International


Myanmar: Villagers Continue Protests against Myitsone

May 1, 2017 | Mark Inkey, Frontier

More than five years after it was suspended by the U Thein Sein administration, villagers displaced by the controversial Myitsone Dam project are urging the…


Colombia: Indigenous People of Chocó Forced to Flee for Their Lives

Apr 30, 2017 | ABColombia

Many communities in Choco are being forced to displace due to combats between the ELN and neo-paramilitary group the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC). These…


India/Myanmar: BRO Water Tanker Attacked along Indo-Myanmar Border ; Two Local Men Killed, Many Decry

Apr 29, 2017 | Sangai Express

Two labourers engaged with the BRO/GREF were killed along the Indo-Myanmar border today when a heavily armed group reportedly waylaid the water tanker they were…


DRC: The DRC's 'Resources Curse' [Photos]

Apr 29, 2017 | Meggie Morris, Deutchse Welle

Cobalt and coltan are abundant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But, paired with regional instability, the minerals attract militia, exploitation and violence.


Myanmar: With Logging Ban Lifted, Myanmar Timber Policy Falls Flat

Apr 28, 2017 | Jacob Goldberg, Coconuts

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lackluster first year in power was perforated by at least one bold policy – a yearlong ban on logging across all of Myanmar.…


Myanmar: Nansibon Jade Mine – a Battlefield for Scavengers and Companies

Apr 28, 2017 | Aung Kyaw Min, Myanmar Times

Nansibon jade mine is situated at about 30 miles from Hkamti township in upper Sagaing Region. It was demarcated as Hkamti Gem Area by the…


Myanmar: Farmers Stage Protest in Naypyidaw over Land Grabs for Businesses, Mine

Apr 27, 2017 | Radio Free Asia

Thirteen farmers staged a protest in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday to demand compensation for farmlands seized in 2007 and 2015, seizures they said…


Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals Rule Relax Sets ‘Dangerous Precedent': Senators

Apr 27, 2017 | Andrea Vittorio, Bloomberg

One of the architects behind a corporate disclosure rule meant to help keep minerals that fund conflict in Africa out of computer chips, jewelry and…


South Sudan/Somalia/Nigeria/Yemen: Conflict Deepens Hunger Crises in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen

Apr 27, 2017 | Lauren Anderson, International Institute for Sustainable Development

The 165th session of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Council opened with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva warning that, without urgent intervention,…


Is There a Correlation Between Crude Oil Prices and Military Spending?

Apr 27, 2017 | Ben Myers, Forex Binary News

Was the oil economy responsible for the worldwide rise in military expenditure? A recent report from SIPRI suggests that plunging oil prices made major oil…


Colombia: Colombia’s Indigenous Arhuaco Awarded 500 Hectares in Ongoing Bid to Regain Ancestral Lands

Apr 26, 2017 | Bram Ebus, Mongabay

Although the Arhuaco indigenous peoples of Colombia’s coastal mountain range — the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — are known for their century-long track record…


Iraq/Islamic State: Planting Cannabis to Make up for Lost Oil Revenues: Daesh

Apr 26, 2017 | Al Bawaba

Following its oil revenues loss in Nineveh, Daesh "ISIS" is resorting to drug dealing to increase its funds, according to a top intelligence official. Drug…


Myanmar: Farmers Demand Return of Lands

Apr 26, 2017 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Farmers in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu township staged a protest demanding the return of their land which were confiscated by the government, claiming that those lands…


Brazil: Brazil Indigenous Clash with Police over Land Grabs, Killings [Photos]

Apr 26, 2017 | teleSUR

Indigenous people defied police repression in Brazil's capital city as officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas while tribe members shot arrows in return during…


Sierra Leone: Setting the Record Straight…the Full Story of the 709-Carat Diamond

Apr 26, 2017 | Alhaji M. Kamara, Awoko

The discovery of a 709-carat diamond has captivated the nation. Details of the discovery, however, have been the topic of debate and discussion in the…


Myanmar: Efforts to Change Chin Farming Habits Seek to Slow Harmful Deforestation

