International


Rwanda: Rwanda Protests Mineral Traceability Scheme

Oct 30, 2019 | Julius Bizimungu, New Times

Rwanda has said that the ITSCI programme, an international scheme designed to regulate minerals mined from the Central African region, is expensive, unnecessary and prohibitive…


Argentina/United Kingdom: Meet the Zimbabweans Who Remove Mines on the Malvinas

Oct 30, 2019 | Buenos Aires Times

Back in 1999 a company called Bactec, which was one of several to later merge into SafeLane Global, was contracted to clear two million mines…


Netherlands: How Fairphone's Social Mission Created Gender Balance ... Without Really Trying

Oct 30, 2019 | Oliver Balch

Eva Gouwens had heard that the tech industry was male-dominated, but it wasn’t until she attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for the first…


Colombia: Colombia, Aún Lejos de Hacer las Paces con el Medioambiente (Colombia, Still Far from Making Peace with the Environment)

Oct 29, 2019 | Laura Betancur Alarcón, El Tiempo

En 2016, con la firma de los acuerdos de paz, los ojos de cientos de investigadores y ambientalistas estaban en Colombia. Había esperanza. Si este…


Syria: WFP Scaling up to Reach More Vulnerable People in the Conflict-Affected Northeast of Syria

Oct 29, 2019 | World Food Programme

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it has so far provided emergency food assistance to more than 300,000 people in Syria as a…


Colombia's Ex-Rebels Remove Mines They Left during War

Oct 29, 2019 | Florence Panoussian, International Business Times

A grenade blew off the hands of onetime FARC guerrilla Edwin Correa, but he only surrendered his rifle once a peace deal was struck nearly…


Colombia: People Choosing Peace: Women's Advocacy Group in Colombia Spread Hope With Quilt Project

Oct 29, 2019

Yolanda Perea Mosquera and other women’s rights advocates in Colombia are sewing a colorful quilt. They plan to spread it out over the central square…


South Sudan: South Sudan to Offer Oil Blocks for Licensing by Q1 2020

Oct 29, 2019 | Denis Dumo, Reuters

South Sudan plans to offer 14 oil blocks to exploration companies in a licensing round by the first quarter 2020, its oil minister said on…


Myanmar: Improvement of Agricultural Livelihoods and Resilience for Conflict Affected Communities

Oct 29, 2019 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The objective of "Improvement of agricultural livelihoods and resilience for conflict affected communities in ethnic minority area" is to improve household food security and in…


Security Council Urges Recommitment to Women, Peace, Security Agenda, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2492 (2019)

Oct 29, 2019 | United Nations

The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2492 (2019) today, urging States to recommit themselves to its women, peace and security agenda — now approaching its twentieth anniversary…


Myanmar: Govt: Cause of Polluted Water in Myanmar’s Karen State Still Unclear

Oct 29, 2019 | Thazin Hlaing, Irrawaddy

The Karen State government is still investigating why contaminated water is flowing into lakes that provide drinking water for villages near the state capital of…


India: Mother Earth’s Café Dares Climate Crises in India

Oct 29, 2019 | Manipadma Jena, Inter Press Service

The sun has barely risen when Phlida Kharshala shakes her 8-year-old grandson awake. He hoists an empty cone-shaped bamboo basket on his back, sets the…


South Sudan: “Our Better Lives Do Not Lie In Machine Guns” – Women Call For Peace In Bor

Oct 29, 2019 | Mach Samuel, United Nations Missions in South Sudan

“Our better lives do not lie in machine guns.”

Those were the words of Rachael Amuor Pach, the Jonglei Minister for Gender, Child and Social Welfare,…


The Power of Women Peacebuilders

Oct 28, 2019

Women do groundbreaking work for justice, peace and security. Yet, they continue to be sidelined in formal peace processes. As conflict continues to affect every…


Climate Change: Former Homeland Security Secretaries Talk Climate and Security

Oct 28, 2019 | Caitlin Werrell and Francesco Femia, Center for Climate and Security

In case you missed it: In a September 9 hearing on “Homeland Security and Terrorism” before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, two former Secretaries of Homeland Security…


