International


Libya: East Libya FM Demands 'Fair Distribution' to End Oil Closure

Feb 22, 2020 | Asharq Al-Awsat

Foreign Minister of the interim government in eastern Libya, Abdelhadi Lahouij, said Saturday the shutdown of vital oil facilities in the country would come to…


Afghanistan: The Nature and Pace of Afghanistan’s Economic Growth in Last Two Decades

Feb 22, 2020 | Mohammad Zahir Akbari, Outlook Afghanistan

Despite notable progress since 2001, Afghanistan still faces many challenges and considered as one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half of…


Liberia: Accountability Issues at FDA as Levy Collected Are Paid into Mobile Money Account; Workers Alarm Corruption

Feb 21, 2020 | Lennart Dodoo

The Forestry Development Authority has been collecting hundreds of thousands in Liberian dollars as levy on non-timber products at various checkpoints across the country but…


Iraq: Ex-Unaoil Exec Says Payments Went for Security, Not Bribes

Feb 21, 2020 | Law360

A former Unaoil executive accused of conspiring to bribe an official at an Iraq- state-owned oil company believe that the money was for security to…


Myanmar: Photos Reveal Impact of Illegal Banana Plantations on Workers, Land in Myanmar’s Kachin State

Feb 21, 2020 | Lwin Mar Htun, Irrawaddy

An ongoing exhibition of photographs by young local documentary photographer Hkun Li spotlights the negative impact of illegal banana plantations in Kachin State on the…


Afghanistan: US-Taliban Truce Begins, Feeding Hope of a Peaceful, More Prosperous Afghanistan

Feb 21, 2020 | Elizabeth B. Hessami, The Conversation

If a seven-day truce between the United States and the Taliban holds until Feb. 28, 2020, Afghanistan’s decades-long conflict may finally end. A peace deal…


South Sudan: Clouds of Black Smoke Darken South Sudan’s Growing Oil Profits

Feb 20, 2020 | Okech Francis, Bloomberg

Crude oil, key to boosting South Sudan’s economy, is destroying crucial pasture land, polluting water, and increasing birth defects. Now it’s finally bad enough for…


Water: Water Insecurity as a Driver of Global Instability

Feb 19, 2020 | OOSKAnews

A new report, compiled and written by international military and security experts, provides a global overview of security risks specifically as they relate to changing…


Kenya: Locusts Threaten to Trigger Conflicts in Samburu

Feb 19, 2020 | Geoffrey Ondieki, Nation

The invasion of desert locusts in Samburu is now threatening to trigger conflicts over grazing fields among pastoralist communities. Statistics from the Samburu County Special…


Syria: Turkish Media Claim Kurds, US Smuggle Syrian Oil

Feb 19, 2020 | Tsvetana Paraskova, Oilprice.com

According to the accounts of the surrendered Kurds, reported by Turkish media, oil from Syria’s oil-rich Deir Ezzor region is being smuggled out of the…


Liberia/Sierra Leone: Liberia, Sierra Leone to Jointly Manage Gola Forest

Feb 18, 2020 | Hannah N. Geterminah, Observer

The Gola National Park, which is home to several endangered species, is expected to be jointly managed by the governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone…


South Sudan: Locusts Swarm into South Sudan as Plague Spreads

Feb 18, 2020 | Denis Dumo, Reuters

Swarms of locusts ravaging crops and grazing land across east Africa have reached South Sudan, already reeling from widespread hunger and years of civil war,…


Climate Change: Full House for Latest Conflict-Climate Round Table in New York

Feb 17, 2020 | Climate Centre

There was a full house on Friday at the Belgian mission to the UN for the latest round of international discussion on the humanitarian impacts…


Myanmar: Myanmar Govt to Compensate Villagers for Loss of Land over Kyaukphyu SEZ

Feb 16, 2020 | Mizzima

A Myanmar government official says the government will pay compensation to local residents for more than 1,800 acres they have had to forfeit for the…


