International
Protect Environment from Wars and Conflicts, UN Urges on International Day
Nov 6, 2017
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UN
Commemorating the international day for lessening the impact of armed conflicts and wars on the environment, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the need to…
Afghanistan: Afghan National Saffron Conference Held in Kabul
Nov 6, 2017
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Zhou Xin, Xinhua
A national saffron conference was held in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Monday, aiming at creating jobs, particularly for the women, in the poverty-stricken country. "Fortunately,…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Cabinet Plans to Cut Kurdistan Share in 2018 Federal Budget
Nov 6, 2017
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Ahmed Rasheed and Raya Jalabi, Reuters
Iraq’s cabinet proposed on Sunday to slash the Kurdish share of the country’s revenue in the 2018 federal budget, a move that Kurdish officials said…
DRC: DRC’s State Mining Company Hiding Revenues – Carter Center
Nov 6, 2017
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Martin Creamer, Mining Weekly
Certain revenues of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) State mining company Gécamines are not directed to the public treasury and are largely beyond the realm…
Sudan: West Kordofan Herders Refuse to Hand in Their Weapons
Nov 6, 2017
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Radio Dabanga
West Kordofan nomad herders are refusing to hand their weapons to the authorities in the current disarmament campaign. Misseriya and other pastoralists, in particular those…
Colombia: Farmers in Colombia’s Troubled Northeast Agree to End Shut-Down
Nov 5, 2017
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Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports
Farmers in northeast Colombia agreed to end a shut-down of their province after the government on Sunday vowed to respect a peace agreement with Marxist…
Afghanistan: Above 18,000 Acres of Land Saved from Grabbing: MoJ
Nov 4, 2017
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Naheed Bashardost, Pajhwok Afghan News
Government land measuring at least 18,000 acres across the country has been prevented from being usurped during the past three years, the Ministry of Justice…
Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Agrees to Pay Sudan $262M Oil Debt
Nov 4, 2017
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Parach Mach, Anadolu Agency
South Sudan’s government has agreed to pay $262 million it owes for the transfer of oil through Sudan, according to South Sudan media reports. Most…
Myanmar: Jade Export Earnings Down
Nov 4, 2017
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Eleven
Myanmar has earned US$251.16 million (342.65 billion kyat) from exports of jade as of October 20, down US$70 million compared with jade export earnings of…
Colombia: Colombia Signs $300m UN Deal to Fight Cocaine Production
Nov 4, 2017
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BBC
Colombia has signed a $300m (£230m) agreement with the United Nations aimed at reducing the production of cocaine. Farmers who switch from growing coca -…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Oil Export Talks with Turkey Vexed by $4-Billion Kurd Debt
Nov 3, 2017
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Kadhim Ajrash, World Oil
Baghdad’s talks with Turkey about ramping up oil exports from northern Iraq, including the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, is complicated by a $4 billion debt that…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurds’ Independence Vote Exposed Risks to Energy Strategy
Nov 3, 2017
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Stanley Reed, New York Times
Iraqi Kurdish leaders have long sought to craft an energy policy independent of the federal government in Baghdad, courting international companies and offering lucrative deals…
Myanmar: Major Dutch Timber Company Found Guilty of Dealing in Illegal Teak
Nov 2, 2017
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Mongabay
An investigation has revealed a major Dutch timber company placed illegally sourced teak from Myanmar on the European market, prompting the Dutch Food and Safety…
Myanmar: Myanmar Land Rights Activist Beaten to Death by Mob in Shan State
Nov 2, 2017
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Radio Free Asia
A Myanmar land rights activist who challenged illegal land grabs in northern Shan State was beaten to death this week by a mob of some…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Wants Control of Kurdish Region's Oil Exports: State Firm
Nov 2, 2017
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Reuters
Iraq wants the Kurdistan region to stop independent crude exports and to hand over sales operations to the Iraqi state-oil marketer SOMO, the company’s director…
