2020. But, due to…


China/South China Sea: US Military Commander Says China Pushing South China Sea Claims under Cover of COVID-19

Jun 5, 2020 | Tim Kelly, Reuters

China is using the coronavirus as a cover to push territorial claims in the South China Sea through a surge in naval activity meant to…


Iraq: In Iraq's Fields of Black Gold, Thousands Lose Livelihoods

Jun 5, 2020 | Mohammed Aty, Reuters

Mohammed Haider is one of thousands of workers in Iraq’s oil sector who were laid off this year after a fall in oil prices caused…


Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: ISIS Admit to Looting Oil and 'Obscene Amount Antiquities' to Swell Its War Chest

Jun 5, 2020 | Chris Hughes, Mirror

An Islamic State mastermind has admitted his terror group looted oil and an “obscene amount of antiquities” to swell its war chest. Iraqi-born Abdul Nasser…


Ethiopia/Sudan: Sudan-Ethiopia Border Tensions Escalate Despite Government Efforts

Jun 5, 2020 | Mohammed Amin, Middle East Eye

Diplomatic efforts to diffuse a security crisis on the border between Sudan and Ethiopia have been ongoing, but the situation on the ground has escalated…


Myanmar: Farmers Protest Land Grabs in Southern Shan State

Jun 5, 2020 | Shan Herald Agency for News

Pa-O farmers from southern Shan State gathered in protest Tuesday after their farms were seized by the Tatmadaw. Burma Army LIB-423 and LIB-424 confiscated 900…


Myanmar: The Many-Sided Fight over Northern Kachin’s Forests

Jun 4, 2020 | Emily Fishbein, Frontier

The derailing of Hkakabo Razi’s World Heritage bid reveals a multifaceted battle of interests spanning international conservation, commercial exploitation, party politics and local desires to…


South Sudan: South Sudan's Gold Export Earnings Sink Due to COVID-19: Official

Jun 4, 2020 | Ghana News Agency

South Sudan said on Wednesday its monthly gold export earnings to the Arab world have plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Akol Ayii Madut, director…


Sierra Leone: Destitute Diamond Diggers: Artisanal Diamond Miners in Sierra Leone Struggle for Survival

Jun 4, 2020 | Emma Black, Politico

“Artisanal mining” means mining operations must be less than ten metres deep, less than one acre and only rudimentary hand-held tools can be used. The…


Conflict Minerals: Trucking-Related Companies Find It Difficult to Identify 'Conflict Minerals' in Supply Chains

Jun 4, 2020 | Eric Miller, Transit Topics

It has been more than six years since America’s public companies began searching for African “conflict minerals” throughout their complex supply chains, with the goal…


Fighting the Climate Battle

Jun 3, 2020 | Jane Ahern, The Madras Pioneer

A local woman's dedication to family traditions, community service and social justice has led to what she describes as her dream job. Madras resident Katherine…


Myanmar: Southern Myanmar’s Indigenous Groups Say the UN Should Scrap $21 Million Conservation Plan

Jun 3, 2020 | Skylar Lindsay, ASEAN Today

Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region is among the most vibrantly biodiverse places in Asia. The southern tail of kite-shaped Myanmar, Tanintharyi encompasses hundreds of islands in the…


Myanmar: Myanmar Condemns Report on Illegal Teak Exports to EU

Jun 3, 2020 | Thiha Lwin, Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation has disputed the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)’s latest report which claims illegal teak from Myanmar is…


Myanmar: Recovering an Underwater Forest of Lost Teak

Jun 2, 2020 | Clare Sidwell, SuperyachtNews

Thirty years ago, Bob Steber, managing director at Ginnacle Import - Export Pte Ltd., initiated a project in Burma that recovered 2,000 teak logs and…


Colombia: ‘Stigmatized, Segregated, Forgotten’: Colombia’s Poor Being Evicted Despite Lockdowns

Jun 2, 2020 | Joe Parkin Daniels and Nadège Mazars, Guardian

Hundreds of Bogotá’s poorest residents are caught between two brutal forces: a nationwide quarantine that makes working impossible and authorities forcing people from homes they…


Sudan: Expanding Wheat Farming in Sudan

Jun 1, 2020 | UNDP

Bread is an essential commodity in Sudan and a staple for millions. Affordability and limited supply are crucial issues; rising costs have sparked protests in…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Faces Humanitarian Disaster as COVID-19 Spreads Undetected, Warns the IRC

Jun 1, 2020 | International Rescue Committee

As confirmed COVID-19 cases grew 684% in May, many more cases are going untested throughout Afghanistan. Decades of conflict have left millions facing severe food…


Colombia: From Cocaine to Coffee: The Docu-Film That Tells the Redemption of Colombia

May 30, 2020 | NJ MMA News

A story of redemption , of a new life, of a hope, but also the story of a journey through places of great beauty in…


Colombia: Coronavirus Spread Threatens Colombia's Amazonian Indigenous Communities

May 29, 2020 | Jorge Valencia, The World

Along the Amazon River, people have long moved freely among the small towns that sit where the borders of Brazil, Colombia and Peru converge —…


COVID-19 and Conflict Minerals

May 28, 2020 | Dynda A. Thomas, National Law Review

National Law Review has been following this year’s conflict minerals filings to determine whether reporting companies have highlighted any impact of the COVID-19 shut-downs on…


South Sudan: Fixing South Sudan: Roads Minister Calls for Review of Oil-For-Road Projects in South Sudan [Video]

May 28, 2020 | PaanLuel Wël


Myanmar: Investigation Exposes European Firms Exploiting Loophole to Import Myanmar Teak

May 28, 2020 | Mongabay

Investigators have uncovered a scheme by European timber traders to evade E.U. laws by supplying Myanmar teak to the continent’s marine sector, including for decking…


On Peacekeepers Day, UN to Spotlight Vital Role of Women Peace Operations

May 27, 2020 | UN News

Women in Peacekeeping, this year’s theme, highlights their central role in UN operations. 

“Women often have greater access in the communities we serve, enabling us to…


Myanmar: Campaigners in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region Oppose $21m Conservation Project

May 27, 2020 | Daniel Quinlan, Mongabay

Campaigners in the Tanintharyi region of southern Myanmar have urged international donors to support community conservation efforts, rather than what they see as a top-down…


New Study Examines the Links Between Climate Disasters and Armed Conflict

May 26, 2020 | Homeland Security Today

Over the past decade, understanding of the relationship between natural disasters, climate change and conflict has increased significantly. The Center for Climate and Security has…


South Sudan: An Unexplored Eden of Biodiversity

May 26, 2020 | Nick Perry, Agence France-Presse

South Sudan boasts Africa's biggest wetland, the Sudd, and its largest intact savanna, a stretch of untouched wilderness east of the White Nile that reaches…