International
India, Brazil: Women Peacekeepers from Brazil and India Share UN Military Gender Award
May 25, 2020
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UN News
The award, created in 2016, recognizes the dedication and effort of individual military peacekeepers in promoting the UN principles on Women, Peace and Security in peace operations.…
Pandemic Disrupts Illegal Drug Trade, Upending Both Product and Profits
May 25, 2020
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Brian Mann, NPR
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the illegal drug trade in ways not seen since World War II, affecting nearly every country and many different kinds…
Women's Appeal for Human Security, Public Health, Peace, and Sustainable Development
May 24, 2020
Governments need to cut military expenditure, and increase their focus and budgets on human security and global cooperation, in order to recover from the COVID-19…
Myanmar: Myanmar’s Hasty Solar Tender Draws Criticism from Investors
May 24, 2020
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Thompson Chau, Myanmar Times
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) is being criticised by the business community over a recent tender for solar power, with key foreign investors…
Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: Egypt Accepts Ethiopia-Sudan Proposal to Renegotiate Dam Dispute
May 24, 2020
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Agence France-Presse
Egypt said on Thursday it is willing to resume negotiations with Sudan and Ethiopia over the filling of a controversial mega-dam that has been a…
Afghanistan: Afghan Gold, Gem Sales in Decline
May 23, 2020
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TOLOnews
The gem and gold industries in Afghanistan are facing hurdles despite gold prices soaring in world markets, a jewelers' union said Saturday. Gems and gold…
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Mining Revenue Tumbles amidst COVID-19
May 22, 2020
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Mohamed Jaward Nyallay, Politico
Authorities in Sierra Leone have said mining revenue has dropped due to the impact of COVID-19. The revenue drop has been attributed to the difficulties…
Syria: Syrian Army Launches Operation to Secure Oil Fields: Video
May 22, 2020
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Al Masdar News
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a major operation this week to secure the main roads that link the governorates of Hama and Deir Ezzor,…
Conflict Minerals: COVID-19 in Conflict Minerals Reports — Update
May 22, 2020
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Dynda A. Thomas, National Law Review
As discussed in a previous post, early in 2019, some companies were expressing concern that, because of the impacts of the shut-downs associated with COVID-19,…
Russia/Ukraine: Critical Water Shortage in Crimea May Prompt New Russian Move against Ukraine
May 21, 2020
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Paul Goble, Eurasia Daily Monitor
The Crimean Peninsula has long suffered from water shortages, but these are now often exacerbated by the ever-more frequent winters with little-to-no rain or snow.…
Afghanistan: The Wild Shrub at the Root of the Afghan Meth Epidemic
May 20, 2020
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Kern Hendricks, Undark
Muhammad Rehman Shirzad, a forensic scientist with the Afghan government’s Forensic Medicine Directorate, stops to catch his breath and scans the uneven ground ahead. He…
Israel/Palestine: Land Grab and Deportation: A Leading Israeli Lawyer's Annexation Prediction
May 20, 2020
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Meron Rapoport, MIddle East Eye
Almost 53 years after it occupied the West Bank, Israel is closer than ever to annexing parts of the Palestinian territory. Article 29 of the…
Papua New Guinea: Gender-Based Violence Shakes Communities in the Wake of Forest Loss
May 19, 2020
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John C. Cannon, Mongabay
KOKOPO, Papua New Guinea — Change. That’s what Monica Yongol has seen in her 54 years. In that time, the loggers and then the oil…
Colombia: Colombia’s Crumbling Drug Policy: Farmers Thwart Attempt to Resume Aerial Spraying of Coca
May 19, 2020
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Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports
The Colombian government thought it could outsmart farmers by taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to resume the aerial spraying of coca. Turns out farmers…
Cyprus: Rival Sides Join to Fight Wildfire in Breakaway North
May 19, 2020
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Associated Press
Two aircraft dispatched by Cyprus' internationally recognized government for the first time helped to fight a wildfire in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided…
Myanmar: Rakhine Squatters Ordered to Vacate Former Rohingya Quarter in Myanmar’s Sittwe Township
