International


Liberia: EJS Authorized US$500K Bonus Payments, NOCAL Board Minutes Reveals

Jun 5, 2018 | Rodney Sieh, FrontPageAfrica

Board resolution minutes of the National Oil Company of Liberia dated April 27, 2013 obtained by FrontPageAfrica suggest that former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf gave the…


Myanmar: More Than Just Pollution Concerns at Htein Bin Dump

Jun 5, 2018 | Kyaw Ye Lynn, Frontier

A fire that burned for weeks at a massive garbage dump on Yangon’s outskirts and polluted the atmosphere of several townships with foul-smelling smoke has…


Colombia: Protecting Birds through War and Peace: Our Newest Partner, Colombia

Jun 4, 2018 | Alex Dale, BirdLife International

In Colombia, connections are everything. Especially when you’re working in some of the world’s most isolated regions. The unique animals that inhabit this richly biodiverse…


FAO Supports Communities to Monitor Benefits from Commercial Logging

Jun 4, 2018 | Judoemue Kollie, Observer

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) recently signed an agreement valued at over US$80,000 with the National Union of Community…


Afghanistan: A Fragrance Founded to End Conflict Lands a Coveted Deal with Sephora

Jun 4, 2018 | Anne Quito, Quartz

Do perfume and politics mix? 7 Virtues Peace perfumes, a line of fragrances introduced at Sephora’s US stores last week, aspires to help end global…


Afghanistan: MoMP Wraps up Assessment of Mes Aynak Contract

Jun 3, 2018 | Zabihullah Jahanmal, TOLOnews

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) on Sunday said it has wrapped up their assessment of a list of demands by a Chinese contractor…


Israel/Palestine: Israel's Top Court Hears Petitions sgainst West Bank Land-Grab Law

Jun 3, 2018 | Yotam Berger, Haaretz

A High Court panel is hearing petitions Sunday filed by a number of left-wing organizations and Palestinian municipalities in the West Bank against a new…


Myanmar’s Jade-Fueled War

Jun 1, 2018 | Daniel Combs, Diplomat

The remote mountains of Kachin state, in Myanmar’s far north, hold the world’s only steady supply of high quality jadeite. The vast majority of Myanmar’s…


Colombia: Opposition to Colombia’s Largest Dam Project Defends the Land, Water and Life

May 31, 2018 | Zoe PC, The Dawn News

The Hidroituango hydroelectric dam project on the Cauca river in the northwest of Antioquia is the largest infrastructure project ever built in Colombia, and is…


Liberia: 18 Ordered to Pay Back ‘Benefits’ from Oil Block LB13 Deal

May 30, 2018 | Leroy M. Sonpon, III, Observer

The five-member Special Presidential Committee (SPC) constituted to examine the scandal allegations during the negotiation of the concession agreement between ExxonMobil and the Liberian Government…


India: Water Wars in India's Hillside Getaway Shimla as Taps Run Dry

May 30, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

Indian police on Wednesday were forced to escort water tankers through the streets of Shimla as an unprecedented shortage sparked brawls and desperation in the…


Colombia: Expectations for Colombian Coffee Production This Year Lowered to 14.2 Million Bags amid Heavy Rains

May 30, 2018 | Jared Wade, Finance Colombia

Colombia is expected to produce 14.2 million bags of coffee in the current season, a decline of around half a million bags from previous estimates,…


Afghanistan: Flood and Drought: Extra Burdens on the Shoulders of Afghan Citizens

May 30, 2018 | Moh. Sakhi Rezaie, Daily Outlook Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the countries that is highly prone to a number of natural disasters like earthquakes, flooding, drought, landslides, and avalanches & man-made…


Colombia: Colombia Hidroituango Dam: 'The River Took my House'

May 30, 2018 | Nicolas Bedoya and Pablo Cuellar, BBC

Puerto Valdivia is just one of the communities affected by a series of emergencies which have hit Colombia's largest hydroelectric dam project, Hidroituango. Tens of…


Sierra Leone: Mines Minister Visits Mining Companies in Kono

May 29, 2018 | Saidu Bah, Awoko

The Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Morie Manyeh, between the 25 to 27 May 2018, went on a familiarisation visit to mining and exploration…


