International


Iraq: Iran-Backed Groups Corner Iraq's Postwar Scrap Metal Market - Sources

Feb 13, 2019 | John Davison, Reuters

The wrecks of vehicles used by Islamic State militants as car bombs and other metal debris left by the war in Iraq are now helping…


Iraq: Can Iraq Beat the Drought and Become the Breadbasket of the Middle East Again?

Feb 13, 2019 | Kieran Cooke, Middle East Eye

The area of land in the south of Iraq between the mighty Tigris and Euphrates rivers is drying up. Yet amid this environmental meltdown, Azzam…


Myanmar: 23 Aceh Fishermen Detained in Myanmar for Alleged Poaching

Feb 13, 2019 | Antara

The Myanmar authorities again detained 23 Aceh fishermen on February 6, 2019, for alleged poaching in Myanmar waters, according to Miftachhuddin Cut Adek, deputy secretary…


Afghanistan: Afghan Women Are ‘Not Willing to Give up Their Rights’

Feb 13, 2019 | Elias Groll and Lara Seligman, Foreign Policy

American diplomats have been racing to seal a peace deal with the Taliban that would end the longest war in U.S. history—and decades of civil…


Climate Change: Climate Change Seen as Top Threat in 13 Countries

Feb 13, 2019 | Ines Kagubare, E&E News

Climate change beats out terrorism and cyberattacks as the top security worry in more than a dozen countries, according to a survey published Sunday by…


Myanmar: ‘Our Land Is Collapsing around Us’: Ayeyarwady at Risk from Rampant Sand Mining

Feb 13, 2019 | Hein Ko Soe and Clare Hammond, Frontier

Since 2010, a construction boom in Myanmar has fuelled sharp growth in the extraction of sand from the Ayeyarwady that is then used in cement…


Myanmar: Illegal Teak Timbers Seized in Myanmar's Yangon Region

Feb 11, 2019 | Xinhua

Myanmar authorities have seized six tons of illegally harvested teak timbers in Taikkyi, Yangon region, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Monday. According…


Iraq: Iraq's PM Says Solving Water Pollution Prioritized for Iraq

Feb 11, 2019 | Xinhua

Prime Minister of Iraq Adel Abdul Mahdi on Sunday said that solving river water pollution issue is a priority for the new government, calling on…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: With Kabul River Flows Controversy

Feb 10, 2019 | Zofeen T. Ebrahim, The News on Sunday

With tremendous hydropower potential in the upper reaches of the Kabul River Basin and agricultural potential further down, Asadullah Meelad, a lawyer at Afghanistan’s ministry…


Myanmar: Some 10,000 Kachin Protest in Myitkyina against China’s Mega Dam

Feb 8, 2019 | AsiaNews

About 10,000 people in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state staged a massive rally Thursday to protest against the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam, a project to be…


Myanmar: Parliament Passes Gemstone Bill amid Criticism

Feb 8, 2019 | Thompson Chau, Myanmar Times

Myanmar’s parliament has passed a controversial bill governing the gemstone sector, paving the way to restart the licensing of mining companies after a two-year moratorium.…


Colomba: In Colombia, Where Gold Mining and Coca Farming Are a Toxic Mix

Feb 8, 2019 | Alfredo Molano Jimeno, WorldCrunch

The district of Timbiquí in western Colombia is practically under siege. Located in the Valle del Cauca department, it has become a magnet for gold…


DRC: DRC’s New President an ‘Unknown Factor’ as Far as Mining Is Concerned

Feb 8, 2019 | Rebecca Campbell, Mining Weekly

Félix Tshisekedi’s inauguration on January 24 marked the first peaceful transition of power in the DRC for 60 years. As far as the mining industry…


Liberia: The Potentials of Wonegizi as a Protected Area

Feb 8, 2019 | John T. Woods, Daily Observer

The Potentials of Wonegizi as a Protected Area (PA) in the development of the communities, districts and Lofa County is in the process of gazettement.…


Empowering Sudan’s women and promoting peace through equitable use of natural resources

Feb 7, 2019 | Relief Web

Many parts of Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions are low-rainfall and drought-prone agro-pastoral areas. The resulting water scarcity and poor vegetation fosters low agricultural productivity…


