International
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kirkuk Oil Smuggling Ring Exposed, Pro-Iran Militia Blocks Investigation: Police
Mar 10, 2018
|
Mewan Dolamari, Kurdistan 24
Pressure from Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militia leaders shut down an investigation in Kirkuk province of oil being smuggled from Iraq to Iran, said a police…
Myanmar: Signs of Hydropower Project’s Return Spark Fears in Shan
Mar 9, 2018
|
Naw Betty Han, Myanmar Times
Residents in the vicinity of the proposed Mong Ton Hydropower Project in Shan State have expressed alarm about the possible resumption of scheme following the…
Myanmar: Drinking Water Quality Standards out This Year
Mar 9, 2018
|
Myint Kay Thi, Myanmar Times
The government will issue national drinking water quality standards this year, the Occupational and Environmental Health Division (OEHD) announced on Thursday. Dr Kay Khine Aye, deputy…
Liberia: Demarcation Sparks Violence In Gola Forest National Park
Mar 9, 2018
|
FrontPage Africa
The December 2016 Act establishing the Gola Forest National Park clearly states government and citizens’ mutual responsibilities in the management of the natural reserve. “If…
Timor-Leste: How Australia-East Timor Treaty Unlocks US$65 Billion Gas Fields
Mar 8, 2018
|
Reuters
East Timor and Australia this week signed a treaty at the United Nations setting their maritime boundary for the first time, and striking a deal…
South Sudan: Dinka-Ngok, Misseriya Sign Peace Accord in Abyei
Mar 8, 2018
|
Dabanga
Representatives of the Dinka Ngok and Misseriya tribes have signed a community peace agreement for peaceful coexistence on Monday. More than 150 delegates from both…
Liberia: Weah Warned Against Cruel Land Reform
Mar 7, 2018
|
P. Nas Mulbah, New Democrat
Enacting the Land Rights Bill, which has been severely altered against the interest of poor forest dwellers would no doubt undermine Liberia’s peace, security, economic…
Liberia: Dowry and Women’s Land Rights in Liberia: A “Double-Edged Sword” for Women
Mar 7, 2018
|
Justine Uvuza, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Dowry is a double-edged sword. Research indicates that, on one side of the sword, it can afford a woman social status from both her biological…
Myanmar: Erosion Prevention Work under Way along Banks of Ayeyarwady River
Mar 7, 2018
|
Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times
To solve the problem with erosion of the banks of the Ayeyarwady River, the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems is carrying…
Myanmar: Villages Brace for Water Shortages This Summer
Mar 7, 2018
|
Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times
As summer sets in, hundreds of villages throughout the country are likely to face water shortages in the coming months, warned the water supply and sanitation…
Timor-Leste: Treaty Confirms Australia Profited from Timor-Leste Oil and Gas, Rights Groups Say
Mar 7, 2018
|
Helen Davidson and Christopher Knaus, Guardian
Australia has received billions of dollars in revenue from contested oil and gas fields which a new border treaty officially confirms belonged to Timor-Leste, civil…
Colombia: La Secreta’s Honey, a Sweet Product of a More Peaceful Colombia
Mar 6, 2018
|
Latin American Herald Tribune
In the foothills of northern Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, farmers who were displaced by violence have started remaking their lives with a…
Colombia: European Space Agency to Help Colombia Monitor Deforestation
Mar 6, 2018
|
Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports
The European Space Agency (ESA) will help Colombia monitor the ongoing deforestation of the country’s Amazon forest, the South American country announced on Tuesday. With…
Timor-Leste: Australia and Timor-Leste Sign Historic Maritime Border Treaty
Mar 6, 2018
|
Helen Davidson, Guardian
Australia and Timor-Leste have a permanent maritime border for the first time after the signing of a significant and unprecedented treaty in New York on…
Iraq: Iraq Parliament Votes to Create National Oil Company - Lawmakers
Mar 5, 2018
|
Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
Iraq’s parliament voted on Monday to establish a new National Oil Company to manage its energy sector, lawmakers told Reuters. The new company will serve…
