International


Syria: Makeshift Oil Refineries a Necessary Evil for Locals in North-West Syria

Apr 24, 2020 | Kaamil Ahmed, Guardian

Black pools, long trenches and charred earth have become common sights in the fields of north-west Syria, signs of an informal oil economy that has…


Syria: Dying to Keep Warm: Oil Trade and Makeshift Refining in North-West Syria

Apr 24, 2020 | Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat

Entering into their 9th year of the war, access to basic humanitarian needs for Syrian civilians, both displaced and local communities continues to be a…


Girls are COVID-19 Victims in Developing Countries

Apr 23, 2020 | Jackie Abramian, Grit Daily

COVID-19 has turned our world upside down, and girls in developing countries and refugee camps have become its frontline victims. Along with other countless international…


Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: 'It'll Cause a Water War': Divisions Run Deep as Filling of Nile Dam Nears

Apr 23, 2020 | Ruth Michaelson, Guardian

Despite Egypt’s fears of ‘hydro hegemony’ and concerns it will worsen water shortages in Sudan, Ethiopia’s controversial dam project is close to fruition.


Colombia: Spike in Big Cat Poaching During Coronavirus Lockdown in Colombia, Conservation Group Says

Apr 23, 2020 | Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek

Conservation non-profit Panthera is reporting an increase in the poaching of wild cats—such as jaguars and pumas—during Colombia's COVID-19 lockdown, the organization has told Newsweek.…


Colombia: Colombia Wants to Plant 180 Million Trees: Is It a Realistic Goal?

Apr 23, 2020 | Antonio José Paz Cardona, Mongabay

At the end of January this year, Colombian President Iván Duque announced at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, that the country’s goal…


An Earth Day Profile: The Power of Action, Bringing African Women Environmentalists Together for Shared Learning

Apr 22, 2020 | UN Environment Programme

As many civil society organizations come together to observe the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, plans have had to change since the COVID-19 global crisis and pandemic has led…


Women and Girls Main Victims of Domestic and Gender Violence – SADC Secretariat

Apr 22, 2020 | Namibia Economist

Addressing the sudden rise in domestic violence and gender violence is a key concern for authorities in all the Member States of the Southern African…


Displaced and Stateless Women and Girls at Heightened Risk of Gender-Based Violence in the Coronavirus Pandemic

Apr 22, 2020 | UNHCR

Around the world COVID-19 is taking lives and changing communities but the virus is also inducing massive protection risks for women and girls forced to…


Vanuatu: How Some Pacific Women Are Responding to Climate Change and Natural Disasters

Apr 22, 2020 | Neena Bhandari

Women in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu are dealing with six crises currently – COVID 19, drought, scarcity of potable water, and volcanic…


Liberia: Defiant, Hopeful Liberia Moving on with Online Oil Bid Rounds amid COVID-19, Falling Oil Prices

Apr 22, 2020 | Rodney Sieh, FrontPage Africa

With the world’s leading exporters, OPEC and Russia agreeing to cut production by a record amount and the United States oil-producing businesses taking drastic commercial…


DRC: DRC Artisanal Miners Face Uncertain Future as Covid-19 Disrupts Market

Apr 22, 2020 | Donna Slater, Mining Weekly

Vulnerable community representative organisation Impact reports mounting concern for artisanal miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as Covid-19 begins to impact on this…


DRC: Program to Monitor Congo Artisanal Cobalt Miners Expanded

Apr 21, 2020 | Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com

A scheme to monitor and improve artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will reach four times the number of sites it…


Food Security: Pandemic Disruptions Spark Fears of Food Shortages in Arab World

Apr 21, 2020 | Mona Alami, Arab Weekly

COVID-19 has triggered fears of food shortages across the Arab region. Distributors and experts now warn that the pandemic is creating significant disruptions in global…


Afghanistan: Can the Afghan State Intervene Successfully In The Conflict Between Nomads And Settlers? – Analysis

Apr 19, 2020 | Antonio Giustozzi, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

The conflict between nomads and settlers is no longer limited to a few districts of Hazarajat. It has spread to many corners of the country…


