International
Conflict Minerals: Civil Society Exasperated at Inflexible Kimberley Process
Dec 24, 2019
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Africa Intelligence
The coalition of civil society members given the status of Kimberley Process (KP) observers came away disappointed from the international diamond certification institution's latest plenary…
Iraq/Islamic State: At Kirkuk Oil Plant, ISIS Targets Iraq Energy Police Second Time in 5 days
Dec 24, 2019
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Kurdistan 24
Members of the so-called Islamic State on Tuesday clashed with local security forces near an oil plant located in the western part of Iraq’s disputed…
Liberia: NaFAA Establishes Women in Maritime Liberia Chapter
Dec 24, 2019
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FrontPage Africa
Liberia has joined others countries in Africa in the establishment of a chapter of Women in Maritime in Africa (WIMAFRICA) in partnership with the International…
Iran/Iraq/Syria: Iran Militias Revive Islamic State Oil Trade into Syria from Iraq: Sources
Dec 24, 2019
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Herman Wang and Brian Scheid, S&P Global Platts
Iranian proxy militias are thought to be smuggling crude oil from western Iraq to Syria, picking up a lucrative business left behind by the Islamic…
Liberia: Two Communities Sign Logging Contracts, but Sector Woes Loom
Dec 23, 2019
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James Harding Giahyue, FrontPage Africa
There are huge expectations throughout Korninga after this remote chiefdom in Gbarpolu’s Bopolu District signed a logging contract with Coveiyalah Investment Enterprises. Like in all…
Afghanistan: For Women in Kabul, ‘It Is Just Me and the Water’
Dec 22, 2019
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Fatima Faizi and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times
Though the city has become markedly more politically progressive in the nearly two decades it has been governed by a Western-backed democracy, Kabul is still…
Brazil: ‘The Forest is Shedding Tears’: The Women Defending Their Amazon Homeland
Dec 21, 2019
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Jonathan Watts, The Guardian
It is midnight at an almost deserted bus station and one of the Amazon’s most courageous warriors is sitting on a plastic chair and breastfeeding…
Liberia: Ethnic Tension Thwarts Court’s Ruling in Ganta Land Case
Dec 18, 2019
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Joaquin M. Sendolo, Observer
The Eighth Judicial Circuit in Sanniquellie, Nimba County passed its ruling in a land case in 2018, giving right of possession to Fred Suah of…
Kenya: Kenya Places Climate Disorder at Centre of UN Security Council Bid
Dec 18, 2019
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Leopold Obi, Climate Home News
Kenya has made climate change a core part of its bid to obtain a seat on the UN security council, making an effort to “seek…
Colombia: 2018 Delegation of Parliamentarians in Conversation with Rural Women in Villavicenco
Dec 18, 2019
Members of the British Parliament participating in the August 2018 Delegation were: Chris Bryant MP and Patrick Grady MP. MP’s Conversation in Villavicencio with rural women: Diana,…
China/Vietnam: Vietnam Fights China's 'Nine-Dash Line' amid Old Enmities
Dec 17, 2019
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Sen Nguyen, Al Jazeera
It came as no surprise to Vietnamese student Doan Thanh Hai that China's infamous nine-dash line has been causing trouble in his country. China has…
Afghanistan: Over 600,000 Afghan Women to Attain Self-Sufficiency in Next Four Years through Agriculture
Dec 17, 2019
Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Nasir Ahmad Durrani announced Tuesday that over 600,000 women would become self-reliant through an economic empowerment program in…
Colombia: Death Threats for Defending Land and Water from a Coal Mine: Force of Wayúu Women in Colombia
Dec 16, 2019
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Land Rights Now
Members of the organization Fuerza de Mujeres Wayúu (Force of Wayúu Women) have received death threats and been subject to defamation and stigmatization for opposing…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Hopes for Chinese Restraint in South China Sea in 2020
Dec 16, 2019
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Reuters
Vietnam said it hoped China would show restraint in the South China Sea next year after a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts spent…
Afghanistan: We Survived War in Afghanistan – but Kabul's Pollution Could Kill Us
Dec 16, 2019
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Stefanie Glinski, Telegraph
Between November and March, Afghanistan’s capital is wrapped in a thick blanket of choking smog. As temperatures drop in high altitude Kabul, sitting at almost…
Liberia: Liberia Risks Conflict over Natural Resources Governance – Says Greg Coleman
