International
Conflict Minerals: Can Blockchain Apps Ensure a Responsible Mineral Supply Chain?
Mar 22, 2019
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Jax Jacobsen, Forbes
Some entrepreneurs see blockchain-based systems as the way forward to ensure responsible sourcing. A new company based in Berlin is hoping to provide a solution. MineSpider,…
Liberia: Liberia’s New Land Rights Law Hailed as Victory, but Critics Say It’s Not Enough
Mar 22, 2019
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Jennifer O’Mahony, Mongabay
In September 2018, President George Weah signed the Land Rights Act into law. The law is ambitious and clearly asserts the right to what is…
Water: Dirty Water 20 Times Deadlier to Children in Conflict Zones Than Bullets – Unicef
Mar 22, 2019
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Kate Hodal, Guardian
Children under five who live in conflict zones are 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe water than from direct…
Sierra Leone: The Still-Unresolved Saga of Sierra Leone’s Peace Diamond
Mar 22, 2019
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Augusta Free Press
The Peace Diamond made headlines around the world as a symbol of hope in a place that sorely needs it. The reality so far hasn’t…
Myanmar: German Company Found Supplying Illegal Myanmar Teak to EU
Mar 22, 2019
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Nyein Nyein, Irrawaddy
The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) submitted evidence to German and European enforcement authorities showing serious repeated violations of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR)…
Water: The Himalayas Are Staring at a Grim Water Future, Says Study
Mar 22, 2019
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Mayank Aggarwal, Mongabay
Millions of people living in the Himalayan region of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal may face a grim water future if the rapid and unplanned…
From Service to Sick: The Effects of Veterans' Exposure to Burn Pits
Mar 21, 2019
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Ally Donnelly, NBC
Tens of thousands of veterans and service members stationed at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan say exposure to trash fires or “burn pits” has…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Russian Energy Cooperation with Iraqi Kurdistan Spurs Region's Development - Kurdish Party
Mar 21, 2019
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Zeeshan Aziz, UrduPoint
Russian energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom, which operate in oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan, play a major role in developing the autonomous region's economy and other sectors,…
Liberia: Government of Liberia to Train More Rural Women as Solar Energy Technicians
Mar 21, 2019
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FrontPage Africa
The Government of Liberia, in partnership with the Barefoot College of India, is planning to open a Vocational Training Center at the Grand Bassa Community…
Resource Scarcity: Water Scarcity Poses 'Fundamental Risk to Stability,' New Report Finds
Mar 21, 2019
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Teresa Welsh, Devex
Ensuring equal access to water is a key component to maintaining societal stability and preventing conflict in fragile states, according to a new report by the…
Iraq: Flooding in Southern Iraq Could Impact Majnoon Oil Output
Mar 21, 2019
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S&P Global Platts
Iraq's Basra Oil Company is hoping last-minute reinforcements to burst berms north of the 115,000 b/d Majnoon oil field will fend off increasing flood waters…
Liberia: More Concession Companies Contemplating Cutting Jobs as Economy Dwindles
Mar 20, 2019
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Lennart Dodoo, FrontPage Africa
Liberians, amid a collapsed economy, continue to work up each day to news of distress conditions of various companies many of which have decided to…
Conflict Minerals: EU Calls for Stronger Collaboration over Conflict Minerals
Mar 19, 2019
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Africa Intelligence
The European Commission is gearing up to launch an online platform for companies within the European Union (EU) to share methods...
Iraq/Islamic State: They Go to the Desert to Hunt for Truffles. But ISIS Is Hunting Them.
