International


Climate Change: Militaries Go Green, Rethink Operations in Face of Climate Change

Apr 27, 2019 | Linda Givetash, NBC News

Highly efficient air conditioners, LED lights and power meters will be used alongside weapons of war at an upcoming NATO exercise. Military officials from 29…


Climate Change: Militaries Go Green, Rethink Operations in Face of Climate Change

Apr 27, 2019 | Linda Givetash, NBC News

Highly efficient air conditioners, LED lights and power meters will be used alongside weapons of war at an upcoming NATO exercise. Military officials from 29…


Philippines: For US Commandos in the Philippines, a Water Pump Is a New Weapon Against ISIS

Apr 27, 2019 | Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times

While neither guided bomb nor armored vehicle, a gray oblong water pump sticking out from the brush along a remote dirt road is intended to…


Millions of Women Are Still Landless Despite Global Push for Gender Equality

Apr 26, 2019 | Zoe Tabary

Millions of women worldwide are still unable to access and own land despite laws recognizing their rights, researchers and campaigners said on Monday as they…


Myanmar: 630,000 Without Adequate Potable Water as Summer Temps Soar

Apr 26, 2019 | Lei Lei, Irrawaddy

Ten of 14 regions and states are currently suffering from shortages of drinking water due to rising summer temperatures, according to the Rural Water Supply…


Liberia: Civil Society to Help Communities Legalize Land Ownership in over US$1.9 M Project

Apr 26, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

A civil society organization, the Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI), has begun a project to assist rural communities in Liberia to legalize their customary ownership…


Ghana/Liberia: Liberia, Ghana Launch Legal Timber Trade

Apr 26, 2019 | Prince Parker, NEWS

The Liberia Timer Association (LibTA) in collaboration with the Liberia Chain Saw and Timber Dealers Union (LICSATDUN) with support from its international partners has officially…


Liberia: “Government Remains Resolute in Promoting Women Peace and Security” – Amb. Kemayah Tells UN Security Council Open Debate

Apr 25, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

NEW YORK – Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr., says the Government of Liberia remains resolute in its…


Afghanistan: How the US Military's Opium War in Afghanistan Was Lost

Apr 25, 2019 | Justin Rowlatt, BBC

The US has spent $1.5m (£1.15m) a day since 2001 fighting the opium war in Afghanistan. So why is business still booming?


Top Funders and NGOs Think Empowering Women Farmers Can Reduce Hunger. Are They Right?

Apr 24, 2019 | Michelle Sieff

In 2017, about 11 percent of the world’s population—around 821 million—was undernourished, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This data confirms a…


Colombia: This Colombian Village Is Redefining Its Future with Rice and Coconuts [Photos]

Apr 24, 2019 | Ishay Govender-Ypma, Saveur

In northwestern Colombia, a small community plagued by drug cartels and deforestation is using local produce to change its fate.


Colombia: Meet the Women Who Detonate Land Mines in Colombia’s Former War Zones

Apr 24, 2019 | Megan Janetsky

For some women, it’s leadership roles. For others, it’s community activism. But what most empowers 19-year-old Marifer Culman Ortiz is detonating land mines.


Climate Change and Sexual Harassment Top List of Girls' Concerns

Apr 24, 2019 | Amy Walker

Climate change and tackling sexual harassment are the biggest worries for girls and young women, a major research project has found.

The Girlguiding organisation consulted 76,000…


Protect Women’s Rights ‘before, during and after Conflict’ UN Chief Tells High-Level Security Council Debate

Apr 23, 2019 | UN

Over the course of the past decade, there has been “a paradigm shift” in understanding the devastating impact of sexual violence in conflict on international…


Afghanistan: UN-backed Local Peace Initiative Ends Longstanding Dispute in Nangarhar

Apr 23, 2019 | UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

A longstanding dispute over water resources between two tribes in the eastern province of Nangarhar has been resolved through mediation and community engagement. A peace…


Viet Nam: Central Highlands People Lack Access to Clean Water as Supply Projects Abandoned

Apr 22, 2019 | Viet Nam News

Hundreds of clean water projects have been built in the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) in recent years to serve people living in poor and remote…


Myanmar: Forest Coverage Accounts for More Than 25 Percent of the Country’s Total Area

Apr 22, 2019 | Eleven

Currently, the forest covers more than 25 per cent of the country’s total area and the forest conservation area, up to six per cent, said…


Papua New Guinea: Tribal Conflicts Threaten Women

Apr 22, 2019 | Anggia Anggraini Burchill, Development and Cooperation

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), women and girls face high security risks. Particularly in tribal wars, they are subject to violence and displacement. On the…


DRC: Why Responsible Sourcing of DRC Minerals Has Major Weak Spots

Apr 22, 2019 | Peer Schouten, Conversation

Conflict minerals are widely held to be at the heart of over two decades of conflict in eastern DRC, involving dozens of armed groups in…


Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste Ex-Leader Jose Ramos-Horta Expects Australia to Pay back 'Millions' in Oil Revenue

Apr 22, 2019 | Alana Schetzer, Jordan Fennell and Stephen Dziedzic, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

One of the founding fathers of Timor-Leste is confident that Australia will return millions of dollars generated from oil fields that belong to the developing…


Sierra Leone: New Diamond Mining Strategy Could Benefit Mining Communities in Sierra Leone

Apr 22, 2019 | Abdul Rashid Thomas, Sierra Leone Telegraph

A group of 29 international diamantaires and jewellers, headed by Martin Rapaport – Chairman of the Rapaport Group, were in Sierra Leone a few weeks…


Conflict Minerals: WDC Will Lobby for Broader Definition of "Conflict Diamonds" at OECD Meet

Apr 21, 2019 | International Diamond Exchange

On April 23, the 13th OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains will take place in Paris, France. The World Diamond Council (WDC) will be…


Afghanistan: MAIL Reports 50 Percent Reduction in Saffron Production in Afghanistan

Apr 20, 2019 | Khaama Press

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) has reported that Saffron production has dropped by around 50 percent during the recent years. According to…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Police Confiscate Two Trucks Smuggling Crude Oil out of Kirkuk [Photos]

Apr 19, 2019 | Sangar Ali, Kurdistan 24

Iraqi police forces on Thursday seized two trucks which were smuggling crude oil from a pipeline in Kirkuk Province, the area’s designated energy police directorate…


Afghanistan: ‘Illegal’ Saffron Imports Affect Afghan Products Market

Apr 19, 2019 | Fariba Aram, TOLOnews

An increasing flow of Iranian saffron into Afghan markets has affected the prices of Herat saffron, local investors the National Association of Saffron said. The…


UN Environment Assembly Passes Landmark Resolution Promoting Gender Equality in Environmental Governance

Apr 19, 2019 | Kate Logan

Adoption of UN resolution promoting gender equality and safeguarding the rights of women and girls in environmental protection efforts is a crucial step towards protecting…


Afghanistan: Using the Sun to Reduce Air Pollution in Kabul

Apr 19, 2019 | Khalil Asir and Hast e Subh, Hindu

According to Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), air pollution is at its peak in cities, particularly Kabul, in late November and early December. In…


Liberia: Forestry Funds Spur Development in Lofa

Apr 19, 2019 | William Q. Harmon, Observer

Residents of several towns in Salayea District, Lofa County, were seen in wild celebration last week as major community projects were dedicated. The projects were…


Afghanistan: Poppies Bloom across Afghanistan as Drought Eases

Apr 18, 2019 | Muhammad Irfan, UrduPoint

A vast field of towering white poppies sways gently in the breeze, silky petals sometimes tumbling to the ground, a visible marker of the resilience…


Myanmar: Illegal Charcoal Trade Threatens Myanmar’s Remaining Mangroves

Apr 18, 2019 | Wudan Yan, Mongabay

The illegal charcoal trade poses a deadly threat to the world’s remaining original mangrove cover, of which approximately 35 percent is already gone, according to…