International


Myanmar: As Lines Form for Water, Myanmar Pins Hopes on Suu Kyi

May 25, 2016 | Esther Htusan, Associated Press

Every year at this time, the ponds and wells go dry. People walk for hours to fill their plastic buckets at a lotus-filled pond that…


Iraq: Construction of Iraqi Oil-Gas Pipeline Expected to Start This Year — Envoy

May 25, 2016 | Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times

Construction of the oil pipeline between Iraq and Jordan is expected to start this year, according to the Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Safia Al Souhail.…


Itaq/Kurdistan: As Baghdad Government Stumbles, Iraqi Kurdistan Officials Call for Partition

May 25, 2016 | Erin Banco, International Business Times

Kirkuk Gov. Najmaldin Karim swept to office on the promise of oil-fueled prosperity for residents of the Kurdish-majority province in northern Iraq. But, with oil exports at a record low, it's a pledge…


South Sudan: Babies Born with Congenital Malformation in Oil Areas of Unity State

May 25, 2016 | Radio Tamazuj

The minister of information in South Sudan’s proposed Ruweng state in northern Unity said on Tuesday there are incidents of congenital malformation among newborn children in oil…


Liberia: Last Liberia Sanctions, Vestige of Civil War, Are Lifted

May 25, 2016 | Somini Sengupta, New York Times

More than a decade after the end of Liberia’s last civil war, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to lift the remaining…


Afghanistan/Iran: Iran Leader Calls for Resolving Water Issue with Afghanistan

May 24, 2016 | Khalid Kazimov, Trend

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for resolving an issue over sharing the waters of the Helmand River between Iran and Afghanistan. At…


Iraq: Power Outages Reduce Iraq Oil Output

May 24, 2016 | Trade Arabia

Iraq is pumping around 4.5 million barrels of oil per day, a senior official said on Tuesday, as issues including maintenance and power outages slow…


Myanmar: Myanmar Jade Mine Landslide Kills at Least 12 in Kachin

May 24, 2016 | BBC

Rescue efforts are underway in Myanmar's jade-producing area after a landslide killed at least 12 people with fears that there may be as many as…


Myanmar: Protestors Call for Closure of Gold Mine

May 24, 2016 | Democratic Voice of Burma

Around 40 residents staged a protest on Monday calling for the shutdown of a gold-mining operation near Uru Creek in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township. Residents…


Agriculture Sector Key to Protecting Livelihoods, Addressing Conflict and Climate Change Risks

May 23, 2016 | Agriculture Industry Today

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are central to ensuring food security and protecting livelihoods and play a key role in changing the way we manage risks…


Africa: World Bank Study Highlights Artisinal Mining Challenges in Central Africa

May 23, 2016 | Mining Review Africa

Women have been known to break boundaries which have persisted to box them into certain classifications of occupations, mining has also been one of those…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Turns to the US and Others to Help Fund the Future of its Crude Oil [Audio]

May 23, 2016 | S&P Global Platts

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been hard hit by the oil price plunge of late, but it is attempting to pull its oil industry out…


China/South China Sea: Why the South China Sea Has More Oil Than You Think

May 23, 2016 | Hellenic Shipping News

With all of China’s geopolitical posturing in the South China Sea, many are claiming that Beijing’s aim to control more than 80% of the troubled…


Myanmar: Communities Demand Regulation as Jade Mining Destroys Landscape

May 23, 2016 | Htet Khaung Linn, Myanmar Now

Local activists and communities have also begun asking for changes in Myanmar's multi-billion dollar jade industry. They demand that authorities mitigate its heavy environmental impacts…


Colombia: Colombians Displaced by Conflict Are Moving Home, but Still Living in Fear

May 23, 2016 | The Conversation

Colombia is finally close to signing a peace accord to formally end to its decades-long armed conflict, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of…


Israel/Palestine: Israeli Land Grabs Benefit Palestinians, State Tells High Court