Iraq: Oil Price Drop Fuels Economic Crisis [Video]

Apr 19, 2020 | Simona Foltyn, Al Jazeera

Iraq has been hit by political instability that has effectively left it without a government. The country has also been caught in the middle of…


DRC: Congo Mine Closures Would Cause Economic and Social Crisis, Minister Says

Apr 17, 2020 | Helen Reid and Hereward Holland, Reuters

Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining minister warned mine shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic would trigger a “catastrophic” economic and social crisis in the country,…


South Sudan: US Watchdog Sounds Alarm on Mismanaged Mining Sector in South Sudan

Apr 16, 2020 | Ajifowoke Michael Gbenga, Ventures

Despite boasting of the potential to become a catalyst for major economic growth, South Sudan’s mining sector could, on the contrary, be the next source…


China: Roses in the Battlefield: Rural Women Farmers Join the Fight against COVID-19 in China

Apr 15, 2020 | UN Women

In January 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic began spreading across China. Of the 42,600 medical workers dispatched to the hardest-hit Hubei Province, as of early March, two-thirds…


India: Agrobiodiversity Initiatives Open Women’s Horizons in Kerala

Apr 15, 2020 | Mahima Jain, Mongabay

Kaliamma Nanjan, 70, sings as she cuts through her farm in Kerala’s Western Ghats. She deftly navigates the slopes of Attappady in Palakkad district with…


DRC: Congo Governor Condemns Rising Insecurity at Mines in Gold Province

Apr 15, 2020 | Reuters

Illegal mining and trading are fuelling worsening violence on mine sites, the governor of Democratic Republic of Congo’s gold-rich Ituri province said, after armed robbers…


Colombia: Deforestation Surged Following End of Armed Conflict in Colombia

Apr 15, 2020 | Sonia Aronson, Phys.org

Deforestation is skyrocketing in the country with the world's second-highest number of species. The cause? Ineffective conservation in protected areas following decades of civil war.


East Africa: Two New Generations of Locusts are Set to Descend on East Africa Again -- 400 Times Stronger

Apr 15, 2020 | Neha Wadekar, Quartz Africa

This infestation of desert locusts first arrived in East Africa last June, feeding on hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops and pastureland and chomping…


Myanmar: Myanmar Seizes 800 Tonnes of Illegal Timber in Single Week

Apr 15, 2020 | The Star

Myanmar's Forest Department recently seized over 846 tonnes of illegal timber in a week, according to the Information Ministry on Thursday (April 9).


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: US ‘Seriously Concerned’ over China Sinking Vietnamese Fishing Boat

Apr 15, 2020 | VNExpress

U.S. State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus Monday condemned China for sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat, calling it an assertion of an "unlawful" claim. Ortagus said…


Colombia: Colombia's Indigenous Land Defenders

Apr 15, 2020 | Al Jazeera

Celia Umenza is a high-ranking leader of the largest Indigenous group in Colombia, the Nasa. The Nasa is an unarmed civilian defence force that has been…


Colombia: Caffeinated Conservation: Colombian Farmers Switch Coca for Coffee to Protect Wildlife

Apr 15, 2020 | Oliver Griffin, Reuters

In a clearing around his modest smallholding, farmer Arcadio Barajas stands before a sea of coffee plants, cloaked in the shadow cast by a wall…


Female-Led, Island-Based Solutions to Climate Change

Apr 14, 2020 | Rebecca Root, Devex

According to the United Nations, the majority of people displaced by climate change are women. Given that small island developing states are among the most vulnerable to the…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Chinese Ship back in Waters off Vietnam amid Coronavirus 'Distraction'

Apr 13, 2020 | Khanh Vu and James Pearson, Reuters

A Chinese ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels last year has returned to waters near Vietnam as the United States accused China of…


Afghanistan: What the COVID-19 Outbreak Means for Afghanistan’s Troubled Economy

Apr 11, 2020 | Shoaib A. Rahim, Diplomat

Even before the novel coronavirus took the world hostage, the World Economic Outlook Report 2019 produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had already raised…