Iraq: UN: Clearing Iraq's Mosul From Explosives to Take Decades

Feb 7, 2019 | Lisa Schlein, Voice of America

The U.N. Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimates it could take 10 years to clear Mosul, Iraq, of landmines and decades longer to free this former…


Liberia: To Successfully Implement Land Rights Act, Stakeholders Want Unified Messaging

Feb 7, 2019 | Gbatemah Senah, Bush Chicken

Last year, Liberia scored a milestone achievement by adopting its first, ever Land Rights Act that recognizes community land ownership. At the time, international organizations…


Myanmar: One Year On, No Response on Myitsone Impact Assessment

Feb 6, 2019 | Htet Naing Zaw, Irrawaddy

The commission tasked with evaluating hydropower projects on Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River—including the Myitsone Dam in Kachin State—submitted its assessment to the President’s Office more than…


Bangladesh: Elephants Face 'Time Bomb' in Bangladesh Land Clash with Rohingya Refugees

Feb 6, 2019 | Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters

After about 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar into Bangladesh 18 months ago and set up camp, they realized they were not only at risk from monsoons…


Iraq: Iraq's Dying Rivers [Video]

Feb 6, 2019 | Omayma Naklah and Mohammad Rahahleh, Al Jazeera

For thousands of years, two famous rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, made Iraq one of the most fertile regions in the Middle East. Often called…


Land-Mine Detection Project Earns First Place at Create the Future Contest

Feb 6, 2019 | Binghamton University

Jasper Baur and William Frazer, students at Binghamton University, State University of New York, won first place in the aerospace and defense category at the…


Colombia: ‘Land Was a War Booty’: Colombia Confronts a Legacy of Mass Displacement

Feb 5, 2019 | Mariana Palau, World Politics Review

The sun was sitting low in the sky when Luis Izquierdo noticed the group of armed men walking onto his family’s farm in this town…


Afghanistan: From Snow Leopards to Soldiers: Conservation in a War-torn Land

Feb 5, 2019 | Virginia Gewin, Revelator

In 2006 Alex Dehgan, then the newly hired Afghanistan country director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, was given a daunting task: to strengthen biodiversity conservation…


Colombia: The Wetlands of Rio Magdalena under Threat [Video]

Feb 5, 2019 | Deutsche Welle

In the rainy season, the Rio Magdalena in Colombia creates a vast area of wetlands. But now its flood plains are threatened by climate change,…


Colombia: Colombia - The Wetlands of Rio Magdalena under Threat [Video]

Feb 4, 2019 | Deutsche Welle

In the rainy season, the Rio Magdalena in Colombia creates a vast area of wetlands. But now its flood plains are threatened by climate change,…


South Sudan: South Sudan Gives China 10,000 Barrels of Crude per Day for Roads Construction

Feb 4, 2019 | Ojwe Lumara, Gurtong

The Government of South Sudan has approved allocation of 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day to China Exim Bank for the construction of roads.…


Myanmar: Myanmar's Opium Farmers Cling on to Lucrative Crop [Photos]

Feb 4, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Fields of purple opium poppy stretch across the pastures and peaks of mountainous eastern Myanmar, with many farmers reluctant to give up the profitable cash…


Myanmar: On Track to Meet Yangon’s Growing Water Needs

Feb 4, 2019 | Yee Ywal Myint, Myanmar Times

With the hot season not far away, water shortages are set to become a problem again in many parts of Yangon. Besides Yangon, many other…


Afghanistan: BAZAR: Afghanistan’s EITI Membership Suspended [Video]

Feb 3, 2019 | TOLOnews

Integrity Watch Afghanistan raised concern over Afghanistan’s suspension as a member of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and said this move will have a negative…


Liberia: NGO Coalition Calls on the Gov’t to Investigate ‘Illegal logging, Consistent Noncompliance by Delta Timber Company in Sinoe’

Feb 3, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

The NGO Coalition of Liberia (NCL) is calling on the Liberian government to investigate allegations of illegal logging and consistent non-compliance to the social agreement…