International
Myanmar: Parliament Approves Proposal to Ensure Transparency in Extractive Industries
Dec 27, 2017
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Htet Naing Zaw, Irrawaddy
Myanmar Lower House of Parliament on Thursday approved a proposal to ensure transparency in the country’s extractive industries and transfer back the gross revenues of…
Chad: 12 Sudanese Gold Prospectors Killed in Chad
Dec 27, 2017
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Sudan Tribune
Twelve Sudanese traditional gold prospectors have been killed and seventeen others injured on Monday by gunmen in Chad on the border with Libya. Eyewitnesses told…
Afghanistan: Illegal Extraction; Terrorist Groups Earn Millions of Dollars
Dec 26, 2017
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Afghanistan Times
“The mining sector has to be transparent, because it becomes a source of misfortune for Afghan people. The revenue goes to the powerful and terrorists’…
Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: Egypt Wants Outside Experts to Help Settle Nile Dispute
Dec 26, 2017
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Aaron Masho, Reuters
Egypt said on Tuesday it had suggested to Ethiopia and Sudan that they all call in international experts to help settle a dispute on an…
Colombia: Driven from Their Lands, Colombia’s Awá Struggle to Survive
Dec 26, 2017
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Michelle Begue, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Indigenous peoples like the Awá Mayasquer are among those most impacted by more than five decades of armed conflict in Colombia that has displaced more…
Liberia: Liberian Government Debunks Global Witness Publication of Forestry Tax Waiver
Dec 24, 2017
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FrontPage Africa
Forestry Industrial Development & Employment Regime Act of 2017 does not provide the timber industry a US$13 million tax gift and that every penny the…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Invites Bids to Build New Kirkuk Export Pipeline
Dec 24, 2017
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Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
Iraq has given foreign energy companies a month to signal their interest in building a new export pipeline from the Kirkuk oilfields in the north…
Afghanistan: US Air Raids Have Destroyed 25 Taliban Drug Labs. They Might Be Aiming at the Wrong Target, Afghans Say.
Dec 23, 2017
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Sayed Salahuddin and Pamela Constable, Washington Post
One month after U.S. and Afghan forces began bombing suspected Taliban drug laboratories in Helmand province, Afghan officials and analysts say they are relieved that…
Afghanistan: Govt to Enforce Environmental Laws
Dec 23, 2017
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Gulabuddin Ghubar, TOLOnews
President Ashraf Ghani has issued a decree on the environmental law, stating any person found guilty of committing major pollution-related crimes can face between 16…
Myanmar: Daw Suu Stresses Transparency, Accountability in Mining Sector
Dec 22, 2017
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Frontier
State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in the mining sector at a meeting with industry representatives in…
Colombia: Strengthening Farmer Organizations as Agents of Peace in Colombia
Dec 22, 2017
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Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-Operation
A new project of ICCO Cooperation in Colombia has been approved for signing by the European Union’s Trust Fund. In the project, farmer organizations will…
Liberia: Environmental Groups Criticize Liberia’s New Logging Law
Dec 21, 2017
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Jonathan Paye-Layle, Associated Press
Two global environmental watchdogs have condemned a new law in Liberia that they say rewards logging companies at the expense of one of the world’s…
Myanmar: Gem Sales down Pending Release of Law
Dec 21, 2017
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Nyein Zaw Lin, Myanmar Times
Gem sales have declined at the 2017 mid-year Myanma Gems Emporium, which is being held at the Mani Yadana Gems Hall in Nay Pyi Taw…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Salt Mines Pushing up Air Pollution
Dec 20, 2017
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Asian Age
Air-borne particles from the salt mines of Afghanistan are pushing up the levels of air pollutants in Delhi, a team of scientists has found. Initially,…
Afghanistan: Afghan Raisin Houses Get a Facelift to Boost Productivity
Dec 20, 2017
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Agence France-Presse
Keshmesh khanas — the Dari term for raisin houses — are getting a facelift as Afghanistan looks to improve its yield. The country once accounted…
