International


Iraq/Saudi Arabia: Iraqi PM Denies Allegations Attack Drones Targeting Saudi Pipeline Took off from Iraq

Jun 26, 2019 | Associated Press

Iraq’s prime minister is denying allegations that drones which targeted Saudi oil pipelines last month could have taken off from Iraq, rather than Yemen. The…


South Sudan: South Sudan Investigates Its Crude Oil Pre-Sales Regime

Jun 26, 2019 | Reuters

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit has launched an investigation into crude oil pre-sale contracts from the country as it ratchets up production, a letter…


Afghanistan: How Band-e-Amir National Park became Afghanistan's Oasis of Peace

Jun 25, 2019 | Jay Gentile, CNN

You can camp. You can picnic. You can even rent swan-shaped paddle boats to navigate one of six deep blue lakes that shimmer high in…


Afghanistan: Bazar: What Are Consequences of Illegal Mining in Afghanistan? [Video]

Jun 23, 2019 | TOLOnews

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says that efforts are underway to prevent illegal mining in the country. In this episode of Bazar, host Zarmina…


India/Pakistan: Water, Wars and Hydro-Diplomacy

Jun 23, 2019 | Kashmir Observer

Climate change is eating the Himalayan glaciers at a pace that, if left unabated, would threaten water supplies and life and livelihoods for hundreds of…


Conflict Minerals: Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting Concludes Successfully

Jun 22, 2019 | Diamond World

India, as the KP Chair for 2019, successfully hosted the KP Intersessional meeting in Mumbai. The meeting which started on 17th June concluded on 21st June 2019.…


Colombia: Colombia to Resume Aerial Spraying of Coca Crops

Jun 21, 2019 | Sophie Foggin, Latin America Reports

On June 8, Colombian Defence Minister Guillermo Botero told Blu Radio that helicopters will resume aerial fumigation of coca crops within 12-16 weeks. President Ivan…


South Sudan: Centurion to Host Workshop on Domestic Capacity Building in Juba for Oil Sector

Jun 21, 2019 | Devdiscourse

In line with its commitment to support local content development across sub-Saharan Africa, Centurion will be organizing a local content workshop in Juba in the…


Colombia: Forced Displacement in West Colombia up 240% amid Intensified Warfare

Jun 21, 2019 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

The intensification of warfare in western Colombia is particularly aggravating the humanitarian situation in the Choco province where thousands are caught in the crossfire, the…


Liberia: Has REDD+ Dashed Hopes of Rural Dwellers?

Jun 21, 2019 | Lennart Dodoo, FrontPage Africa

Residents of this remote village near the Lake Piso Multiple Use Reserve in the Commonwealth District of Cape Mount County, were hopeful when a forest…


Colombia: How Colombia Is Trying to Prevent Running out of Drinking Water

Jun 21, 2019 | Luke Jacobs, Colombia Reports

A coalition dedicated to protecting the water resources of Colombia formally launched operations in the country on Wednesday. The organization, the Water Coalition of Colombia,…


Nepal Yet to Take Steps to Ensure Justice for Women Who Suffered Sexual Violence during Conflict

Jun 20, 2019 | Binod Ghimire, Kathmandu Post

Even as Nepal has failed to ensure justice for victims of the decade-long conflict, the country has yet to implement the recommendations of the United…


Iraq: Exxon's $53 Billion Iraq Deal Hit by Contract Snags, Iran Tensions - Sources

Jun 20, 2019 | Aref Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Just weeks ago, US energy giant ExxonMobil looked poised to move ahead with a $53 billion project to boost Iraq’s oil output at its southern…


Afghanistan: Government Says to Ban Illegal Mining

Jun 19, 2019 | Afghanistan Times

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says it would ban 'illegal exploitation of mineral resources' to serve national interests. Acting Minister, Narges Nehan, said Wednesday…


KP Intersessional Meet Organizes Special Forum on Artisanal Mining

Jun 19, 2019 | Diamond World

The Kimberly Process Intersessional Meet in Mumbai organized a special forum for its delegates on the topic of Artisanal Mining- Small Steps to Larger Outcomes.…