Liberia: Liberia Losing Gold, Diamond Revenue to Sierra Leone and Guinea

May 29, 2018 | FrontPage Africa

Liberia is said to be losing a huge quantity of gold and diamond daily to Guinea and Sierra Leone due to the high export tax…


Afghanistan: Afghan Essential Oils in Demand by Foreign Perfume Industry

May 28, 2018 | TOLOnews

An Afghan company recently started exporting essential oils made from rose petals and orange blossoms for the foreign perfume industry.  The export company said the…


Liberia: In Buchanan, Grand Bassa: Storage Facility for Artisanal Fish Farmers Dedicated

May 28, 2018 | New Dawn

The storage facility, which has several compartments for the cold storing of fishery products, was constructed by the National Fish Farmers Union of Liberia (NAFUL)…


Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone War Criminal to Go Free after Ending Jail Term

May 28, 2018 | Channel News Asia

An ex-Sierra Leone militia leader was to walk free on Monday (May 28) after serving a 15-year sentence, the first to complete a term imposed for…


South Sudan: Oil-Mudslides Flooding South Sudan

May 28, 2018 | Terry Swartzberg, ViaNews

Triggerd by an oil spill and subsequent heavy rainfall, waves of oil and contaminants-soaked mud are rolling over South Sudanese villages and farmlands, reports the…


Afghanistan: Drought Adds to Woes of Afghanistan, in Grips of a Raging War

May 27, 2018 | Mujib Mashal, New York Times

Afghanistan, already torn by decades of intensifying violence, is grappling with a drought in two-thirds of the country that could lead to severe food shortages…


Myanmar: Kachin State Government, China Chasing Chinese Timber Smugglers

May 25, 2018 | Chan Thar, Myanmar Times

The Kachin State government is cooperating with Chinese authorities to arrest Chinese timber smugglers who stole some 2000 tonnes of seized timber in Hsawlaw township,…


Myanmar: US House Backs Measures to Sanction Myanmar's Military, Nudge Gem Sector Reform

May 25, 2018 | Zsombor Peter, Irrawaddy

The US House of Representatives has approved measures that call for targeted sanctions against more of Myanmar’s military leaders over human rights abuses in Rakhine…


Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone President to Push Review of Mining Law, Contracts

May 25, 2018 | Cooper Inveen, Reuters

Sierra Leone’s new president will follow through with campaign promises to review mining contracts and consider changes to the law that would ensure the West…


Myanmar: The Journey of the Blood Jade

May 25, 2018 | Lae Phyu Pya Myo Myint, Myanmar Times

“Journey of The Blood Jade”, a photo exhibition held on 16 to 18 May at The Yangon Gallery aimed to show just how bloody the…


Myanmar: License Renewals for Gem Blocks Suspended until New Law Stipulated, but Small-Scale Work Permitted

May 24, 2018 | Chan Mya Htwe and Khin Su Wai , Myanmar Times

More than 8,000 acres of jade and gem blocks backed by the State are expected to remain active until 2021, said U Aung Nyunt Thein,…


Afghanistan: Illegal Coal Mining on the Rise, Says Watchdog

May 24, 2018 | Mir Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews

Integrity Watch Afghanistan has said the practice of illegal coal mining is steadily increasing, despite government’s decision to close mines because of the problem. Meanwhile,…


Colombia: Colombian Rural Peace 3: Indigenous Communities Influence Territorial Development Plans

May 24, 2018 | ICCO Cooperation

In January, ICCO was assigned a new project in Colombia called ‘Rural Peace’ by the European Union. Last month, Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs Stef…


Liberia: ‘Mandingos’ Sue Liberian Government for US$500 Million at ECOWAS Court

May 24, 2018 | Lennart Dodoo, FrontPage Africa

Before the Community Court of Justice of the Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) is a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Mandingos in…


Ertharin Cousin Talks Food Insecurity, Conflict and Climate Change

May 23, 2018 | Holden Foreman, Stanford Daily

After a year as the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), food security trailblazer Ertharin Cousin gave one last…