News

Libya: As Libya’s War Drags on, Tripoli Drowns in Waste

Oct 4, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Across Tripoli, tonnes of waste overflows from bins and piles up on roadsides. The rubbish crisis adds to the daily ordeal for residents of the…

Researchers Model the Climate Impacts of a Nuclear Conflict

Oct 4, 2019 | Laureen Fagan, Sustainability Times

Nuclear conflict may remain unthinkable in terms of the human cost, but research published this week in the journal Science Advances adds focus on the…

Nigeria: A Paradigm Shift for Conflict-Affected Rice Producers in Rural Borno

Oct 4, 2019 | AfricaNews

The Jere Bowl is an irrigated land mass formed by the flow of the Ngadda River in Jere local government area (LGA), Borno State, in Nigeria.…

Afghanistan: Insecurity, Fraud Allegations Mar US Company’s Quest to Mine for Gold in Afghanistan

Oct 4, 2019 | J.P. Lawrence, Stars and Stripes

A year after a U.S.-based company signed contracts to mine for gold and copper in Afghanistan, work still hasn’t begun amid fears of insecurity and…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Accuses Chinese Ships of Ramping up South China Sea Tensions

Oct 4, 2019 | Bloomberg

Vietnam accused a Chinese oil-surveying vessel and coastguard escorts of territorial violations by widening their activities after entering the country’s exclusive economic zone and operating…

Afghanistan: Water Management for Peace

Oct 4, 2019 | Said Hashmat Sadat and Nastrat Sayed

In the optimistic view, Afghanistan is closer to peace today than at any time in the past decades. The presidential election last weekend may have…

Iraq: Iraq's Dependence on Oil to Continue as Reform Pace Slows, Says Moody's

Oct 3, 2019 | Jennifer Gnana, National

Iraq's continued dependence on oil revenues is likely to slow structural and fiscal reforms over the medium term, Moody's said in a report, which also…

Colombia: Trees of Reconciliation in Carrizal

Oct 3, 2019 | UN Verification Mission in Colombia

Victims, security forces, former FARC-EP combatants, youth groups and community planted trees at the former Territorial Area for Training and Reincorporation (TATR) in Carrizal, Remedios,…

For Bosnian Women, No Justice—and No Seats

Oct 3, 2019 | Riada Asimovic Akyol

Both men and women suffer the consequences of wars, but conflicts and humanitarian disasters around the world tend to disproportionately affect women and children. Additionally,…

Afghanistan: Mining Law Reforms Revived [Video]

Oct 3, 2019 | TOLOnews

The Ministry of Mines released a statement saying they have consulted with various institutions to revise mining law. Integrity Watch Afghanistan says that despite the…

Iraq: Sudden Eruption of Violence in Iraq Threatens Oil Supply

Oct 3, 2019 | Nick Cunningham, Oil Price

Oil prices have fallen sharply over the past week, as the swift return of disrupted Saudi oil production allowed markets to look past geopolitical risk.…

Food Security, Infrastructure and Containment: Why GCC States Are Engaging in the Horn of Africa in a Big Way

Oct 3, 2019 | Sebastian Rees, AlBawaba

Gulf actors, heavily reliant on foreign food imports, proved particularly interested in the Horn’s potential as a breadbasket for food production and agriculture. A global…

Iraq: Building the Network of Water Activists in Basra

Oct 2, 2019 | Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative

It’s been one year since the city of Basra was rocked by large-scale protests following a major pollution crisis in which citizens decried the lack…

The Hidden Work of Post-Conflict Recovery

Oct 2, 2019 | Jay Lingham and Melissa Johnston

Sri Lanka 2011. It is two years since a brutal civil war ended, with the UN reporting tens of thousands of civilians killed in the final…

Custom, Caste System Deny Land Rights to Asian Women, Indigenous People

Oct 2, 2019 | Rina Chandran

Women, lower-caste and indigenous people across Asia are failing to benefit from land reform laws because of custom and deep-rooted social biases, land rights activists…

Climate Change: Climate Action for Peace – Faith-Based Perspectives

Oct 2, 2019 | UN Environment

Environment and peace are cross-cutting issues that are intrinsic to sustainable development. While natural resources are vital to achieving sustainable development, they are also increasingly…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Beijing Infuriates Vietnam after Deploying Controversial New Oil Rig

Oct 1, 2019 | John Vargo, Express

Tensions between China and Vietnam flared up again over Beijing’s deployment of its giant new offshore oil exploration platform in the disputed South China Sea.

