International


Afghanistan: Illegal Mining Reduces Lapis Lazuli Prices in Afghanistan: Study

Jul 30, 2019 | Tamim Hamid, TOLOnews

An investigation by TOLOnews reveals that lapis lazuli prices have reduced unprecedently times due to illegal mining in one of the main deposits of the…


Rangers—Unsung Heroes of Wildlife Conservation

Jul 30, 2019 | UN Environment

World Ranger Day, an initiative of the International Ranger Federation, is marked on 31 July to celebrate the work rangers do to protect the planet’s natural…


Myanmar: War and Business: Kachin’s ‘Frontline’ Hydropower Dam

Jul 29, 2019 | Ye Mon and Thomas Kean, Frontier

Despite Myanmar’s dire need for power, a US$250 million hydropower plant on the front lines of the Kachin conflict has been largely idle since the…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Could Baghdad and Erbil End Iraq's Protacted Oil Dispute?

Jul 28, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Iraq's federal authorities and the cash-strapped Kurdish regional government (KRG) have relaunched talks over longstanding oil and budget disputes, but observers are sceptical they will…


Iraq: Iraq's Oil and Gas Industry Aims to Be Energy Independent [Video]

Jul 28, 2019 | Osama Bin Javaid, Al Jazeera

Years of war and instability have damaged Iraq's gas and oil infrastructure, leaving it dependent on energy imports, despite having huge reserves. Now it wants…


South Sudan: South Sudan Tries to Protect Wildlife after Long Conflict

Jul 27, 2019 | Sam Mednick, Associated Press

South Sudan is trying to rebuild its six national parks and 13 game reserves, which cover more than 13% of the country’s terrain, following the…


Myanmar: Police Investigate after 38 Feared Dead Following Violent Myanmar Land Dispute

Jul 27, 2019 | Mizzima

At least 25 people died following violence this week, a shocked regional MP said Friday at a press conference in Magway, as details were still…


Myanmar: At Least 25 Dead after Myanmar Land Dispute

Jul 27, 2019 | Dhaka Tribune

At least 25 people died when a land dispute in Myanmar turned violent this week, a regional MP said Friday, as details were still emerging…


Nigeria: Insecurity: Nigeria Loses $14bn Annually to Farmers-Herders’ Clashes – Fayemi

Jul 26, 2019 | Rotimi Ojomoyela, Vanguard

Governer Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, yesterday, lamented that Nigeria loses $14 billion annually to farmer-herder clashes, saying it may affect the country’s ability to…


Afghanistan: Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Launches Campaign to Stop Illegal Extraction of Mineral Resources

Jul 26, 2019 | Library of Congress

On June 19, 2019, Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MOMP), Narges Nehan, announced that the Ministry had begun a country-wide…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Orders ‘Immediate Withdrawal’ of Chinese Ships as Tensions Soar

Jul 26, 2019 | Luke Hawker, Express

Hanoi has pressed ahead its work on an oil rig on the Vanguard bank, despite an increased military presence by Beijing in the Taiwan strait.…


Myanmar: Locals Demand Return of Land Taken for Coffee Project

Jul 25, 2019 | Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times

Officials have so far ignored an appeal by farmers to return land appropriated for a coffee-planting project in Phaung Taw Sanpya village, Pyin Oo Lwin township,…


Liberia: WOMSUD Launches Women’s Participation in Country’s Natural Resources

Jul 25, 2019 | Hannah N. Geterminah, Observer

Women Movement for Sustainable Development (WOMUD) on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, launched the Women’s Participation in the Natural Resources Sectors Report under the title, “Strengthening…


South Sudan: South Sudan Will Launch Petroleum Licensing Round, Environmental Audit

Jul 25, 2019 | Africa Oil & Power

South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum Hon. Awow Daniel Chuang will announce South Sudan’s 2020 oil and gas licensing round at two strategic conferences this October:…


