International


Colombia: El Niño to Reach Colombia in November: Environment Minister

Sep 4, 2018 | Reuters

The drought-causing El Nino weather phenomenon will return to Colombia in November, the country’s environment minister said on Tuesday, warning that agriculture, energy production and…


Myanmar: Govt to Crack Down on Illegal Use of Farmland

Sep 3, 2018 | Pyae Thet Phyo, Myamar Times

As demand for living quarters rises on the back of an expanding population, so has the illegal selling of farmland for residential purposes, U Hla…


Myanmar: Mandalay Battles Littering Curse and Clogged Drains

Sep 3, 2018 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

For the ward where Ma Su lives, the problem is the non-functioning drainage system. In cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, People throw garbage wherever…


Somalia: UN Official Calls for Sustained Aid to Somalis Affected by Conflict, Drought

Sep 3, 2018 | Xinhua

The UN envoy in Somalia has called on the international community to sustain assistance to people affected by conflict, 2017 drought as well as this…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Drought Elicits Both Panic and a Wait-and-See Approach

Sep 3, 2018 | Jinitzail Hernandez, The Media Line

Large swathes of Afghanistan have for nearly half a year been gripped by drought, forcing more than 130,000 people from their homes in search of…


Iraq: Police Disperse Protesters at Entrance to Iraq's Nahr Bin Omar Oilfield

Sep 2, 2018 | Aref Mohammed, Reuters

Police used tear gas to disperse around 150 protesters at the main entrance to Iraq’s giant Nahr Bin Omar oilfield on Sunday, police sources said,…


Myanmar: Over 100,000 Acres of Idle Land in Taninthayi without Oil Palm Cultivations to Be Confiscated

Aug 31, 2018 | Zeyar Nyein, Eleven

Among the land areas in Taninthyi Region allotted for growing oil palm, over 100,000 acres will be confiscated as they are not being used for…


Mali: Food, Security and Peace Desperately Needed in Mali – UN Deputy Relief Chief

Aug 31, 2018 | UN

UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ursula Mueller – who just wrapped up a four-day mission to Mali – underscored that food, security, protection and peace…


Iraq: Water Pollution Destroys Iraq’s Oil-Rich South

Aug 31, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

While Iraq’s water shortages are not just confined to Basra, the region suffers from a toxic mix of polluted and salty water, dismal public services,…


Climate Change: Sweden Launches New Research Collaboration for Climate and Security

Aug 30, 2018 | Government of Sweden

A new research collaboration for climate and security will be launched today in connection with World Water Week in Stockholm. The Stockholm Climate Security Hub…


Afghanistan: Amid Chronic Violence, Millions of Afghans Face Risks of Drought Related Displacement

Aug 30, 2018 | Enayatullah Azad, Inter Press Service

Amid a precarious security situation in Afghanistan, the worst drought in recent history, that hit two out of three provinces in Afghanistan in July, has…


Afghanistan: Blue Gold: The Quest for Household Water in Kabul City

Aug 30, 2018 | S. Reza Kazemi, Afghanistan Analysts Network

Given growing water scarcity and pollution, increasing numbers of residents in Kabul city are struggling to provide enough safe water for their households. Many are…


Afghanistan: Govt Promoting Saffron Cultivation in Insecure Areas

Aug 30, 2018 | Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock continues its efforts to promote saffron cultivation in Nangarhar, Farah, Paktia and other insecure provinces as an appropriate…


Myanmar: Decades of Land Confiscations [Video]

Aug 30, 2018 | Union of Catholic Asian News

Widespread and under-reported land grabs from the poor, prevalent in Myanmar in the past, must be addressed and the victims adequately compensated, urges Human Rights…


Syria: Water Crisis Looms as Syria Military Conflict Winds Down

Aug 29, 2018 | Edward Yeranian, Voice of America

Seven years after civil war erupted in 2011, it appears Syria is beginning to emerge from a dark period of death and destruction. Any recovery…