South Sudan: South Sudan Ignores Reports on Oil Pollution, Birth Defects

Feb 14, 2020 | Sam Mednick, Associated Press

The oil industry in South Sudan has left a landscape pocked with hundreds of open waste pits, the water and soil contaminated with toxic chemicals…


Climate Change: How Climate Change Contributes to Insecurity in Nigeria, other African Countries

Feb 14, 2020 | allAfrica

In this allAfrica explainer we delve into the relationship between climate change and conflict on the continent Levels of poverty, economic opportunities, and unemployment are…


Climate Change: Center for Climate and Security Director Conger Testifies before Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis

Feb 13, 2020 | Center for Climate and Security

On February 13, John Conger, Director of the Center for Climate and Security and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment,…


Uganda: Uganda to Begin Certifying Conflict Minerals

Feb 13, 2020 | John Odyek, New Vision

Uganda has signed an agreement with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources…


Land: Exploring Solutions to Land Governance in the Peace Process

Feb 13, 2020 | Joint Peace Fund

Land management issues including land ownership, land rights, access to land, and traditional land tenure are some of the most complex issues related to Myanmar’s…


South Sudan: Getting the Story of South Sudan's Devastating Oil Pollution

Feb 13, 2020 | Sam Mednick, Associated Press

Air so foul it is hard to take a deep breath. Toxic chemicals seeping into the earth. Mothers giving birth to disabled children. These are…


Latvia/Luxembourg: Luxembourg and Latvia Sign Green Defence Agreement

Feb 13, 2020 | Cordula Schnuer, Luxembourg Times

The Luxembourg government will spend €1.2 million to help Latvia clean up polluted military sites in a drive to boost green defence spending. The agreement…


How Gender Impacts Children Living in War Zones

Feb 13, 2020 | Stephanie Corsetti, SBS News

A global report into how much children are suffering in war-torn countries has revealed how worldwide conflict is becoming increasingly dangerous.

The Save the Children study…


Liberia: Community Concerned Company Has No Environmental Plan for Goldmine

Feb 12, 2020 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Observer

Universal Forestry Corporation (UFC) acquired a class “B” license to mine gold in Kartee in May last year. However, villagers here are worried their farmland…


DRC: DRC’s State-Owned Cobalt Firm Could Lift Mineral’s Market Image, but It Comes with Price Risks

Feb 10, 2020 | David McKay, Miningmx

Plans by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to establish a state-owned company aimed at buying cobalt produced by the country’s artisanal industry is seen…


Sierra Leone: Octea Mining May Pay Compensation to Kono Community in Sierra Leone

Feb 10, 2020 | Abdul Rashid Thomas, Sierra Leone Telegraph

Octea Mining Company, operating its Kimberlite diamond mining in the eastern district of Kono, in Sierra Leone may pay huge damages in compensation, after failing…


Iraq: Iraq to Halt Oil Output at Southern Oil Field

Feb 9, 2020 | Reuters

Iraq's Basra Oil Co. will cut crude oil output at the Nahr Bin Omar field to a minimum because of pollution and gas emissions, the…


Myanmar: Harnessing Salween River: Settlement through Confrontation or Cooperation?

Feb 9, 2020 | Sai Wansai, Mizzima

Myitsone Dam project is well known for its controversial impact on Myanmar’s political landscape, as it involves on and off pressure from China to restart…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Poppy Cultivation Declines Opium Production Rises

Feb 9, 2020 | Daily Outlook Afghanistan

The White House in a statement, issued on February 7, 2020, released the results of the annual estimate of the US Government assessing the ‘poppy…


Myanmar: Hydropower and the Worsening Water Crisis for Myanmar and Asia

Feb 8, 2020 | Andrew Landon, Mizzima

Myanmar is caught between a rock and a hard place. As the government seeks to pick up the pace of development, electrical power is needed…


Afghanistan: Why Afghanistan’s Religious Leaders Preach about Climate Change

Feb 7, 2020 | Stefanie Glinski, National

As Afghanistan faces grave implications of climate change, with droughts, floods and changing weather patterns, hundreds of religious leaders do their best bet to influence…