International


Sierra Leone: Miners Found a 706-Carat Diamond in Sierra Leone. Who Should Get the Profit?

Mar 25, 2017 | Jaime Yaya Barry, New York Times

Fist-size and lumpy, the rock that a team of miners came upon recently in the diamond fields of Sierra Leone was orange with red speckles…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Relentless Opium Woes Have a 'New Seed in Town,' and It Comes from China

Mar 25, 2017 | Mariam Amini, CNBC

A problem that Afghanistan and international governments have tried to eradicate for decades is only getting worse, and China is a big reason why. Last…


Afghanistan: Ministry to Deliver 10,000 Tons of Seed to Farmers

Mar 24, 2017 | Zarmina Mohammadi, TOLOnews

Officials from the ministry of agriculture and irrigation on Thursday said that it will distribute 10,000 tons of improved seed to Afghan farmers this year…


Myanmar: As Many as 10 Myanmar Villagers Injured in Shooting at Letpadaung Copper Mine

Mar 24, 2017 | Radio Free Asia

As many as 10 villagers have been injured by police who fired rubber bullets at them on Friday for blocking a roadway to a controversial…


China: Will Central Asia Water Wars Derail China's Silk Road?

Mar 24, 2017 | Nishtha Chugh, Diplomat

A brewing crisis is threatening to derail Beijing’s mega project, now a major foreign policy priority, in the very region that’s most critical to its…


China/Philippines/South China Sea: Duterte Says Philippines Can’t Afford Oil Rigs, Open to Sharing Resources with China in Disputed Sea

Mar 24, 2017 | Agence France-Presse

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he was open to sharing resources with Beijing in flashpoint South China Sea waters over which Manila has been given…


Gaza/Palestine: In War-Scarred Gaza, Water Pollution behind Health Woes

Mar 23, 2017 | Sakher Abou El Oun, Agence France-Presse

More and more Gazans are falling ill from their drinking water, highlighting the humanitarian issues facing the Palestinian enclave that the UN says could become…


Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Precious Minerals – Public Trust and Government Openness

Mar 23, 2017 | Abdul Rashid Thomas, Sierra Leone Telegraph

The recent finding of Sierra Leone’s second largest diamond in the Kono district by pastor Emmanuel Momoh  and the involvement of the Koroma government,…


Conflict Minerals: EU Parliament Gives Green Light to Conflict Mineral Regulation

Mar 23, 2017 | International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

The European Parliament signed off last week on a proposal aimed at tackling conflict minerals trade, bringing the proposed measure closer to becoming law. The…


China/South China Sea: How a Chinese Fishing Fleet Creates Facts on the Water

Mar 23, 2017 | Economist

On a past visit to the little fishing port of Tanmen, on the island-province of Hainan in southern China, pigs were being driven onto the…


Colombia: UN Environment Will Support Environmental Recovery and Peacebuilding for Post-Conflict Development in Colombia

Mar 23, 2017 | UNEP

UN Environment will assist Colombia with overcoming the environmental degradation legacy of the internal conflict which lasted for more than 50 years, especially in remote…


Afghanistan: Dam Project Promises Water – but Also Conflict – for Dusty Afghan Border Lands

Mar 22, 2017 | Sune Engel Rasmussen, Guardian

The Afghan government plans to construct a dam to boost agriculture and livelihoods in a region where one of the main paths to profit is…


Could Conservation Provide Ground for Peace in Conflict Zones?

Mar 22, 2017 | Eva Botkin-Kowacki, Christian Science Monitor

"Ecological problems know no boundaries," says Alexandre Roulin, a biologist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and first author on a paper published Wednesday…


South Sudan: South Sudan Threatens to Terminate Oil Exploration Contracts

Mar 22, 2017 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan has threatened to terminate contacts awarded to oil exploration companies should they fail to start surveys by the end of April. Ezekiel Lol…


Iraq/Syria: ISIS is Going Scorched Earth as it Loses Ground in Iraq and Syria

Mar 22, 2017 | Ali Abdelaty, Reuters

As Islamic State loses ground in Iraq and Syria, the Sunni militant group which once held territory amounting to a third of those countries is…