Food Security: Netherlands USD 28 Million Pledge to Support Resilience in Crisis Countries

Oct 1, 2019 | Ana Maria Lebada, International Institute for Sustainable Development

On the margins of the UN Climate Action Summit, the Netherlands pledged USD 28 million in support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the…

International Law Is Failing the South China Sea

Oct 1, 2019 | Shirley Wang

When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing on August 29, expectations were high that progress would be made on the South…

This October on Agrilinks: The Role of Gender in Agriculture

Oct 1, 2019 | Krista Jacobs

Gender influences which crops are grown, which animals are raised, and which technologies are used. It influences how households earn a livelihood and manage risk,…

Liberia: USAID’s Farmer of the Year Promotes Garden Programs

Sep 30, 2019 | George Harris, Observer

Urban population growth is affecting land availability for vegetable production, a situation beclouding the future of urban farming in Liberia. But USAID’s 2019 Farmer of…

DRC: Congo Mine Deploys Digital Weapons in Fight against Conflict Minerals

Sep 30, 2019 | Aaron Ross and Barbara Lewis, Reuters

In a small shack overlooking muddy pits hewn out of eastern Congo’s rolling green hills, a government official puts a barcoded tag on a sack…

From Commitment to Action: Inclusion of Women's Voices in Commonwealth Priorities for Gender Equality

Sep 30, 2019 | Myn Garcia

Women from across the Commonwealth met in advance of the 12 Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (12WAMM) on 16 and 17 September to discuss policy recommendations to accelerate national, regional, and global action…

Taking SDG 5 (Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment) Seriously in the Forestry Sector

Sep 30, 2019 | Carol Colfer and Dominique Lyons

In the lead-up to the 25th IUFRO World Congress being held in Curitiba, Brazil from 29 Sept. to 6 Oct., a group of scientists from around…

Afghanistan: Protection Body Prevents Illegal Mining at 2,200 Sites

Sep 30, 2019 | Navid Ahmad Barakzai, Pajhwok

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) says the Mines Protection Committee (MPC) has been able to prevent illegal extractions of natural resources at 2,200…

Advancing United Nations Responses to Climate-Related Security Risks

Sep 30, 2019 | Karolina Eklöw, Camilla Born, and Malin Mobjörk

The security implications of climate change have increasingly been debated in the United Nations Security Council. Yet, there is a growing concern by many UN…

Nigeria: Social Cohesion Project Manager

Sep 30, 2019 | Search for Common Ground

Search for Common Ground is an international non-profit organization operating in 36 countries whose mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict…

Palestine: Palestinians Hope to Import Iraqi Oil, become More Energy Independent

Sep 30, 2019 | Daoud Kuttab, Al-Monitor

When Iraqi officials offered to sell Palestinians oil at reduced prices, few believed that this offer would actually become reality. While many obstacles continue to exist,…

Myanmar: Two Mandalay Lakes to Get Wetland Protection

Sep 30, 2019 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Mandalay Region’s Sont Ye Lake in Kyaukse township and Paleik Lake in Tada-U will be designated as protected wetlands to conserve them and regulate development, a…

Nigeria: Weighing Tech Solutions as Conflict, Disasters Threaten Nigeria’s Food Security

Sep 29, 2019 | PUNCH

In the face of Boko Haram terrorism, farmers-herders conflict and natural disasters such as flooding, Jesusegun Alagbe writes about revolutionary agricultural technologies that can be…