International

Myanmar: Myanmar Farmers Hope NLD Can End Suffering of Junta-era Land Grabs

Dec 10, 2016 | Paul Vrieze, Voice of America

Kachin farmers became embroiled in a land dispute with a Burmese businesswoman named Khin Thant Zin after she purchased the title to 170 acres from…

Iraq/Kurdistan: After the Islamic State, Iraq at Risk of a New Battle for Disputed Territory

Dec 10, 2016 | Missy Ryan and Aaso Ameen Shwan, Associated press

Kurdish intentions to remain in disputed areas of northern Iraq, despite warnings from Baghdad, threaten to spark renewed ethnic conflict once the Islamic State can…

Liberia: Lawmakers Raise Red Flag over Alterations in New Oil Law

Dec 9, 2016 | FrontPageAfrica

Liberia’s hydrocarbon sector was expected to be a blessing for the country since offshore exploration began by African Petroleum in February 2012, but conspiracies have…

Syria: US Coalition Destroys 168 ISIS Oil Tankers [Video]

Dec 9, 2016 | Scout

In the largest air strike of its kind to date, Coalition airstrikes destroyed a fleet of 168 ISIL oil tanker trucks near Palmya, Syria, Dec.…

Food Security: Civil Conflict and Unpredictable Weather Cast ‘Long Shadow’ on Food Security’ in 2016 – UN

Dec 8, 2016 | UN

This year, the world suffered many weather-related shocks and civil conflicts which pressured food security for many countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization,…

South Sudan: South Sudan President Orders Deployment of Troops to Oil Fields

Dec 8, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan president Salva Kiir has ordered for the deployment of additional troops to the oil producing region, saying it would ensure no armed elements…

Conflict Minerals: Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) Releases Latest Reporting Conflict Minerals Reporting Template

Dec 8, 2016 | Source Intelligence

One of the most important efforts to trace whether conflict minerals are entering global supply chains is the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) developed by…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Can’t Count on Kurds or Oil Companies to Meet OPEC Cuts

Dec 8, 2016 | Sam Wilkin, Bloomberg

Iraq can’t count on self-governed Kurds in the country’s north or international oil companies to help it cut crude production as promised at an OPEC…

India/Pakistan: Kashmir, Climate Change, and Nuclear War

Dec 7, 2016 | Zia Mian, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The White House press secretary explained that the underlying concern about South Asia was “the risk that a conventional conflict between India and Pakistan could…

Timor-Leste: East Timor is Going for Broke as Oil Runs out

Dec 7, 2016 | Damon Evans, Forbes

East Timor could be bankrupt within a decade unless it takes urgent action to diversify its economy and reassess its fixation with mega-petroleum projects. Significantly,…

Myanmar: Burma Rivers Network Calls for a Halt to Dam Projects in Conflict Areas

Dec 7, 2016 | Nyein Nyein, Irrawaddy

The Burma Rivers Network (BRN) has called for a halt to hydropower dam projects, special economic zones and natural resource extraction in ethnic areas where…

Climate Change: Dutch FM Calls on Putting Climate-Related Security Risks on UN Security Council Agenda

Dec 6, 2016 | Xinhua

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said on Monday that water- and climate-related security problems belong to the agenda of the UN Security Council, and the…

Colombia: Land Access and Restitution at the Heart of Peacebuilding in Colombia

Dec 6, 2016 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FAO will support Colombia in carrying out a comprehensive rural reform aimed at strengthening food security and peace, including measures which address issues of land…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Exxon Pulls out of Three Exploration Blocks in Kurdistan: Iraq Oil Report

Dec 6, 2016 | Vishal Sridhar, Reuters

Exxon Mobil has pulled out of half of the six exploration blocks it operated in the Kurdistan region, the Iraq Oil Report reported. The oil…

Sudan: Sudan Pressures OVL for Higher Tax, Sits on Extension

Dec 6, 2016 | Time of India

Sudan is playing hardball with India on the issue of extending the licence for an oilfield with a view to extracting additional revenue, even though…