Iraq: Rocket Hits Site of Foreign Oil Firms in Iraq's Basra, Three Hurt

Jun 19, 2019 | Al Jazeera

A rocket landed at the headquarters of several global oil companies in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Wednesday, wounding three Iraqi workers and raising…


Colombia: Colombia Continues to Have Highest Number of Internally Displaced People in the World: UN

Jun 19, 2019 | Luke Jacobs, Colombia Reports

Colombia continues to have the most internally displaced persons in the world, according to the UN. Though Colombia only represents 0.65% of the world’s population,…


Iraq: After Years of War and Drought, Iraq's Bumper Crop Is Burning

Jun 19, 2019 | Ahmed Aboulenein and Maha El Dahan, Reuters

Officials in Iraq’s breadbasket province Nineveh warned that if the fires spread to storage sites, a quarter of this year’s bumper harvest could be at…


Liberia: To Stop Destruction of Liberia’s Rainforest, He Put His Life on the Line

Jun 18, 2019 | Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, Yale Environmental 360

Alfred Brownell had to flee Liberia after challenging the powerful palm oil and other extractive industries that were clearing its forests. But he remains committed…


Cambodia: Supreme Court Hears Land Grab Case

Jun 18, 2019 | Buth Reaksmey Kongkea, Khmer Times

The Supreme Court yesterday heard the appeal of a former general in the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit who was jailed five years for forging documents…


DRC: DR Congo's Army Moves in to Dislodge Illegal Miners

Jun 18, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Democratic Republic of Congo's army has sent a battalion of troops to oust illegal miners from land worked by a majority-owned Chinese company, the military…


Water Diplomacy: Creating Spaces for Nile Cooperation

Jun 18, 2019 | Abraham Telar Kuc, Modern Diplomacy

It’s very clear that the long and current regional disputes over the Nile’s waters between the upstream and downstream countries specially Uganda, Ethiopia and other…


Explore Former War Zones and Rebel-Held Territories from Your Living Room: Google Project Shows Users How the Cyprus ‘Buffer Zone’, Abandoned French WWI Villages and Areas of the Colombian Jungle Look Today in Fascinating Detail

Jun 18, 2019 | Ian Randall, Daily Mail

From the fighting lines of World War One to formerly guerrilla-occupied territory in Colombia, a new Google-powered project is immersing viewers in no man's lands…


Liberia: 2 Million Acres of Land for Community Ownership, Control

Jun 17, 2019 | Alvin Worzi, Observer

The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) and three Liberian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have agreed to work with 24 communities in eight of the country’s 15 counties…


Afghanistan: Helmand Farmers Expand Wheat Growing This Year

Jun 17, 2019 | Pajhwok Afghan News

Agriculture officials say 95,000 hectares of land has been cultivated with wheat crop in southern Helmand province this year, showing a 25 percent increase in…


Climate Change: Climate Change Intensifies the Future Risk of Armed Conflict

Jun 17, 2019 | Siobhán Dunphy, European Scientist

Does climate change increase the risk of violent armed conflict? A new paper published last week on 12 June in Nature suggests intensified global warming…


Afghanistan: Distribution of Saffron Bulbs Kick off in Northern Balkh Province

Jun 16, 2019 | Khaama Press

The distribution process of Saffron bulbs among local farmers kicked off in Balkh province of Afghanistan on Saturday. The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock…


Myanmar: Regreening a Barren Rohingya Refugee Camp on Myanmar’s Border

Jun 16, 2019 | Kaamil Ahmed, Mongabay

When Mongabay visited after the 2017 influx, evidence of the active deforestation was everywhere. Where the refugees were not clearing space for the still-expanding camp,…


Conflict Minerals: Are Crystals the New Blood Diamonds?

Jun 16, 2019 | Eva Wiseman, Guardian

Crystallisation is a transition from chaos to perfection; the evolution of the crystal industry has been less simple. Millions of years ago liquid rock inside…


Why the Global Oil Market Is on a Knife Edge over Regional Tensions

Jun 16, 2019 | Robin Mills, National

It goes beyond megaphone diplomacy – more like Friedrich Nietzsche’s “philosophising with a hammer”. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s overtures in Tehran were brusquely rejected…