DRC: $3.7m Fund to Help End Illegal Mining in Congo

Jul 25, 2019 | Kennedy Senelwa, East African

Armed actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s artisanal mining have been dealt a blow with the release of $3.7 million funding by the United…


South Africa: Sweeping the Bush, Protecting the Land - The Women Quashing Poaching

Jul 25, 2019 | UNEP

The black mamba is the most venomous snake in sub-Saharan Africa. One bite can kill a person in just a few hours. It is also…


South Sudan: South Sudan’s MoU with Ethiopia, Uganda for Power Transmission to Border Areas

Jul 24, 2019 | Devdiscourse

South Sudan is planning to implement bilateral agreements with Ethiopia and Uganda on the transmission of power to its border areas. The aim of agreement…


Myanmar: EITI Applied in Forestry Sector for the First Time

Jul 24, 2019 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

Myanmar’s forestry sector was included in the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (MEITI) report for the first time this year. Myanmar is the second country…


Zimbabwe: War Vets Confront Minister over Land Grab

Jul 24, 2019 | New Zimbabwe

War veterans here have called to order Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira for allegedly trying to remove the former freedom fighters from farms they forcibly…


Liberia: EPA, UNDP Seek to Reconcile Weaknesses in Environmental Policies, Legal Instruments

Jul 23, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

With funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Liberia Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Tuesday, 23 July 2019…


Bangladesh/Myanmar: Rohingya Refugees Regreen Deforested Land on Myanmar's Border

Jul 23, 2019 | Kaamil Ahmed, New Arab

Living off the land is natural for the Rohingya, who lived a predominantly agricultural life in Myanmar. Today, the UN estimates only around 400,000 Rohingya remain in…


United Nations Compensation Panel Pays out $270M for Kuwait Oil Company

Jul 23, 2019 | New Indian Express

A United Nations panel that oversees compensation claims stemming from Iraq's 1990-1991 invasion of Kuwait says it has paid out $270 million to Kuwait's national…


Myanmar: More Than 45,000 People Affected by First Monsoon Flood

Jul 22, 2019 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

Flooding caused by the first monsoon of the season displaced more than 45,000 people, according to a statement issued by the United Nations Office for the…


Iraq: Water Crisis in Basra

Jul 22, 2019 | Human Rights Watch

Iraqi authorities have failed to ensure for almost 30 years that Basra residents have sufficient safe drinking water, resulting in on-going health concerns, Human Rights…


Iraq: Revenue from Oil Price Rise Will Fund Reconstruction in Iraq, Oil Officials Say

Jul 22, 2019 | Hiwa Shilani, Kurdistan 24

As oil prices in Iraq become more stable, the cost of crude has gradually risen to nearly $70 per barrel for the first time in…


Afghanistan: Three Land Grabbers Arrested in Logar

Jul 22, 2019 | Afghanistan Times

Afghan National Police in southern Logar province have arrested three land grabbers—a lucrative but black business where many powerful individuals have been involved in this…


Iraq: Iraq Races to Save Last of Middle East's Forests from Burning

Jul 22, 2019 | Peter Schwartzstein, National Geographic

Iraq is on fire, and Aram Ismail has no idea how to stanch the flames. As a 12-year veteran of the Iraqi Kurdish forest police,…


Inclusive Peace in Afghanistan Means ‘Women at the Centre’ Urges UN Deputy Chief in Kabul

Jul 21, 2019 | UN

The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts…


Timor-Leste: Oil and Gas Is Timor-Leste's Ticket to Prosperity. Is This Impoverished Nation Blowing Its One Chance?

Jul 21, 2019 | Anne Barker and Michael Barnett, ABC News

East Timor is almost wholly reliant on oil and gas for its revenue. But rather than pocket the royalties from offshore processing without spending a…


Colombia: Impact of Climate Change on Colombia’s Coffee Farmers

Jul 21, 2019 | Emily Sims, Speaker

The livelihoods of many small independent coffee farmers in Colombia are being threatened by climate change. These impacts are intensifying at a rate never seen…