International


Myanmar: Report Calls for Logging Moratorium, End to State-Run MTE

Mar 31, 2016 | Moe Myint, The Irrawaddy

International and Burmese environmental organizations this week said Burma’s forest reserves are largely exhausted, calling for a moratorium on commercial logging and the dismantling or…


Angola/Nigeria/South Sudan: Perils of Relying on Oil as the Only Source of Livelihood: Lessons from South Sudan, Nigeria, and Angola

Mar 31, 2016 | Astrid R.N. Haas, Mail & Guardian Africa

Developed off the back of one natural resource is risky for any country. It makes them reliant on external conditions beyond their control, such as global…


South Sudan: Row over SPLA Land Grabbing in Central Equatoria

Mar 30, 2016 | Radio Tamazuj

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has reportedly ordered a reversal of construction of settlements by soldiers deployed in South Sudan's Central Equatoria state following complaints…


Israel/Palestine: Palestine Marks 'Land Day' amid Fresh Israeli Land Grabs

Mar 30, 2016 | Anees Bargouthi, Anadolu Agency

Thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday marked "Land Day", which commemorates six Palestinian protesters killed by Israeli troops 40 years ago while demonstrating against the seizure…


Iraq: Iraqis Kept in the Dark about Mosul Dam Emergency Plans

Mar 30, 2016 | Stephen Kalin and Saif Hameed, Reuters

Despite intense U.S. pressure to act to keep Iraq's largest dam from collapsing, Baghdad has done little to prepare Iraqis for the possibility of a…


Conflict Minerals: Apple Says Supply Chain Now 100% Audited for Conflict Minerals

Mar 30, 2016 | Emily Chasan, Bloomberg

Apple Inc. has reached what it’s calling a milestone in supply-chain transparency, saying it’s now auditing 100 percent of its suppliers for the use of…


Conflict Minerals: Edinburgh University Breaks New Ground by Opposing Conflict Minerals

Mar 30, 2016 | Owen Duffy, Guardian

Edinburgh university is to cut the use of so-called conflict minerals in goods it buys, with a promise to search out alternatives if a product…


Myanmar: Plea for Halt to Dams in Myanmar 'Conflict Areas'

Mar 30, 2016 | Shan Human Rights Foundation

A new report launched today by Shan community groups calls for an immediate halt to the Upper Yeywa dam and other planned hydropower dams on…


Myanmar: Power Plant Wastewater Causes Health Problems, Water Shortages in Tikyit

Mar 30, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

Wastewater from the coal-fired power plant in Tikyit, Pinlaung Township, Pa-O Self-Administered Region, has been identified as the cause of health problems and drinking water…


China/United States/South China Sea: US: No, China, We Won't Recognize These Red Lines You've Drawn All over the South China Sea

Mar 30, 2016 | Reuters

The US has told China it will not recognize an exclusion zone in the South China Sea, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said…


Nigeria/South Sudan: Diversify Your Economy from Oil, Buhari Urges South Sudan

Mar 29, 2016 | Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, Leadership

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged the South Sudanese government to invest more in agriculture and not to be solely dependent on oil revenues to…


Oil Prices: Hidden Force behind Oil's Rise: Sabotage by Terrorists

Mar 29, 2016 | Matt Egan, CNN

Oil prices have surged on hopes of a freeze in global production. But a more hidden factor is also fueling the price spike: terror attacks…


Myanmar: Myanmar to Introduce Rules, Regulations of Jewelry Law

Mar 26, 2016 | Shanghai Daily

Myanmar will introduce rules and regulations of the country's Jewelry Law, official media reported Saturday. The Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association is working for…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: South China Sea Controversy: Beijing Urges Vietnam to Deepen Defense Ties amid Territorial Dispute

Mar 26, 2016 | Suman Varandani, International Business Times

China’s defense minister has urged his country’s military to deepen ties with Vietnam amid the ongoing territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Chinese Defense…


DRC: Diamond Mining Industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 2020: Latest Market Research Report

