International


Somalia: UN Worried La Nina Will Worsen 'Dire' Drought in Somalia

Sep 1, 2016 | Katy Migiro, Reuters

The La Nina weather phenomenon is likely to worsen drought and hunger in Somalia, especially in the north where many people and their animals are…


Myanmar: Tanintharyi Govt Eyes Unused Farmland

Aug 31, 2016 | Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Times

The Tanintharyi Region government has announced it will take back undeveloped land from companies that have failed to implement proposed agriculture projects, but will need…


Liberia: Ellen Signs Criminal Conveyance Act

Aug 31, 2016 | New Dawn

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has signed into law an “Act against Criminal Conveyance of Land” following its passage by both Houses of the Legislature. According to…


Colombia: Colombia Asks FAO to Collaborate in Implementation of Peace Agreements

Aug 31, 2016 | EIN News

The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, have asked FAO to collaborate in the implementation of the first point of…


Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Says All Will Lose in Any South China Sea War

Aug 31, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang warned on Tuesday there would be no winners in any armed conflict sparked by territorial disputes in the South China…


Afghanistan: In Afghanistan’s Farm Belt, Women Lead Unions and Find New Status

Aug 31, 2016 | Mujib Mashal, New York Times

In this lush farm belt deep in central Afghanistan, women have been the organizing force behind a new wave of small village farm unions. That…


China/South China Sea: China, ASEAN Eye Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea —Sources

Aug 31, 2016 | Michaela del Callar, GMA News

Amid mounting worries over territorial conflicts in the South China Sea, Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders plan to establish an emergency diplomatic hotline and adopt…


Iran/Iraq: Iran, Iraq in Talks for Crude Oil Swap, amid Baghdad's Revenue Dispute with KRG

Aug 31, 2016 | Platts

Iran may allow neighboring rival Iraq to export crude oil through its territory, though any plan to do so would have to overcome several hurdles,…


DRC: 'Clean up' Artisanal Mining Sector in South Kivu, DRC Minister Warns after Gold Rush Exposé

Aug 31, 2016 | Romil Patel, International Business Times

The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) mines minister has called for a "genuine clean up" of South Kivu's mining sector. Martin Kabwelulu issued the call…


Liberia: Extractive Revenue Drops from US$135M in 2014 to US$100M in 2015 LEITI's 8th Report Revealed

Aug 31, 2016 | Global News Network

The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) his disclosed that direct government revenue from the extractive industries dropped from US$135.3m in the Fiscal Year 2013/2014…


Iraq: Iraq Blacklists Three Oil Tankers for Shipping Kurdish Crude

Aug 30, 2016 | Zainab Calcuttawala, OilPrice.com

Three tankers that shipped crude from Kurdistan have been blacklisted by the Iraqi State Organization for the Marketing of Oil (SOMO) in a move designed…


Myanmar: Illegal Logging Mars Magwe’s Deep Forests

Aug 29, 2016 | Nay Aung, Myanmar Times

Myanmar is the third-worst country in the world for deforestation, according to a 2015 report issued by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, which said that…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Plans to Sell Oil through Iran if Talks with Kurds Fail

Aug 29, 2016 | Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Iraq's government would consider selling crude through Iran should talks with the autonomous Kurdish region on an oil revenue-sharing agreement fail, a senior oil ministry…


Timor-Leste: Australia Says Tribunal Has No Jurisdiction in Maritime Border Row with East Timor

Aug 29, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

East Timor on Monday urged an international tribunal to help resolve a dispute with Australia over a maritime border which cuts through lucrative oil and…


Iraq: Iraq Says Fires Put out at Four Oil Wells in Town Captured from IS

Aug 29, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq has put out fires at four oil wells in the oil-producing region of Qayyara which Iraqi forces recaptured from Islamic State last week, the…


Israel/Palestine: Palestinian Water Wars Boiling over in Sa'ir

Aug 28, 2016 | Adam Rasgan, Jerusalem Post

The Palestinian Water Authority and the Sa’ir Municipality are at odds over the disappearance of large amounts of water from Sa’ir, a town of 25,000…


South Sudan: Are South Sudan’s Wetlands in Danger of Drying up?

Aug 26, 2016 | UNEP

The Sudd ecosystem and its unique cultures are threatened by a variety of development pressures including a plan to almost completely drain the wetland to…


Liberia: Sime Darby Plantation to Inaugurate its First US$18M Oil Palm Mill in Western Liberia

Aug 26, 2016 | Global News Network

The Sime Darby Plantation, a Malaysian Conglomerate Plantation Company operating in western Liberia has disclosed that it will inaugurate one of the modern palm oil…


Iraq: Iraq's Qayyara Oil Wells Still Burning Weeks after Start of Battle

Aug 26, 2016 | Rudaw

After an operation that lasted more than two months Iraqi troops managed to reach the town of Qayyara on Thursday and expel its Islamic State…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Seeks Formal Deal With Kurds to Protect New Oil Exports

Aug 25, 2016 | Sam Wilin and Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg

Iraq’s resumption last week of oil shipments through a Kurdish-controlled pipeline bumped up its export capacity by five percent almost overnight. Now OPEC’s second-biggest producer…


Myanmar: Limited Capacity Hinders Myanmar’s Water Management

Aug 24, 2016 | Khine Kyaw, Myanmar Eleven

River basin organisations should be established to support the activities of the National Water Resource Committee (NWRC), to enhance the country’s water management which has…


Myanmar: Shan Groups Warn Salween Dam Could Fuel Conflict

Aug 24, 2016 | Libby Hogan, Democratic Voice of Burma

Shan community groups are calling for the suspension of a Chinese-backed dam on the Salween River that they say risks exacerbating conflict and environmental problems…


Myanmar: Shan Farmers Protest Nao Pha Dam Project

Aug 23, 2016 | Thu Thu Aung, Myanmar Times

With the future of the controversial Myitsone dam project apparently still in doubt following Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to China, local…


DRC: Katanga Youth Project Hopes to Cut Minerals Dependence

Aug 23, 2016 | Victor Muisyo, Africa News

The Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa’s largest copper producer, and heavily relies on the mining sector, which, alongside its small oil industries accounts for…


Food Security: Food Security Issues Plague Middle East

Aug 23, 2016 | Chris Lyddon, World Grain

The Middle East is a diverse region, but many believe it needs to work together to achieve greater food security. The region faces the challenge…


Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Agree to Extend Oil Deal

Aug 23, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Sudan and South Sudan agreed Tuesday to extend an oil deal between the two countries, officials said, but they failed to settle the exact terms.…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Asks for Khartoum Technical Assistance to Resume Oil Production

Aug 23, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai said that his country has asked Khartoum to provide technical assistance to restart oil production from oil…


Iraq: Iraq Has Not Yet Reached its Full Oil Market Share, Says PM

Aug 23, 2016 | Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Iraq's prime minister said the country has not yet reached its full oil market share, suggesting his government would not restrain crude output as part…


Myanmar: Myanmar Coffee to Hit Whole Foods as Economic Opening Continues

Aug 23, 2016 | Luc Cohen, Reuters

Two shipments of coffee beans from Myanmar arrived in the United States this month, the first commercial-scale imports in over 15 years and the fruits…


Colombia: Colombian Agribusiness in the Wake of War

Aug 23, 2016 | Mike Wilson, Farm Future

The Marxist guerilla group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) is the oldest and largest group among Colombia's left-wing rebels. They claim to be fighting…