International

Afghanistan: Illegal Mining of Faryab Stucco Continues

Oct 28, 2017 | Qutbuddin Kohi, Pajhwok Afghan News

Illegal extraction of stucco deposits in Sherin Tagab district of northern Fayab province has been underway for the past two years involving powerful individuals and…

Iraq: Iraq Finds ‘Contraband’ Oil Pipeline in South

Oct 28, 2017 | Agence France-Presse

Iraqi police have uncovered an underground pipeline used to smuggle crude oil from the giant Rumaila oilfield in the south of the country, a security…

Climate Change: "Peace Has Tremendous Implications for Climate Change Policy" - Luis Murillo

Oct 27, 2017 | Charlotte Butler and Deborah Evanson, Imperial College London

In 2016, the Colombian government signed a landmark peace deal with the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), putting an…

Myanmar: The Charcoal Hunters

Oct 27, 2017 | Emmanuel Freudenthal and Nathan Siegel, Mongabay

The train rocked from side to side like a sketchy funhouse. It was the rainy season in northern Myanmar and Emmanuel Freudenthal and Nathan Siegel had…

Colombia: Palm Oil Mounts ‘New Offensive’ in Colombia While Workers Decry Labor Conditions

Oct 27, 2017 | Bram Ebus, Mongabay

Conflict can be a byproduct of the palm oil industry, with accusations of land-grabbing and even murder reported in many areas around the world where…

Iraq: The Waterkeeper of Iraq

Oct 27, 2017 | Kenneth R Rosen, Al Jazeera

Water scarcity is becoming an increasingly pressing issue in the northern region. If neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Iran and Syria move forward with plans…

South Sudan: From Emergency to Sustainable Adaptation: Tackling Food Insecurity in South Sudan

Oct 26, 2017 | ACTED

South Sudan is in a dire humanitarian crisis. Earlier this year, famine was declared in two counties of Unity state where conflict and mass displacement…

Iraq: The EITI Board Concludes That Iraq’s “Potential Has Yet to Be Fulfilled” in Oil and Mining Sector

Oct 26, 2017 | Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

At its meeting in Manila, the Philippines, the EITI Board today commended Iraq’s efforts to bring transparency to its oil exports and encouraged the Government…

Iraq: Iraq’s Vast Marshes, Reborn after Saddam, Are in Peril Again

Oct 26, 2017 | Susannah George and Sam McNeil, Associated Press

The southern marshlands of Iraq, a lush remnant of the cradle of civilization , were reborn after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein when residents…

Myanmar: Extractive Industries Aggravating Local Conflicts, Ethnic Researchers Warn

Oct 25, 2017 | Hein Ko Soe, Frontier Myanmar

Ethnic minority researchers have called on the government to halt and review planned natural resource extraction projects in minority areas to avoid further conflicts with…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Paramilitaries Battle Kurds in Push Towards Turkish Border Oil Hub

Oct 25, 2017 | Maher Chmaytelli, Reuters

Iraqi pro-government paramilitaries launched an offensive against Kurdish troops on Tuesday near the Turkish frontier, pushing towards a strategic border crossing and oil export pipeline…

Colombia: Deadly Clashes as Colombia Destroys Coca Crops

Oct 25, 2017 | Alessandro Rampietti, Al Jazeera

The cultivation of coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, is booming once again in Colombia. The government is trying to slash production by employing hundreds…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Fear of Iranian General Left Iraqi Kurdish Oil Fields Deserted

Oct 25, 2017 | Ahmed Rasheed and Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters

Major-General Soleimani, one of the most influential military figures in the Middle East, with reach in Syria and Lebanon, issued tough warnings to Kurdish leaders…

Afghanistan: Insecurity Negatively Impacts Agriculture in Villages

Oct 25, 2017 | Zabihullah Ihsas, Pajhwok Afghan News

Insecurity and the conflict have a negative impact on the agriculture in villages where production has affected. These views were expressed by government officials and…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Works with Kurdish Company to Help Restart Two Oil Fields

Oct 25, 2017 | Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg

Iraq’s North Oil Co. is working with the Kurdish Kar Group to resume pumping at two disputed oil fields that halted output after government troops…