Mar 25, 2016 | Empowered News

ResearchMoz added its latest research report titled " Diamond Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 2020: Worldwide Market Size, Shares, Trends, Growth,…


China/Indonesia/South China Sea: Chinese, Indonesian Fishery Dispute Rekindles Competing Seas Claims

Mar 24, 2016 | Ade Irma, Voice of America

Tension is mounting between China and neighboring Indonesia after a recent fishery dispute brought to light their competing claims over the 200-nautical miles exclusive economic…


Iraq: Iraq Oil Minister Suspends Duties Citing Political Disarray

Mar 24, 2016 | Khalid Al-Ansary, Kadhim Ajrash, and Grant Smith, Bloomberg

Iraq’s Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi suspended his participation in the cabinet, citing disarray in government ministries in OPEC’s second-biggest supplier. Abdul Mahdi said in…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Minister Proposes Solution to Resolve Oil Dispute

Mar 24, 2016 | Kurdsitan24

The Iraqi Oil Minister proposes a resolution for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government to resolve the oil dispute.  Adil Abdulmahdi,…


Iraq: US Marines Enter Battle in Iraq to Help Army and Peshmerga Defend Oil Fields from ISIS

Mar 23, 2016 | Erin Banco, International Business TImes

The Islamic State group is trying to retake control of the oil fields it lost two years ago in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan…


South Sudan: Oil Ministry: South Sudan Will Never Recover Earlier Production Levels

Mar 23, 2016 | Radio Tamazuj

South Sudan’s oil ministry has concluded that oil production is in quick decline, and future production will not reach even half of its peak 2010…


Myanmar: Mandalay Industrial Zone Waste Water Poisons River

Mar 23, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

According to reports, over 90 factories in the Mandalay Industrial Zone in Pyigyidagun Township, have been dumping waste water into the Dunawadi River, depriving villages…


How Exploiting the Earth Can Fuel Violent Conflict

Mar 22, 2016 | Chelsea Harvey, Washington Post

At the end of May, the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA) will convene for the second time ever in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the United Nations’…


Stirling Scientist Wins £1.1 Million to Tackle Global Environmental Conflicts

Mar 22, 2016 | University of Stirling

University of Stirling scientist, Dr Nils Bunnefeld, is tackling one of the biggest environmental problems facing government agencies and communities across the globe -how humans…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Denies Conceding Abyei Region to Sudan

Mar 22, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s foreign affairs minister has denied reports that he authorised an official response to a United Nations Human Rights report on his country’s situation,…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Seeks Financial Agreement with Kurds before Pumping Crude to Turkey

Mar 22, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq will not resume pumping crude through a Kurdish pipeline to Turkey unless it reaches a financial agreement with the Kurdish regional government, the Iraqi…


Iraq: Obama Intervened over Crumbling Iraqi Dam as U.S. Concern Grew

Mar 22, 2016 | Warren Strobel, Jonathan Landay, and Phil Stewart, Reuters

On Jan. 21, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iraq's prime minister in Davos, Switzerland, and handed him a personal note from President…


Climate Change: Obama Says Climate Change Is a Security Risk. Why Are Republicans Laughing?

Mar 21, 2016 | Keith Johnson, Foreign Policy

In the middle of January, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work signed off on one of the potentially most significant, if little-noticed, orders in recent…


Iraq: Sadr Wants Iraqis to Get a Share of Country's Oil Revenue

Mar 21, 2016 | Reuters

Influential Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged followers demonstrating in Baghdad for a new government to also demand that politicians give every Iraqi a…


China/South China Sea: China's Short-Term Victory in the South China Sea

Mar 21, 2016 | Mira Rapp-Hooper, Foreign Affairs

The sands are quickly shifting in the South China Sea. New reports suggest that China may be preparing to conduct land reclamation at Scarborough Shoal,…


Iraq: Iraq Exports First Natural Gas Shipment in Its History

Mar 20, 2016 | Associated Press

Iraq on Sunday exported the first shipment of natural gas in its history, a key development for the OPEC member struggling to feed a cash-strapped…