Land: Rural Women Demand Increased Access to Land Rights

Dec 6, 2016 | Gbatemah Senah, Bush Chicken

Amid the celebration of the UN Women-led 16 Days of Activism, a group representing rural women in Liberia has presented a list of demands for…

Iraq/Kurdistan: As Iraq's Kurds Eye Statehood, a Border Takes Shape

Dec 5, 2016 | Associated Press

The sand berms and trenches that snake across northern Iraq stretch toward Syria, some accompanied by newly paved roads lit by street lamps and sprawling…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Kurdistan Sees No Major Oil Output Cuts as Part of OPEC Deal

Dec 5, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan sees no major impact on its crude oil production from OPEC's output cuts, agreed last week, it said on Monday,…

DRC: Israeli Billionaire Dan Gertler Probed by UK Serious Fraud Office over Mining Deals

Dec 5, 2016 | Elsa Buchanan, International Business Times

The United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office is investigating Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler over mining deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC is…

Syria: Syria's River is Overflowing Now That Its People Have Fled

Dec 5, 2016 | Motherboard

The Syrian civil war has wreaked havoc on the Middle East since 2011, with millions of Syrians fleeing the country and trying to survive in…

Liberia: Senate Passes 2 Concession Agreements

Dec 2, 2016 | Bridgett Milton, New Dawn

The Liberian Senate, on Wednesday, November 30, passed two concessionagreements between the Liberian Government and the SethiferroFabrik,Inc. and the Gola Forest National Park. Following the…

Liberia: Exxon Set to Drill - Are Liberians Ready For Jobs in Oil Industry?

Dec 2, 2016 | FrontPageAfrica

Liberia’s oil industry is holding its breath waiting for the outcome of ExxonMobil exploration efforts by the end of the year. With global oil prices…

Iraq: Iraq MP Fears Assassination if Oil Thieves Are Exposed

Dec 2, 2016 | Middle East Monitor

In an interview with Iraqi station Al-Taghier TV, Misha’an Al-Jibouri, a Sunni MP, can be seen to be sat extremely uncomfortably as the programme host…

Afghanistan: The Taliban and China's Quest for Afghan Copper

Dec 2, 2016 | Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi, Deutsche Welle

It sounds paradoxical: The Taliban want to support and encourage big infrastructure and development projects in Afghanistan. That's the bottom line of an unexpected statement the insurgent…

Iraq/Kuridstan/Islamic State: ISIS Uses Water as Weapon in Mosul Fight

Dec 1, 2016 | Mohammed Tawfeeq and Salma Abdelaziz, CNN

At least half a million people caught in the crossfire inside the Iraqi city of Mosul now have no access to running water, the United…

Myanmar: Fire on the Salween: Dams in Conflict Zones Could Threaten Myanmar’s Fragile Peace Process

Dec 1, 2016 | Demelza Stokes, Mongabay

Fear of the dams fueling more conflict in Myanmar’s ethnic areas led to a coalition of ethnic Shan political groups to call for the government…

Afghanistan: Chinese Govt Reacts to WION Expose, Rejects Accusations of Military Activity Deep inside Eastern Afghanistan

Dec 1, 2016 | Giles Gibson, Daily News & Analysis

Last month, WION obtained exclusive pictures showing Chinese-manufactured military vehicles in Little Pamir. The slim finger of Afghan territory borders China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India's…

Food Insecurity: A Cause and Consequence of Conflict

Dec 1, 2016 | Vatican Radio

In a world where conflict affects so many communities, it is important to recognize the connection between food insecurity and social unrest. Kimberly Flowers, Director…

Climate Change: Climate Change Already Major Security Threat – Military Chiefs

Dec 1, 2016 | RT

Climate change and the ‘unimaginable’ refugee crisis which will follow is a threat right now and shouldn’t be seen merely as something which may emerge…

Syria: Toxic Hell of Syria’s Oil Fields

Dec 1, 2016 | Kieran Cooke, Middle East Eye

The satellite images tell the story: black, T-shaped marks littered across areas of the land in eastern Syria controlled by the Islamic State. On closer inspection,…