Mar 19, 2019
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Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times
Driven out of most of the territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has gone underground, its remaining fighters in Iraq carrying out sporadic…
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Hosts the Annual Environmental Law Training Symposium
Mar 19, 2019
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Emmanuel Necoechea, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton hosted the Environmental Law Training Symposium at the Pacific Views Event Center aboard MCB Camp Pendleton, California, on March…
Myanmar: Land Lost, Families Uprooted as Myanmar Pushes Industrial Zones
Mar 19, 2019
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Rina Chandran, Reuters
For developing nations like Myanmar - which emerged from decades of economic isolation in 2011 when the military stepped back from direct control - SEZs…
Myanmar: Controversial Land Law Threatens Myanmar Ethnic Communities
Mar 19, 2019
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John Zaw, Union of Catholic Asian News
Millions of people in Myanmar face the possibility of having no legal rights over their land if they do not meet a deadline for land claim applications. Permits…
Liberia: 800 Liberians to Lose Jobs at Firestone Plantation amid Major Economic Meltdown
Mar 19, 2019
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Lennart Dodoo, FrontPage Africa
The George Weah-led administration would be dealt a major blow amid the current economic turmoil as the biggest employer in the country’s private sector, Firestone…
Afghanistan: Afghans Battle with Flood Aftermath
Mar 18, 2019
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Stefanie Glinski, New Humanitarian
Besieged by months of drought and long-term conflict, rural communities in large swathes of Afghanistan are facing yet another emergency: widespread flooding that will leave…
Conflict Minerals: Blockchain Boosters Aim to Ease Tracking of Conflict Minerals
Mar 18, 2019
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Bloomberg Environment
Companies at risk of fueling war and human rights abuses when purchasing metals are exploring the use of blockchain to reduce the likelihood that unethically…
Israel/Palestine: Israel’s Exploitation of Palestinian Resources Is Human Rights Violation, Says UN Expert
Mar 18, 2019
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UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Israel’s exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for its own use is in direct violation of its legal responsibilities as an occupying…
Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan: Armed Conflict on Tajik-Kyrgyz Border Localized
Mar 18, 2019
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Victoria Panfilova, Vestnik Kavkaza
A conflict broke out on the border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan shortly before the informal summit of heads of Central Asian states. This is the…
Myanmar: Mandalay Compensates Farmers for Seized Land
Mar 18, 2019
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Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times
Farmers were paid on Wednesday for land seized by the Prisons Department when Mandalay Central Prison was built in Aung Myay Tharzan township, U Zaw…
Iraq: Water Woes Hit Henna Plant Farms in Iraq's Fao Peninsula
Mar 17, 2019
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Mohamed Atie and Aref Mohammed, Reuters
Local farmer says water shortages and ensuing use of salty water from a polluted river for irrigation has killed henna and palm trees.
China/South China Sea: Xi's South China Sea 'Fishermen' Risk Hooking US into Conflict
Mar 16, 2019
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Chris Horton and Cliff Venzon, Nikkei
The chances of an armed clash in the South China Sea appear to be rising fast, even as China paints a picture of regional harmony…
Iraq/Syria: Mystery Spill at Mosul Lake: Analyzing Potential Causes of Pollution
Mar 15, 2019
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Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat
During the monitoring of the ongoing situation in Syria and Iraq via open-access satellite imagery, a curious situation presented itself in early January at the…
Myanmar: Land Confiscation Is Latest Barrier to Return for Myanmar’s Displaced
Mar 15, 2019
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Peter Yeung, News Deeply
After being forced to flee Myanmar, Rohingya refugees face yet another threat to their livelihoods following a controversial amendment to Myanmar’s land-ownership law that came…
South Sudan: WFP Warns Conflict Is Worsening Food Insecurity in South Sudan
Mar 15, 2019
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Xinhua
Simon Cammelbeeck, WFP acting country director in South Sudan, told journalists that the ongoing fighting in the country’s bread basket region of Yei has already…
Myanmar: Myanmar Land Reform: Calls for New Law to Be Scrapped [Video]
Mar 14, 2019
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Alexi O'Brien, Al Jazeera
Rights groups are calling on Myanmar's government to scrap a new land reform law they fear could leave millions of people with nowhere to call…
Climate Change: Key Democrat Has 'Considerable Doubt' about Military Readiness
Mar 14, 2019
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Courtney Columbus, E&E News
Hurricanes and wildfires caused extensive damage in 2018, and defense installations weren't spared, lawmakers and experts agreed yesterday during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing…