International
Liberia: Land Rights Act Passed
Aug 27, 2018
|
J. Burgess Carter, Observer
Following years of open hearings, debates, committee reports, and conference committee work, the Senate at its 54th day sitting last Thursday, unanimously voted to concur…
Iraq: Iraq Restores Part of Largest Oil Refinery after 4-Year Hiatus
Aug 27, 2018
|
Xinhua
Iraq has rehabilitated part of its largest oil refinery located in Baiji of the country's central province of Salahudin after it was sabotaged in fierce…
Iraq: Oil-Rich Basra Threatens Vote to Pull Away from Iraq
Aug 27, 2018
|
Gilgamesh Nabeel and Tamara Emad, Washington Times
Protesters poured into the streets and picketed oil fields in southern Iraq amid growing discontent over the government’s failure to combat unemployment, provide drinkable water…
Myanmar: Over 13,000 Tonnes of Illegal Timber Seized in Four Months
Aug 27, 2018
|
Hsan Htoo Aung, Eleven
From April to July of this fiscal year, the government could seize 13183.2095 tonnes of illegal timber, according to the figures released by Forest Department.…
South Sudan: South Sudan Resumes Pumping 20,000 bpd from Oil Field Suspended Since 2013 - Sudan
Aug 26, 2018
|
Reuters
South Sudan has resumed pumping 20,000 bpd of crude from Toma South oil field, where production had been suspended since 2013, the Sudanese oil minister…
Myanmar: Myanmar Returns Confiscated Land to Farmers in Central Region
Aug 26, 2018
|
Xinhua
The Myanmar government has returned over 481.92 acres (195 hectares) of farmland confiscated by the Ministry of Defense to 123 farmers in Toungoo, Bago region,…
Liberia: Senate Passes Land Rights Act
Aug 25, 2018
|
Ida Reeves, Bush Chicken
The Liberian Senate has finally concurred with the House of Representatives to pass the Land Rights Act. If signed into law by President George Weah,…
Iraq: Iraqi Protest against Unsafe Water in Basra [Video]
Aug 25, 2018
|
Osama Bin Javaid, Al Jazeera
People have been protesting in the Iraqi city of Basra after hundreds fell ill after drinking contaminated water. Iraq's government is investigating what caused this…
South Sudan: Production to Restart at South Sudan Oilfields
Aug 25, 2018
|
Africa Oil & Power
Intensive preparations for oil production resumption will culminate on August 25 at Toma South, South Sudan, with the relaunch of production from blocks 1, 2…
Land: Rise of Agri-Cartel: Control of Land Drives Human Rights Violations, Environmental Destruction
Aug 24, 2018
|
Sonya Swink, Globe Post
Control of land for crops that sustain the world’s largest food businesses, such as Ferrero and Nestle, is the driving force behind the destruction of…
Myanmar: Water Project Offers Hope to Farmers in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone
Aug 23, 2018
|
Evan Erickson, Mizzima
While the Dry Zone farmers of today are using techniques and working alongside irrigation schemes that are ancient in origin, the historical and climatic contexts…
Myanmar: Jade, Drugs and GDP
Aug 23, 2018
|
Thiha Saw, Myanmar Times
Myanmar boasts of possessing precious natural resources including those that are mined, legally or otherwise, and one of these resources is jade. But there is an…
DRC: Miners Establish Industry Body to Engage DRC Govt on Mining Code, Industry Issues
Aug 23, 2018
|
Marleny Arnoldi, Mining Weekly
Mining companies active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have established a new industry body, the Mining Promotion Initiative (MPI), to engage with government…
Conflict Minerals: Blood, Sweat, and Batteries
Aug 23, 2018
|
Vivienne Walt and Sebastian Meyer, Fortune
That soaring appetite for cobalt is a product of today’s device-driven tech economy: The metal is a key component in the lithium-ion batteries that power…
Kuwait: Kuwait Aims to Settle Oil Field Disputes with Iraq, Saudi Arabia in Coming Weeks
Aug 22, 2018
|
Herman Wang, S&P GLobal
Kuwaiti oil minister Bakheet al-Rashidi said Wednesday he expects to resolve two long-standing oil field disputes involving neighbors Iraq and Saudi in the coming weeks.…