Colombia: Colombia to Implement Almeria's Agricultural Model in ex-FARC Territory

Mar 22, 2017 | Fresh Plaza

The peace agreement signed by the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has liberated 18 million hectares previously under guerrilla control. …


Water Wars: Water Wars? Experts Urge Rethinking Our Relationship with Water

Mar 21, 2017 | teleSUR

As the world marks the World Water Day, one cannot help but recall that the United Nations has already warned that water shortages will hit…


South Sudan: South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea Partner on Oil and Gas

Mar 21, 2017 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan and Equatorial Guinea announced an historic partnership today in Juba, setting out the terms for a strong bilateral relationship between the African oil…


Myanmar: China-backed Dam Project May Threaten Myanmar Wildlife Sanctuary

Mar 21, 2017 | Voice of America

Environmental activists say plans for a large dam threaten wildlife sanctuaries in Myanmar’s northern Karen state. China would finance the proposed Hatgyi dam on Southeast…


Colombia: Colombian Coffee Inspires Banana Growers to Reclaim Land Lost to Violence

Mar 21, 2017 | AL DÍA News

Growing along with the bunches of bananas in the plantations of Uraba in northwestern Colombia are the hopes of a region that is working to…


DRC: Congo Sees Trump Roll-Back of Dodd-Frank Stoking Insecurity

Mar 20, 2017 | Thomas Wilson, Bloomberg

The Democratic Republic of Congo warned that proposals by the Trump administration to rollback laws on so-called conflict minerals from central Africa risks stoking violence…


Colombia: Land Solutions for Climate Displacement Works in Colombia: Government-Supported Gramalote Relocation Moves Ahead

Mar 20, 2017 | Displacement Solutions

On 11 March 2017, a group of 54 families moved in the newly built town of Gramalote, Colombia some seven years after the decimation of the town…


Colombia: Into the Green Land: Emerald Mining in Colombia

Mar 20, 2017 | Javier Corso, Al Jazeera

The struggle over land is Colombia's oldest conflict. Although Colombian environmental laws now prohibit the dumping of leftover grit and rocks from mining excavation, some…


India/Pakistan: Water War to Water Talks

Mar 20, 2017 | Zeeshan Haider, The News

It is quite interesting to see the Indian water officials and experts sit across the table with their Pakistani counterparts to discuss the Indus Water…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Conflict over Kirkuk Oil Returns

Mar 19, 2017 | Omar Sattar, Al-Monitor

On March 2, a military force affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by former President Jalal Talabani seized the North Oil Company in Kirkuk…


Timor-Leste: East Timor to Elect New President as Oil Revenues Rapidly Run Dry

Mar 19, 2017 | Alexandre Assis, Reuters

East Timorese flocked to political rallies on the final day of campaigning ahead of Monday's presidential election, as Asia's youngest democracy grapples with persistent poverty…


Myanmar: 104 Ayeyawady Villages Set to Face Water Shortages

Mar 19, 2017 | Min Thu Win Htut, Eleven

Around 104 villages in 14 Ayeyawady Region townships may face water shortages in early April, according to the region's Rural Development Department. More than 80,000…


South Sudan: Fighting Famine in War-Torn South Sudan [Video]

Mar 19, 2017 | Scott Pelley

A rare famine emergency has been declared in the youngest nation on Earth. South Sudan, in East Africa, was brought into the world, in 2011,…


Iraq: Iraq’s Oil Ministry Fails to Counter Reputation Damage

Mar 19, 2017 | Saadallah Al Fathi, Gulf News

Theft of Iraq’s oil has been in the news since the occupation in 2003. The government failed to quell the allegations and continued to insist…


Afghanistan: Report Claims Land Grabbing Rampant In Helmand

Mar 18, 2017 | Tamim Hamid, TOLOnews

Documents received by TOLOnews show that thousands of acres of land have been usurped in southern Helmand province and that Lashkargah municipal officials have been…