Apr 25, 2017 | Phyo Thiha Cho, Myanmar Now

Chin is Burma’s poorest state and its communities suffer from isolation, a lack of arable land and the effects of climate change. A 2013 World…


Sudan: New Report Details Massive Corruption and Theft of Oil, Gold, and Land in Sudan

Apr 25, 2017 | South Sudan News Agency

The Enough Project’s new report published today, “Sudan’s Deep State: How Insiders Violently Privatized Sudan’s Wealth, and How to Respond,” details how a powerful inner…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Annexation of Kirkuk by KRG May Lead to a New Conflict, Experts Say

Apr 24, 2017 | Yusuf Selman İnanç, Daily Sabah

In the already troubled Middle East, which is still reeling from endless wars in Syria and Yemen, the emergence of terror groups like Daesh and…


India/Pakistan: India Benefited More from the Indus Water Treaty

Apr 23, 2017 | Mustafa Nazir Ahmad, The News on Sunday

Dr Daanish Mustafa, a distinguished water resources expert, blames Pakistan’s policymakers for our current water woes. His research interests have been at the intersection of…


Liberia: Dutch Arms Trafficker to Liberia Given War Crimes Conviction

Apr 22, 2017 | Own Bowcott, Guardian

An international timber trader who used his business as cover for smuggling weapons into West Africa in defiance of a UN arms embargo has been…


Liberia: Dutch 'Blood Timber' Businessman Gets 19 Years for Liberian Crimes

Apr 21, 2017 | Channel NewsAsia

Dutch timber trader Guus Kouwenhoven was convicted on Friday as an accessory to war crimes for selling weapons to Liberia's then-President Charles Taylor between 2000…


South Sudan: South Sudan Faces Economic Collapse amid Humanitarian Crisis

Apr 21, 2017 | TRT World

South Sudan faces a collapsing economy amid conflict and humanitarian crisis as their currency has lost more than ninety percent of its value since December…


Afghanistan: MAIL Conducting Hundreds of Research Projects Annually

Apr 20, 2017 | Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) on Wednesday said that it carries out more than 300 research programs every year that are aimed…


Climate Change: How Climate Change Creates a Perfect Storm of Terrorism and Violence

Apr 20, 2017 | Martha Henriques, International Business Times

Stable states, as well as those experiencing civil conflict, face an increased risk of violence and terrorist activity due to climate change, according to a…


Iraq: Iraq May Seek Exemption from OPEC Oil Cuts to Boost Own Output: Hakim

Apr 20, 2017 | Mahmoud Mourad, Reuters

Iraq may seek to be exempt from a deal between oil exporters to reduce global supply in order to support crude prices and ask to…


North Korea: As North Korea Tensions Rise, Farming in the Demilitarized Zone Goes on

Apr 20, 2017 | Motoko Rich, New York Times

Taesung is a real community, albeit one with strict limits on who can come and go. The residents are mostly farmers from families that have…


China/South China Sea: China Seeks Foreign Help in Risky Work Finding Oil in Disputed Sea

Apr 19, 2017 | Ralph Jennings, Voice of America

Beijing is looking for foreign contractors to help find oil and gas under the South China Sea but expects to meet resistance because other governments…


Climate Change: How a Warming Planet Drives Human Migration

Apr 19, 2017 | Jessica Benko, New York Times

Climate change is not equally felt across the globe, and neither are its longer term consequences. This map overlays human turmoil — represented here by…


Colombia: UN, Colombia Assess Post-Conflict Environmental Damage

Apr 18, 2017 | Faye Leone, International Institute for Sustainable Development

UN experts conducted a post-conflict, multi-disciplinary assessment of environmental degradation in Colombia, concluding that the country has an opportunity to promote sustainable and resilient livelihoods…


Iraq: Iraq Plans Three Gas Processing Plants to Reduce Flaring

Apr 17, 2017 | Reuters

Iraq plans to build three new plants to process natural gas currently being flared at southern oil fields, and use the fuel for power generation…