May 18, 2020
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Radio Free Asia
The government of western Myanmar’s Rakhine state capital has issued an order requiring ethnic Rakhine Buddhist families to vacate more than 1,250 shelters erected on…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq MP: Oil Negotiations between Baghdad and Kurdistan Are Not Over
May 18, 2020
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Middle East Monitor
The Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Bashir Al-Haddad, said that the negotiators on behalf of the federal government and the Kurdistan Region Government on…
Afghanistan: Insurgents Kill Guards of Logar Copper Mine
May 17, 2020
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Afghanistan Times
The Taliban rebels have attacked checkpoints of security forces – guarding the country's biggest copper mine in southeastern Logar province – and killed eight guards…
Israel/Palestine: Palestinians Tear Gassed in Protests against Israeli Settlements
May 16, 2020
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Al Jazeera
Israeli forces have fired tear gas at Palestinians protesting against the expansion of Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, in northern occupied West Bank, injuring…
Afghanistan: 9 Militants Killed, 2 Soldiers Wounded in Water Dam Attack in Afghanistan
May 16, 2020
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Xinhua
At least nine militants were killed, two Afghan security force members and five militants wounded during a predawn clash in eastern Paktia province on Saturday,…
Kenya: Kenya's Pastoralists Face Hunger and Conflict as Locust Plague Continues
May 15, 2020
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Georgina Smith and Reuben Kayama, Guardian
Kenya is experiencing its worst locust invasion for 70 years. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which sounded the alarm in January on the unprecedented…
Syria: Time to Harvest the Honey: Syrian Returnees Find New Livelihoods in Beekeeping
May 15, 2020
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
The improvement of the security situation in Daraa Governorate in southwest Syria has allowed thousands of displaced families to return to their homes. With oversight from FAO’s…
Israel/Jordan: King Warns Israel of 'Massive Conflict' over Annexation
May 15, 2020
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Ammonews
German magazine Der Spiegel published on Friday an interview with His Majesty King Abdullah that covered the latest developments in the Middle East and the…
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Mining Revenue Sinks as Pandemic Hits Production and Prices
May 14, 2020
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Cooper Inveen, Reuters
Sierra Leone is weathering a dramatic crunch in mining revenue as COVID-19 restrictions hurt companies’ ability to export gold and diamonds and access essential supplies.…
Myanmar: Naga Tribes of Myanmar Face Loss of Land and Forest under New Law
May 14, 2020
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Robert Bociaga, Mongabay
The Naga tribes inhabit the hills in the northwestern corner of Myanmar and northeast India. However, their rights and culture have been recently undermined by…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan to Launch Its First Gemstone Certification Lab
May 14, 2020
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Wadsam
Silk Road Heart will be Afghanistan’s first gemstone certification lab and lapidary to be launched in June 2020 with support from USAID INVEST. According to…
Myanmar: Myanmar Arrests More Illegal Timber Traders During COVID-19
May 13, 2020
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Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times
The authorities have seized more illegally logged timber and arrested more timber traders since the COVID-19 outbreak in Myanmar in late March. During the stay-home…
Papua New Guinea: Women Play Key Role in Crafting Peaceful, Sustainable Future for Papua New Guinea
May 12, 2020
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United Nations
Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s briefing, as prepared for delivery, to the Peacebuilding Commission on the joint mission to Papua New Guinea, in…
Myanmar: Adapting Myanmar Resilience Projects in Response to COVID-19
May 12, 2020
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Cordaid
Cordaid, in partnership with Caritas Myanmar (KMSS), has been working on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction. In 13 villages, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) committees have…
Canada: Violence Against Indigenous Women During COVID-19 Sparks Calls for MMIWG Plan
May 10, 2020
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Teresa Wright, CBC
With reports of a sharp rise in violence against Indigenous women as COVID-19 restrictions keep families stuck in their homes, concerns are being raised about…