Myanmar: Campaign Targets Myanmar Elephant Poaching
Nov 2, 2017
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Zue Zue, Irrawaddy
A six-month campaign raising awareness of elephant poaching and wildlife smuggling will launch on Nov. 4 in response to an alarming rate of elephant poaching…
Colombia: Colombia's Land Battles Shatter the Peace in Cauca Valley – in Pictures [Photos]
Nov 1, 2017
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Guardian
As the peace deal opens up new areas to extractive industries, a long-running fight for land and the environment has erupted anew as indigenous communities…
Myanmar: Photo Essay: Along Myanmar’s Charcoal Highway [Photos]
Nov 1, 2017
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Nathan Siegel, Mongabay
Charcoal and firewood are the most common fuel sources in Myanmar – indeed, in much of the developing world. Farmers burn small trees under piles…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Tensions Rise as Iraq Halts Kirkuk Oil Exports
Nov 1, 2017
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Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com
Since the Iraqi army took control of the fields in the oil-rich Kirkuk area in mid-October, reports of disruptions in oil flows have been a…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Woos Farmers with Saffron to Sap Poppy Production [Photos]
Oct 31, 2017
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Hindustan Times
The Afghan government and international aid agencies have been trying to wean farmers from the lucrative poppy cultivation and transition instead to saffron for a…
Myanmar: Land-Seizure Bill Contains Compensation, Resettlement: MP
Oct 31, 2017
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Eleven
The bill regarding land seizure contains clauses for giving compensation and rehabilitating people who have lost their land, says an Upper House MP. Ba Myo…
Jordan: Jordan Water Crisis Worsens as Mideast Tensions Slow Action
Oct 31, 2017
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Karin Laub, Associated Press
Jordanians don't need scientists to tell them that they live in one of the world's driest countries in the center of the planet's most water-poor…
Syria: Assad Sets Sights on Kurdish Areas, Risking New Syria Conflict
Oct 31, 2017
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Tom Perry, Ellen Francis, and Laila Bassam, Reuters
With Islamic State near defeat in Syria, Damascus is setting its sights on territory held by Kurdish-led forces including eastern oil fields, risking a new…
Afghanistan: 80pc of Our Pastures Grabbed by Strongmen: Kochis
Oct 30, 2017
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Zabihullah Ihsas, Pajkwok Afghan News
The nomadic people of the northern zone say about 80 percent of their pastures have been grabbed by powerful individuals, causing them serious problems. The…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Kurds Resume Pumping Oil by Pipeline to Turkish Port
Oct 30, 2017
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Anthony Dipaola, Bloomberg
Oil exports resumed from Iraq’s Kurdish region after halting earlier Monday, a port agent said, highlighting uncertainty about pipeline shipments from OPEC’s second-biggest producer. Iraq’s…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Leader Barzani Resigns after Independence Vote Backfires
Oct 29, 2017
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Raya Jalabi and Maher Chmaytelli, Reuters
Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani said he would give up his position as president on Nov. 1, after an independence referendum he championed backfired and…
Afghanistan: Afghan Taliban Awash in Heroin Cash, a Troubling Turn for War
Oct 29, 2017
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Mujib Mashal
The Taliban have long profited from the opium trade by taxing and providing security for producers and smugglers. But increasingly, the insurgents are directly getting…
Afghanistan: Govt to Build Two More Dams on Harirod River
Oct 28, 2017
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Zarmina Mohammadi, TOLOnews
The Ministry of Energy and Water is working on the procurement process for two dam projects which will be built on the Harirod River in…
Colombia: Fighting to Farming: New Life for Colombia's Ex-Rebels
Oct 28, 2017
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Raul Arboleda, Agence France-Presse
In this jungle zone which was a historic bastion of FARC, about 250 ex-rebels came together to start their lives anew in agriculture, fish farming,…
Colombia: Battle for the Mother Land: Indigenous People of Colombia Fighting for Their Lands
Oct 28, 2017
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Jonathan Watts, Guardian
A green-and-red flag flies over a cluster of bamboo and tarpaulin tents on the frontline of an increasingly deadly struggle for land and the environment…