International News

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Colombia: Mothers of Colombia's Disappeared Seek Justice At War Tribunal

Oct 17, 2019 | Anastasia Moloney, Reuters

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mothers of young men and teenagers who say their sons were murdered by government soldiers during Colombia’s conflict begged a…

South Africa: South African Sisters Shine in Diamond Business Dominated by Men

Oct 17, 2019 | Sierra Leone Times

BEDFORDVIEW, SOUTH AFRICA - Mosibudi Jo Mathole and Khomotso Ramodipa are rare gems in the male-dominated diamond industry. The South African sisters run one of…

Lebanon/Syria: Blazes Spread through Parts of Lebanon, Syria

Oct 16, 2019 | Energy & Environment News

Wildfires spread through parts of Lebanon yesterday after forcing some residents to flee their homes in the middle of the night, while others were stuck…

Rural Women Reclaim Their Financial Independence

Oct 16, 2019 | Cristobal Baeza, BBVA

The foundation organized a round table discussion in commemoration of International Day of Rural Women to give visibility to their role as an economic and social engine.…

Colombia: Women in Colombia Defy Violence to Help Build Peace

Oct 16, 2019 | Shauna Bowers, The Irish Times

Although the Colombian peace accord was signed more than three years ago, domestic and gender-based violence remains all too familiar for women who attempt to…

Afghanistan: Drawing Forestry Lessons from Republic of Korea to Enhance Livelihoods in Afghanistan

Oct 15, 2019 | UN Environment

Afghanistan is an agrarian society, and close to 80 per cent of its population, including nearly 90 per cent of the rural poor, relies on…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Pulled Dreamworks' 'Abominable' Movie because It Used a Map Staking China's Claim over the Disputed South China Sea

Oct 15, 2019 | Bill Bostock, Business Insider

Vietnam outlawed Dreamworks' new animation "Abominable" on Sunday because it showed a map acknowledging China's claim to a disputed part of the South China Sea.…

Colombia: Women Defenders of Land, Environment, at Risk in Colombia

Oct 15, 2019 | Oxfam

Women defenders of land rights and the environment in Colombia are being attacked at an alarming rate, according to Oxfam’s partners in the country.

The expansion…

Rural Women and Girls Are Key In Building Climate Resilience

Oct 15, 2019 | Humana People to People

‘Rural women represent the backbone of many communities, but they continue to face obstacles that prevent them from realizing their potential. The devastating impacts of…

Rural women a ‘powerful force’ for global climate action: UN Secretary-General

Oct 14, 2019 | UN News

 In a message to mark the International Day of Rural Women, observed annually on 15 October, the UN chief said that “listening to rural women and amplifying their voices…

Afghanistan: Hashish Replaces Poppy as Afghan Farmers' Illegal Crops

Oct 13, 2019 | Xinhua

Following the government's fight against poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, local farmers have mostly replaced the opium poppy with another profitable but illicit herb, the hashish,…

United States: UN Focuses on Rural Women's Role in Ensuring Food Security

Oct 13, 2019 | Santo D. Banerjee, IDN In Depth News

Since the first International Day of Rural Women was observed on October 15, 2008, there is agreement that rural women and girls, including indigenous women, play a…

Finland Wants to Lead Way in Gender-Equal Climate Policy

Oct 11, 2019 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

On the International Day of the Girl, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari and upper secondary school student Priya Härkönen highlight the…

Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: Nile Dam: Egypt Needs Water, Ethiopia Seeks Electricity, Sudan Wants Both

Oct 11, 2019 | Daniel Mumbere, Africanews

While Egypt wants to guarantee a steady supply of water for its 100 millions citizens , Ethiopia is determined to power the homes of the…

Myanmar: Myanmar Court Fines Villagers, Chinese Mining Firm Employee in Waste Dispute

Oct 10, 2019 | Zarni Mann, Irrawaddy

The court in Salingyi Township of Sagaing Division on Wednesday imposed fines on both sides of a legal dispute between a group of residents of…

UN Women Highlights "Compound Effect" of Location, Wealth, Ethnicity on Gender Inequality

Oct 10, 2019 | Catherine Benson Wahlen

The report explains that differences related to ethnicity, location and wealth “combine to create deep pockets of deprivation” across a range of SDGs.The report presents…

Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan and South Sudan to Renegotiate Oil Agreement

Oct 9, 2019 | Prensa Latina

South Sudanese Oil Minister Awou Daniel Chuang reported that he will renegotiate an oil agreement with Sudan, since South Sudan is unable to meet the…

Liberia: Denied for Decades, Women Lead Land Rights Campaign in Bong

Oct 9, 2019 | Mae Azango, Front Page Africa

Gormah Mulbah and her five children were thrown out of their home last year after her husband died. Her late husband’s family was angry she…

China/Philippines/Russia/South China Sea: South China Sea Crisis: Russia and China on Collision Course over Philippine Oil Bid

Oct 8, 2019 | Simon Osbourne, Express

Moscow and Beijing could be on a collision course in the South China Sea after the Philippines invited Russian oil giant Rosneft to join it…

Afghanistan: Meet the Afghan Women Taking Their Country Back — One Land Mine at a Time

Oct 8, 2019 | Kern Hendricks, Foreign Policy

Along with 39 other women, Layegha Marfat is a member of Afghanistan’s first all-female demining team. Inaugurated in 2018 by the United Nations Mine Action…

Palestine: Empowering Women as Sustainable Energy Leaders in Palestine

Oct 8, 2019 | Mariam Barghouti

In an office just a few minutes away from the city centre in Ramallah, Dr. Ayman Rabi scurries to submit a report on the latest…