Liberia: Land Issues, Top Source of Conflict in Liberia
Dec 20, 2017
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Ishmael F. Menkor, Observer
Land issues top the sources of conflict in Liberia, according to a survey conducted by the Liberian Peace-building Office has revealed. Speaking at a Catholic…
Climate Change: The Omission of “Climate Change” from the New US National Security Strategy Could Have Broad Diplomatic Consequences
Dec 20, 2017
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John Light, UN Dispatch
Earlier this week, Donald Trump put out a National Security Strategy that made no mention of climate change. This struck some observers as curious, given that many…
Myanmar: Central Rubber Market Expected upon Enactment of Rubber Law in Late 2018
Dec 20, 2017
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Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times
The drafting of a new Rubber Law, which aims to create a central rubber market and raise the export quality of Myanmar rubber, is close…
Colombia: Colombians Demand Justice, Protection for Systematic Murders
Dec 19, 2017
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teleSUR
Colombia’s social groups and human rights activists have been the target of police aggression in the country’s rural sectors with over one hundred leaders falling…
Myanmar: Tenants Threaten to Protest over Land Dispute with Tatmadaw
Dec 19, 2017
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Ye Ywel Myint, Myanmar Times
Tenants on eight acres of land in Yangon are threatening to hold a protest if authorities do not act on their plea to stop the…
Sierra Leone: Pastor Who Found Giant Diamond in Sierra Leone to Get Less Cash Than Promised
Dec 18, 2017
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Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Mining.com
Media reports from Sierra Leone say that Pastor Emmanuel Momoh will not receive the entire proceeds from the sale of the giant 'Peace Diamond,' which…
Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan to Gain Influence over South Sudan in Oil Deal
Dec 18, 2017
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Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com
Six years after South Sudan seceded from Sudan, Sudan may regain some of its influence over the south’s oil industry after the two countries agreed…
DRC: Congolese Women Fight ‘Invisible Hands’ of Exploitation
Dec 18, 2017
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Workers World
Marie-Claude Manga, social worker, pastor and fighter for the rights of oppressed women, brought the story of the plight of women in her original home,…
Iraq: Iraq to Use Drones to Protect Oil Pipelines from 2018
Dec 18, 2017
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Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
Iraq plans to use drones to monitor and protect its oil export and production pipelines from the first quarter of 2018, an oil ministry spokesman…
Sudan: Sudan Gold Income Compensates Oil Revenues before Secession: Minister
Dec 18, 2017
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Sudan Tribune
The minerals minister said Sudan’s revenue from gold is currently equal to oil revenues before the secession of South Sudan in July 2011. After the…
Sierra Leone: “Kimberley Process Not Effective for Responsible Diamond Governance” - IMPACT
Dec 18, 2017
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Mohamed Kabba, Awoko
In 2007, civil society organizations came together to form the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition aimed at amplifying their work. The Coalition has been able…
Afghanistan: Raw Marble Smuggling from Herat Continues Unabated
Dec 17, 2017
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Pajhwok Afghan News
In violation of President Ashraf Ghani's warning, unprocessed marble -- also known as white gold of Afghanistan -- continues to be smuggled abroad. During his…
Iraq/Syria: Environment a Victim of War in Iraq, Syria
Dec 16, 2017
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Fanack
The war in Syria, now in its sixth year, has been ferocious and deadly. In 2016, the death toll was estimated at 400,000. In Iraq,…
Iraq: Iraq Plans Oil Pipeline Network to Cover All Its Territory
Dec 16, 2017
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Reuters
Iraq plans to build a pipeline network to carry oil products across all its territory as an alternative to expensive and hazardous transport by tanker…
Afghanistan: Mining Revenue Witnesses Hike, Reaches 6b Afghanis
Dec 15, 2017
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Middle East North Africa Financial Network
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) says the mining revenue has risen to more than six billion afghanis this year, showing a considerable increase…