International
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqis Seize Military Base, Oil Field from Kurdish Forces near Contested Kirkuk
Oct 16, 2017
|
Loveday Morris and Mustafa Salim, Washington Post
Iraqi forces said Monday they seized a military base, an oil field and other key infrastructure from Kurdish soldiers near the northern city of Kirkuk,…
Afghanistan/Pakistan: A River Runs through It: Scientific Border Tales from Afghanistan and Pakistan
Oct 16, 2017
|
Jason Porter and Callie Raulfs-Wang, USAID
Like many sources of water all over the world, the Kabul River and its tributaries are at the center of a looming crisis—a limited supply…
Myanmar: More Than 500 Tonnes of Timber Seized in Sagaing
Oct 15, 2017
|
Eleven
The Forest Department under Sagaing regional Ministry of Environmental Conservation said it seized 558.361 tonnes of illegal timber and arrested 79 suspects in late September. …
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Forces Launch Operation for Kurdish-Held Oil Fields, Military Base
Oct 15, 2017
|
Washington Post
Clashes broke out early Monday as Iraqi forces moved to recapture Kurdish-held oil fields and a military base near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk,…
South Sudan: South Sudan Denies Oil Pollution Effects
Oct 14, 2017
|
APA News
South Sudan’s undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum has on Saturday denied reports of deaths due to environmental pollution caused by oil exploration.In August last…
South Sudan: USAID Launches New Sustainable Agriculture Program in S. Sudan
Oct 14, 2017
|
Sudan Tribune
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a three-year Sustainable Agriculture for Economic Resiliency project in war-torn South Sudan. The program, it…
Myanmar: Myanmar Takes Another Step to Join EU-Led Forest Protection Agreement
Oct 13, 2017
|
Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times
Myanmar has taken another step to join a EU-led agreement to combat illegal logging and forest management, which will eventually help ease timber exports to the…
Afghanistan: Herat: Saffron Price Goes 90pc up in Recent Years
Oct 12, 2017
|
Pajhwok Afghan News
“Fifteen years back, I exported five kilograms of saffron to Iran but no one bought it there, so I brought it back to Herat, I…
Food Security: Relief Aid is Saving Lives, but World Must Tackle Root Cause of Famine: Conflict – UN Chief
Oct 12, 2017
|
UN
Until fighting stops and development takes root, communities and entire regions will continue to face hunger, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council…
Afghanistan: 85pc of Drinking Water in 10 Provinces Contains E. Coli
Oct 11, 2017
|
Zarghona Salehai, Pajhwok Afghan News
Drinking water in 10 provinces of the country is 85 percent polluted with the E. coli bacteria, according to a survey calling for serious steps,…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Plan to Fix Oil Pipeline to Turkey Bypasses, Isolates Kurds
Oct 11, 2017
|
Khalid Al Ansary and Mohammed Sergie, Bloomberg
Iraq’s oil minister ordered urgent repairs to a disused pipeline from northern fields to a Turkish port, a step that could eliminate the central government’s need…
South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Conference Fails to Draw Biggest Energy Firms
Oct 11, 2017
|
Maggie Fick, Reuters
South Sudan’s president was a no-show for the nation’s first international oil conference, a gathering that also failed to attract prospective investors from the biggest…
Myanmar: DVB Documentary Sheds Light on High Profile Land Dispute, Corruption
Oct 11, 2017
|
Nyo Me, Myanmar Times
A new documentary produced by the Democratic Voice of Burma(DVB), looks at the lasting legacy military land grabs have on business and bureaucracy in Myanmar.…
DRC: Congolese Block Export of Raw Metals to China
Oct 11, 2017
|
William Clowes, Business Live
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has ordered Sinohydro and China Railway Construction’s local mining venture to stop exporting unprocessed copper and cobalt and to…
Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste Open to Investment in Oil, Gas, Tourism, Agriculture and Fisheries, Says Ambassador
Oct 11, 2017
|
Business Advantage PNG