Dec 16, 2019
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Moses R. Quollin, Liberia Forest Media
Former Director General of the National Bureau of Concession, Gregory O. Coleman says Liberia current approach to managing investments, mostly the natural resources sector risks…
Ghana: National Peace Council Trains Members on Gender Roles in Peacebuilding
Dec 15, 2019
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Modern Ghana
As part of the mandate of the National Peace Council to facilitate measures to prevent, manage and resolve issues that threaten the development and peace…
Afghanistan: Saffron Processing Center Built in Afghanistan's Badghis Province
Dec 15, 2019
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Xinhua
A saffron processing center was recently built in the western Baghis province, as the precious plant cultivation is gradually expanding across the mostly poppy growing…
Syria: Why Syria’s Small Oil Reserves Have become the Linchpin for Political Control in the Region
Dec 13, 2019
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Justin Higginbottom, CNBC
Times have changed in Syria. The oil has attracted another foreign power — the U.S. military — and Kurdish-led forces are the ones controlling the…
Nepal: Rickshaw Drivers Break Stereotypes in Nepal
Dec 12, 2019
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UN Women
Hira Kumari Sewa is among the few female rickshaw drivers in Nepal. Service is literally in her name.
Liberia: A Forest of Obstacles for Liberia’s Palm Oil Industry
Dec 12, 2019
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Lucinda Rouse, Business Day
Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, contained in products that range from bread to shampoo and biofuels, and demand…
Conflict Minerals: Switzerland Probes Illegal Trading of Coltan by Swiss Trader during DRC Civil War
Dec 12, 2019
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William Clowes, Business Day
Swiss prosecutors are investigating a trader of one of the world’s most sought-after-minerals over allegations he illegally dealt in metals during Democratic Republic of Congo’s…
Brazil to Cambodia, Conflicts Flaring over Land, Water
Dec 10, 2019
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Rina Chandran, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Conflicts over land and water flared across the world this year amid greater competition for resources and increasing hostility towards farmers and indigenous people, according…
Afghanistan/Colombia: Colombia to Help Develop Afghanistan Mining Sector
Dec 10, 2019
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Javed Hamim Kakar, Pajhwok Afghan News
Colombia will facilitate and help the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) develop the mining sector, an official said on Tuesday. MoMP spokesman AbdulQader…
Colombia: Colombia’s Indigenous Guard, Defenders of Land, the Environment and Their Own Lives [Photos]
Dec 10, 2019
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Steven Grattan, PRI
The Indigenous Guard is a community protection network made up of women, men and children who defend their territories without weapons. It originated in Colombia’s violent…
Colombia: Colombia Launches Plan to Guarantee Sustainable Coffee Production
Dec 10, 2019
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Reuters
Colombia, the world's top producer of washed arabica, has laid out what it called a road map to guarantee sustainable production of coffee for the next decade,…
Liberia: Oil Blocks for Sale
Dec 9, 2019
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E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor, New Dawn
The Government of Liberia through the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) announces sale of several blocks here, beginning next licensing round.A statement from the Liberia…
Myanmar: Govt Reviews Forest Management as Dutch Police Seize Myanmar Teak
Dec 8, 2019
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Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times
The government is set to review the country’s forest management strategy as it faces an uphill struggle against deforestation and illegal logging, a senior forestry…
Iraq: Year after Poisoning Disaster, Iraq Seeks End to Its Water Crisis
Dec 8, 2019
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Julian Kirchherr, Conversation
Basra, once known as the “Venice of the Middle East” because of its freshwater canals, has been suffering acute shortages of potable water because of…
Afghanistan: 'Combatting Hidden Enemies': Meet the Women on the Front Line of De-mining Afghanistan
Dec 8, 2019
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Roshan De Stone and David L. Suber, Independent
Nearly 100 Afghans are killed every month by unexploded mines, and yet when Gulandam first signed up to help with de-mining efforts, men would hurl insults…