Former Ambassador Says Trump Repeating ISIS Talking Point with 'Talk about Taking Oil from Other Nations'

Oct 28, 2019 | Jason Lemon, Newsweek

Former U.S. Ambassador Nancy Soderberg criticized President Donald Trump for publicly arguing in favor of keeping Middle Eastern oil in Syria and Iraq, saying that…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Kicks off Tender for Another 40 MW Solar Project

Oct 28, 2019 | Emiliano Bellini, PV Magazine

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy & Water has issued a tender for a 40 MW solar project at an unspecified location in Herat province, in the…


Syria: Trump Keeps Talking about Syria's Oil Fields. Here's What's Going on with Them

Oct 26, 2019 | Madeleine Carlisle, Time

As the Trump administration pulls American troops away from Syria’s northern border, the President has repeatedly insisted that the region’s oil has been “secured,” even…


Sudan/South Sudan: Bound by Oil: How Petroleum Is Bringing Sudan and South Sudan Closer Together

Oct 26, 2019 | Denis Scopas, MIddle East Eye

For the past eight years since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan, a legacy of violence has marred relations between the new state and its…


South Sudan: South Sudan Floods Affect 1 Million People

Oct 25, 2019 | Deutsche Welle

Almost 1 million people have been displaced or otherwise affected by extreme flooding in South Sudan, according to a United Nations report released on Friday. Heavy flooding…


Iraq/Kurdistan/Syria: US Sudden Syria Exit Leaves Angry Iraqi Kurds Looking to Iran: 'Oil Thicker Than Innocent Blood'

Oct 24, 2019 | Tom O'Connor and Naveed Jamali, Newsweek

The United States' sudden withdrawal from northern Syria has angered Kurds not only in this war-torn country, but in neighboring Iraq, where the ethnic minority…


Egypt/Ethiopia: Egypt, Ethiopia Follow Diplomatic Route over River Nile Water-Sharing

Oct 24, 2019 | Edward Yeranian, Voice of America

Both Egypt and Ethiopia are working to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict over water-sharing as construction of the Renaissance Dam on the River…


Iraq: How Microbes May Help Clean up Oil Spills in Iraq

Oct 24, 2019 | DownToEarth

The United Nations has rolled out a project to use naturally occuring soil bacteria to decontaminate land poisoned by oil spills in war-torn Iraq. The aim…


Myanmar: Myanmar’s Energy Prospects, Emergency Tenders and Renewables

Oct 24, 2019 | John Liu, Myanmar Times

Katie Patterson of Myanmar Energy Monitor talks to The Myanmar Times about the impact of Myanmar’s electricity tariff hikes, next year’s blackout risks, the potential…


Myanmar: Bank Loosens Repayment Period for Farmers

Oct 24, 2019 | Yu Wai, Myanmar Times

Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (MADB) has announced that it will extend the repayment period for its agricultural loans for the winter crop season by next…


Somalia: Peacebuilding in Somalia - Another Victim of Climate Change?

Oct 23, 2019 | Nita Bhalla, Reuters

Climate change is hampering peacebuilding in Somalia as droughts and floods strengthen the hand of militants and weaken the power of government, a report said…


Syria: US Has Plan to Send Tanks and Troops to 'Secure' Syria Oil Fields amid Withdrawal

Oct 23, 2019 | James LaPorta and Tom O'Connor, Newsweek

The United States has drawn up a plan to send troops and tanks to guard Syria's eastern oil fields amid a withdrawal from the country's…


Iraq: Microbes Offer Hope of Cleaning up Iraq Conflict’s Pollution Legacy

Oct 23, 2019 | UN Environment

A biological remediation pilot project seeking to enhance nature’s own ability to clear up oil spills in Iraq’s conflict-affected areas has been launched in Kirkuk…


Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Resolve Border Dispute

Oct 23, 2019 | East African

Sudan and South Sudan have made a major breakthrough in border talks that concluded on Tuesday in Khartoum leaving only five areas subject to further…


Syria: 'Secured the Oil': US Troops Stay behind to Guard Oilfields

Oct 22, 2019 | Al Jazeera

The United States is weighing whether to retain a military presence near oilfields in northeastern Syria in order to prevent the sites falling under the…