With its longstanding dispute with Australia over the Timor Sea resolved, neighbouring Timor-Leste looks set to expand its petroleum and mineral industries. Meanwhile, its government…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq to Reopen Oil Pipeline to Turkey, Bypassing One in Kurdistan
Oct 11, 2017
|
Reuters
Iraq will reopen an old crude oil pipeline to Turkey which bypasses one operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the oil ministry said in…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi VP Warns of 'Civil War' over Kurdish-Held Kirkuk
Oct 9, 2017
|
Associated Press
Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi warned on Monday there could be a "civil war" over the Kurdish-administered city of Kirkuk if talks over Kurdish independence…
Colombia: Colombia, an Example to World, Balances Conservation and Development
Oct 9, 2017
|
Justin Catanoso, Mongabay
While the now-ended 50-year civil war claimed eight million victims, it had the paradoxical effect of protecting a variety of Colombian ecosystems. That’s because FARC…
Myanmar: Value of Seized Illegal Timber Rising Yearly
Oct 6, 2017
|
Su Phyo Win, Myanmar TImes
The value of illegal timber seized by the government over the past five years have grown exponentially, according to latest government data, raising fears of…
Myanmar: Kachin Residents Attack Chinese Banana Farms
Oct 6, 2017
|
Htun Lin Aung, Eleven
The residents of Tarlawgyi in Kachin state have sent a complaint to the state minister against Chinese tissue-culture banana farms, sources said. The complaint filed…
Iraq/Kurdistan: How a Russian Oil Giant Bankrolled the Kurdish Split from Iraq
Oct 6, 2017
|
Greg Walters, VICE News
Virtually no one in the international community wanted Kurdistan to vote for independence. Yet Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani appeared unfazed. He pushed forward on his…
Myanmar: Myanmar Taps Israeli Expertise in Agriculture
Oct 6, 2017
|
Thompson Chau, Myanmar TImes
Israeli expertise and technologies in agriculture are supporting Myanmar’s efforts in reforming its vast agriculture sector, while the recently enforced investment protection agreement is expected…
Colombia: The Future of Colombian Fruits Lies in Exports
Oct 6, 2017
|
Fresh Plaza
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Colombia is the Latin American country with the third highest number of hectares…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Turkey: Erdogan Says Turkey Will Close Iraq Border and Air Space Soon
Oct 5, 2017
|
Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu, Reuters
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkey would soon close its border with northern Iraq and shut its air space in response to last…
Colombia: 'There Is No Peace Here': Afro-Indigenous on Colombia
Oct 5, 2017
|
teleSUR
Ensuring lasting peace means “protecting Afro-Colombian and Indigenous peoples' territorial and other collective rights,” said Charo Mina-Rojas. A slew of international human rights organizations, acting…
Sudan/South Sudan: War-Torn South Sudan Sees River Route Boosting Trade with Sudan
Oct 4, 2017
|
Okech Francis, Bloomberg
South Sudan said it’s in talks with Sudan to restart river transport and boost trade between the two former foes, potentially easing the war-torn country’s…
Afghanistan: Farah Selenite Mine: Illegal Extraction Continues Unabated
Oct 4, 2017
|
Benyamin Bariz, Pajhwok Afghan News
Selenite, a newly discovered mine in western Farah province, is being illegally extracted by powerful individuals and the stone smuggled to Herat and Iran. A…
Iraq: Iraq Hopes to Resume Production from Nineveh Oil Fields in Coming Months
Oct 3, 2017
|
Reuters
Iraq hopes to resume production from the Nineveh oil fields in the “next few months” after they were torched by Islamic State during a U.S.-backed…
New Study: Clear Land Rights in Developing World Could Avoid Costly Disputes
Oct 3, 2017
|
Astrid Zweynert, Christian Science Monitor
More than half of land rights conflicts in the developing world have not been resolved, pitting companies, governments, and businesses against indigenous communities, researchers said…
Myanmar: Ex-Ministers, Armed Groups Operate Farms in Kachin’s Conflict Areas
Oct 3, 2017
|
Moe Myint, Irrawaddy
When clashes erupted along the Waingmaw-Laiza highway in 2011 and 2012, villagers fled their homes and farms and have still not returned as the two…