Afghanistan: Water Shortages Weigh Heavy on Afghanistan
Aug 22, 2018
|
Ezzatullah Mehrdad, Global Voices
Landlocked Afghanistan wasn't always short of water. Historically the valleys in this part of Asia were agricultural heartlands that hosted rushing rivers fed by abundant…
Colombia: Colombia to Consider Aiding Struggling Coffee Farmers
Aug 22, 2018
|
Reuters
The Colombian government is examining possible help for coffee farmers hit by low international prices, the agriculture minister said on Wednesday, after repeated requests for…
Colombia: Drones Are Being Enlisted to Tackle Colombia’s Cocaine Farms
Aug 22, 2018
|
Malek Murison, Drone Life
We’re not quite at the stage at which drones are taking an active role in day to day agriculture. Despite hardware releases from DJI and…
Myanmar: Myanmar Comes in 2nd on List of Countries Most Prone to Water-Related Disasters
Aug 21, 2018
|
May Thin Kyi, Eleven
Myanmar is ranked 2nd on the list of countries with the highest amount of dangers caused by water, said Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein, Secretary…
Conflict Minerals: Blockchain Firms See Growing Opportunity in Ethical Materials
Aug 21, 2018
|
Jason Deign, Green Tech Media
Blockchain firms are racing to create ethical sourcing platforms for cobalt amid growing concerns over mining conditions in the lithium-ion battery supply chain. This month,…
South Sudan: Bucknell Researcher Reveals the Biological Treasures of a Conflict Zone
Aug 21, 2018
|
Matt Hughes, Bucknell University
DeeAnn Reeder is one of the few animal researchers to have ever worked in South Sudan, where longstanding civil conflict has recently flared up again.…
Afghanistan: Worst Drought in Decades Grips Two-Thirds of Afghanistan [Video]
Aug 20, 2018
|
Charlotte Bellis, Al Jazeera
Afghanistan is experiencing a drought so severe that two million people may run out of food in the next six months. More than 80,000 people…
Afghanistan/India/Iran/Pakistan: India’s Controversial Afghanistan Dams
Aug 20, 2018
|
Sudha Ramachandran, The Diplomat
India is expected to begin work on the $236 million Shahtoot Dam project on the Kabul River in Afghanistan in the coming weeks. Scheduled to…
Africa: Intolerance, Inequalities and the Land Issue - Major Threats to Peace in Africa
Aug 20, 2018
|
Colleta Dewa, Southern Times
Leaders from across the African continent, who gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the African Leaders of Peace Summit last week said the continent needs…
Afghanistan: TAPI Plagued by Land Acquisition Problems
Aug 18, 2018
|
Zabihullah Jahanmal, TOLOnews
Officials of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project in the country said so far they have completed 45 percent of the land acquisition process of…
DRC: Taking Traceable Conflict-Free Gold from DR Congo to International Markets
Aug 18, 2018
|
UN Environment
While DR Congo’s annual artisanal gold production is estimated to stand at between eight to ten tons, official statistics show that only 200 kg of…
Liberia: Ganta Mayor Embarks on Surveying Public Lands
Aug 17, 2018
|
Joaquin M. Sendolo, Daily Observer
As the commercial city of Ganta, in Nimba County, expands and more people begin to seek settlement there, the Mayor, Amos N.G. Suah, has begun…
Iraq: BP and PetroChina Set to Rake in Billions Developing Iraq's Super-Massive Rumaila Oil Field
Aug 17, 2018
|
Callum Turcan, Seeking Alpha
Located in 1953 by BP plc (NYSE:BP), back when BP was British Petroleum, the Rumaila oil field in Iraq is truly massive. It is expected…
Colombia: Govt Rushes to Save National Park from Rampant Deforestation
Aug 16, 2018
|
Maria Fernanda Lizcano, Mongabay
“Territories are like books: they can be in front of you, but if you do not read them you will never understand them,” said Juan…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Oil Ministry Bans Kurdish Language in Documents
Aug 16, 2018
|
Irina Slav, Oil Price
The Iraqi Oil Ministry has banned the use of Kurdish words in official documents, threatening Kurdish employees with lawsuits if they violate the ban, Kurdish…