Myanmar: Myanmar Dam Breach Floods 85 Villages, Thousands Driven from Homes

Aug 29, 2018 | Shoon Naing and Antoni Slodkowski, Reuters

As many as 85 villages were flooded in Myanmar after a dam failed, unleashing waters that blocked a major highway and forced more than 63,000…


Afghanistan/Iran: Afghanistan Says There Is No Dispute with Iran over Helmand

Aug 29, 2018 | Mehr News Agency

Deputy Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs for Management and Resources Nasir Ahamad Andisha said in a TV program that Tehran and Kabul have signed an…


Egypt/Sudan: Sudan, Egypt FMs Discuss Red Sea Security, Ethiopia Dam

Aug 29, 2018 | Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg, Anadolu Agency

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri on Wednesday met with Sudanese counterpart Aldirdiri Mohamed Ahmed in Cairo to discuss regional developments. According to an Egyptian Foreign…


Afghanistan: This Startup Is Sourcing from Conflict Zones and Selling at Sephora

Aug 29, 2018 | Esha Chhabra, Forbes

Shopping at Sephora can now make social impact -- and potentially divert traffic away from the opium epidemic in Afghanistan. Barbara Stegemann, the founder of The 7…


Myanmar: Meteorologist Warn about Floods

Aug 29, 2018 | Hsan Htoo Aung, Eleven

In the post-monsoon period, there may be formation of low pressure areas three times in the Bay of Bengal and of them, two low pressure…


Iraq: Hospitals in Basra Inundated with Cases Linked to Dirty Water

Aug 29, 2018 | Suadad Al-Salhy, Arab News

Hospitals in Basra have been flooded with thousands of patients suffering from drinking polluted and saline water as the province reels from the latest breakdown…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad Doesn’t Have Oil for Its Own Needs, Let Alone Kurdish Provinces: Official

Aug 29, 2018 | Rudaw

Baghdad has not agreed to send gasoline and diesel to the Kurdistan Region, an Iraqi Oil Ministry official said on Wednesday, saying there is not…


Iraq: Basra Health Crisis: 17,000 Admitted to Hospitals for Water Poisoning

Aug 29, 2018 | Mina Aldroubi, The National

Basra's health authorities said on Wednesday that more than 17,000 people have been admitted to hospitals over illnesses contracted from polluted drinking water. There has…


Afghanistan/Iran: Negotiating Hamoun Water Right, Only Way for Sistan to Survive: Report

Aug 29, 2018 | Tehran Times

The Hamouns are transboundary wetlands on the Iran-Afghan border made up of three lakes: Hamoun-e Helmand, which is entirely in Iran, Hamoun-e Sabari on the…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pakistan to Engage Afghanistan for Signing Water Treaty

Aug 28, 2018 | The Nation

The government of Pakistan is continuously trying to engage the government of Afghanistan into dialogue for a possible water treaty in future or at least to…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pak Initiates Talks on Water Treaty with Afghanistan

Aug 28, 2018 | Independent News Pakistan

The government of Pakistan (GoP) is trying to engage the Afghan government in dialogue for a possible water treaty and to develop some mechanism for information sharing between…


Liberia: Liberia Set to Secure Ancestral Land Rights with Long-Awaited Law

Aug 27, 2018 | Nellie Peyton, Reuters

Liberia is on the verge of passing a long-awaited land rights law that would help prevent foreign companies uprooting communities to make way for mining…


Iraq: 'Iraq Is Dying': Oil Flows Freely but Corruption Fuels Growing Anger

Aug 27, 2018 | Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Guardian

The land of the Bani-Mansour clan north-east of Basra is flat and parched, spattered with dry crusts of salt and thorny shrubs. Clusters of palm…


Liberia: Land Rights Act Passed

Aug 27, 2018 | J. Burgess Carter, Observer

Following years of open hearings, debates, committee reports, and conference committee work, the Senate at its 54th day sitting last Thursday, unanimously voted to concur…


Iraq: Iraq Restores Part of Largest Oil Refinery after 4-Year Hiatus

Aug 27, 2018 | Xinhua

Iraq has rehabilitated part of its largest oil refinery located in Baiji of the country's central province of Salahudin after it was sabotaged in fierce…