South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Money Corruptly Funds Civil War, Say Reports
Mar 5, 2018
|
Sam Mednick, Associated Press
South Sudan’s state-owned oil company has been “captured by predatory elites” and is being used to fund the country’s civil war, including a government-aligned militia…
Climate Change/Food Security: Hunger Rates Remain High amid Conflict, Climate Shocks, Warns UN Food Security Report
Mar 5, 2018
|
UN
Increased hunger and food insecurity, fuelled by conflict and climatic challenges, continues to inflict suffering on populations in different parts of the world, forcing them…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Russia's Rosneft Holds Key to Fixing Iraqi Kurdistan Oil Flows: Sources
Mar 5, 2018
|
Ahmed Aboulenein and Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters
Russian state oil company Rosneft has emerged with an important role in talks between Iraq’s government and Iraqi Kurdistan on resuming full oil exports from…
Afghanistan: Helmand Farmers Cultivating Poppies Year Round
Mar 5, 2018
|
Abdullah Hamim, TOLOnews
Farmers in southern Helmand province said Sunday that they were given modified poppy seeds two years ago which now enables them to cultivate the plants year…
Afghanistan: Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Helmand to Get 450 Pistachio Fields in Alternative for Opium
Mar 4, 2018
|
Khaama Press
The southern Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Helmand provinces will get new pistachio fields as efforts are underway to create an alternative for the Afghan farmers who…
Myanmar: Agricultural Sector Contributes to 30 pc of GDP
Mar 4, 2018
|
Myo Min Htet, Eleven
The socio-economic status of most farmers remains low even though the agricultural sector accounts for about 30 per cent of the GDP, President U Htin…
Iraq: Iraq’s Chronic Water Crisis Won’t be Fixed by Rain Gods
Mar 4, 2018
|
Arab Weekly
Prolonged drought conditions left Iraq dealing with a water crisis, which was interrupted by heavy rainfall in late February. Overjoyed spectators argued that water reserves,…
Afghanistan: Ministry Moves to Start Mining Hajigak
Mar 4, 2018
|
Zabihullah Jahanmal, TOLOnews
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) has started tackling issues around Hajigak iron ore mine which has been standing idle despite the awarding of a contract six years ago. At…
Afghanistan: Average Rainfall down by 30% in Afghanistan
Mar 3, 2018
|
Tamim Hamid, TOLONews
The Afghanistan Meteorological Department says the average rainfall across the country this year is 30 percent down against previous years. Although showers are expected through…
South Sudan: A Lack of Food Prolongs Conflict in South Sudan
Mar 2, 2018
|
Finn Church Aid
In South Sudan, the price of food claims people’s lives as well as guns. Hunger staggers society, with people only focused on where to get…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Budget Commits KRG to Returning Revenue of Kirkuk Oil Sales
Mar 2, 2018
|
NRT
Iraqi federal budget for the fiscal year 2018 commits the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to returning the revenue of Kirkuk oil sales between 2014 and…
Myanmar: Teak Plantation Harvests Planned
Mar 2, 2018
|
IHB
News is circulating that the Forest Department in Myanmar is planning to allow harvesting of some mature (over 30-year-old) commercial teak plantations to partially compensate…
Myanmar: European Union Urges Myanmar to Act against Illegal Wildlife Trade
Mar 2, 2018
|
Aye Sapay Phyu, Myanmar Times
The European Union (EU) has urged the government to take urgent action to end the illegal wildlife trade in domestic and border markets. The EU…
Afghanistan: How Greenhouses Are Warming Afghanistan up to Peace
Mar 1, 2018
|
Nick Fouriezos, OZY
The opium capital of the world — Afghanistan produces some 70 percent of the global supply — sees many farmers like Hadi choose to start…
Climate Change: Military Site Faces 'Shocking' Risk of Being Swamped
Mar 1, 2018
|
Scott Waldman, E&E News
A multibillion-dollar military installation in the Pacific that has provided key testing for the U.S. defense against a possible North Korean nuclear strike could become…