Colombia: With New Peace, Colombia Finds Hope for Saving Its Wild Lands

Oct 25, 2017 | Lisa Palmer, Yale Environment 360

After a half-century of conflict, Colombia is regaining control of vast biologically rich areas that had been havens for rebel groups. Now, scientists are racing…

Sudan: Curfew in South Kordofan Town after Protests against the Use of Cyanide

Oct 24, 2017 | Radio Dabanga

Authorities in South Kordofan declared the State of Emergency in Kologi on Friday. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, a listener reported from Kologi that the locality…

Afghanistan: Afghan Opium Production Reaches Record High

Oct 24, 2017 | Voice of America

Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium, has harvested a record crop this year that more than doubled last year’s production, a bad omen for…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish-Led Forces Retake Largest Oil Field from Islamic State in Eastern Syria

Oct 23, 2017 | Hisham Arafat, Kurdistan 24

The US-backed Syrian Kurdish-Arab alliance on Sunday claimed to have seized Syria’s largest oil field from the Islamic State (IS) in Deir al-Zor province. In…

Myanmar: Yangon Factories Told to Treat Water or Else

Oct 23, 2017 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

The government warned factories to treat their wastewater properly before disposing it into rivers or face penalties, including closure of their facilities. In Yangon Region’s 24…

Myanmar: Returning Rohingya May Lose Land, Crops under Myanmar Plans

Oct 22, 2017 | Simon Lewis, Thu Thu Aung, and Kyaw Soe Oo, Reuters

Rohingya Muslims who return to Myanmar after fleeing to Bangladesh are unlikely to be able to reclaim their land, and may find their crops have…

Colombia: Exploration Projects in Colombia Face Increasing Uncertainty as Another Town Votes against Mining

Oct 22, 2017 | Manuel Rueda, Finance Colombia

It was the first Sunday of October in Colombia, and Sucre, population 7,000, had just held a special referendum in which residents were asked if…

Colombia: Colombians Have for Years Grown Amazing Coffee. Finally, They’re Drinking It.

Oct 22, 2017 | Anthony Faiola, Washington Post

Globalization is changing that — specifically a wave of well-traveled Colombian entrepreneurs who, along with a number of foreign investors, are upping the quality of…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Increases Oil Exports from South by 200,000 bpd to Make up for Kirkuk Fields Shortfall

Oct 21, 2017 | Reuters

Iraq increased on Saturday oil exports from the southern Basra region by 200,000 barrels per day, to make up for a shortfall from the northern…

Afghanistan: Agriculture Fair Held in Afghanistan to Promote Production, Investment

Oct 20, 2017 | Farid Behbud, Xinhua

Hundreds of people have visited the agriculture fair held at Badam Bagh, the biggest agricultural products and handicrafts farm in the Afghan capital. The farm, with…

Iraq/Kurdistan/Russia: Russia's Rosneft to Take Controlling Stake of Iraqi Kurdish Oil Pipeline

Oct 20, 2017 | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company says it has agreed with the government of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to take a controlling stake in the region's…

Myanmar: Five Dead after Myanmar Police Clash with Jade Scavengers

Oct 20, 2017 | Agence France-Presse

At least five people were killed and 20 injured after Myanmar police opened fire on an armed mob of jade seekers that tried to enter…

Colombia: Peace Gives Colombian Coffee an Extra Shot

Oct 19, 2017 | Marcy Nicholson, Retuers

Farmers who fled war in the Colombian Andes are returning to revive their abandoned land, cultivating coffee trees that are boosting global supplies of the…

Iraq: Iraq Oil Ministry Warns Oil Companies against Kurdistan Contracts

Oct 19, 2017 | Reuters

Iraq’s oil ministry on Thursday cautioned oil companies against signing contracts with Iraqi Kurdistan. On Wednesday Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft signed an agreement to put…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Oil Exports via Turkey Dwindle as Kirkuk Fields Stay Shut

Oct 19, 2017 | Khalid Al Ansary, Julian Lee, and Elena Mazneva, Bloomberg

Crude exports from northern Iraq fell again, and output remained curtailed in the nation’s disputed Kirkuk province. Oil Ministry engineers worked to replace computers and other…