May 22, 2016 | Chaim Levinson, Haaretz

Landowners from Anata are demanding the state cancel order expropriating their lands for Ma'aleh Adumim, but the state says residents benefit from order by finding…


Liberia: President Sirleaf Launches E-Registration Platform; Commends Farmers for Making Liberia a Food Secured Nation

May 22, 2016 | Executive Mansion

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Saturday launched Liberia’s e- Registration  Platform for farmers in the country and commanded them for  making the nation a food…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: Border Dispute at Angoor Adda Resolved

May 22, 2016 | Mushtaq Yusufzai, The News International

Pakistan on Saturday handed over a multi-purpose built crossing facility at the Angoor Adda border in South Waziristan to Afghanistan. Angoor Adda borders Afghanistan’s restive…


Conflict Minerals: EU Conflict Minerals Legislation Risks Being Quietly Shelved

May 20, 2016 | Julian Hale, Equal Times

Since 2014 the European Union, which Global Witness calls a “major player” in the trade, has been working on a law aimed at getting manufacturers…


Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan Petroleum Minister Reiterates Commitment to Review South Sudan Oil Transit Fees

May 20, 2016 | Radio Tamazuj

Sudan's minister of petroleum and gas Mohammed Zaid Awad said his ministry is committed to president Omar al-Bashir's directives to review South Sudan's oil transit…


Colombia: Colombian Coffee Output to Dip for First Time in Five Years

May 19, 2016 | Mike Verdin, Agrimoney

The remarkable rebound in Colombia's coffee production will see a, small, reversal next season, undermined by potential weather setbacks, and the knock-on effects of a…


Colombia: Can Colombia’s Displaced Go Home Again?

May 19, 2016 | Camila Osorio, New Republic

Afranio Solano moved to Bogotá in 2011 after the Urabeños threatened him. Today he is one of Colombia’s nearly six million forcibly displaced people—the second-highest…


Middle East: Why is the Middle East Hungry? Blame Armed Conflict

May 18, 2016 | Richard Whitehead, Food Navigator

Armed conflict and revolutions have halted and in some cases reverse progress made by Middle Eastern and North African countries in reaching the UN’s development…


United States/Vietnam/South China Sea: US-Vietnam Rapprochement Fast-Tracked amid South China Sea Dispute

May 18, 2016 | Michael Hart, Geopolitical Monitor

President Obama’s upcoming visit to Vietnam could amount to far more than just a symbolic political photo opportunity. It comes amid suggestions that the U.S.…


DRC: Robin Wright Targets Congo's 'Conflict Minerals' Violence with New Campaign

May 17, 2016 | Ed Pilkington, Guardian

House of Cards star Robin Wright has launched a campaign with Congolese and American activists to end the pillage of Congo’s vast mineral resources and…


Colombia: Colombia's War-Weary Farmers Head Home amid Hopes and Fears

May 16, 2016 | Anastasia Moloney, Reuters

More than five decades of conflict have forced 6.7 million Colombians to flee their homes, many of them poor farmers like Portillo, making the country…


Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: UNSC Extends Mandate of Peacekeepers in Abyei

May 16, 2016 | Agence Africaine de Presse

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission of the contested rich-oil region between Sudan and South Sudan for…


Sudan/South Sudan: Peace Heralds Oil Fortune for South Sudan - Envoy

May 16, 2016 | Taddeo Bwambale, New Vision

A little more than two years of fighting in South Sudan had threatened to destroy the country’s oil production, a critical resource the country now…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China's Fishing Ban Adds an Entanglement for Vietnam in the South China Sea

May 16, 2016 | Radio Free Asia

Beijing injected an extra irritant into its long-running dispute with its neighbors with the South China Sea as it announced its annual ban on fishing…


Afghanistan/China: Afghanistan Backs Beijing Stance on South China Sea

May 16, 2016 | Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press

China on Monday said landlocked Afghanistan has expressed support for Beijing's stance on the South China Sea dispute, the latest country from outside the region…