International

India: Water Wars: Prohibitory Orders in Maharashtra's Latur Town to Avoid Violence over Water

Mar 20, 2016 | DNA India

Authorities in drought-hit Latur have imposed an order prohibiting the gathering of more than five persons in areas around 20 water storage tanks until May…

Iraq/Kurdistan: On Iraq's Faultline: Kirkuk Governor Calls for Vote on Kurdish Autonomy

Mar 19, 2016 | Florian Neuhof, Middle East Eye

Territorial gains and the weakness of the government in Baghdad emboldened the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in its quest for an independent state. It is the…

Liberia: Grand Gedeh Braces to End Land Crisis

Mar 18, 2016 | New Dawn Liberia

At least six towns and villages [out of nine] within B’hai and Gbao administrative districts, Gbarzon Statutory District, Grand Gedeh County have resolved to give…

Colombia: Colombian Land Mines Unearthed by Ground-Penetrating Radar

Mar 18, 2016 | Jack Loughran, Engineering and Technology Magazine

Ground-penetrating radar systems are being used to detect land mines in Columbia far more effectively than with traditional methods. German researchers from Ruhr University Bochum…

Algeria: Gas Facility in Algeria is Attacked with Rockets

Mar 18, 2016 | Associated Press

Unknown attackers fired rockets on Friday at a gas facility in the Sahara in Algeria, the energy companies Statoil and BP said. There were no…

South Sudan: South Sudan Fuel Crisis Crippling Services and Drivers

Mar 18, 2016 | Parach Mach, Anadolu Agency

Another widespread fuel shortage has hit South Sudan’s capital, Juba rendering institutions ineffective amid hyperinflation after the country’s central bank devalued the currency by about…

Kurdistan/Iraq: Iraq Halts Exports through Pipeline to Pressure Kurds - Iraq Oil Report

Mar 17, 2016 | Maher Chmaytelli and Chris Reese, Reuters

Iraq's central government has stopped oil exports through the Kurdish region to pressure the local authorities to resume talks about an oil revenue sharing agreement,…

Colombia: 'FARC Frog' Caught up in Colombian Conflict

Mar 17, 2016 | Roser Toll, Agence France-Presse

The little green frog's natural camouflage reminded the professor who discovered it of the guerrilla fighters hiding out in the very same Colombian forest. Conservationists…

Somalia: Elephant in Stealth Mode: A Bull Named Morgan Survives Somali War Zone

Mar 17, 2016 | Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times

Elephant experts in Kenya were excited recently by some rare good news: An elephant had crossed into Somalia — and survived. Somalia, one of the…

Colombia: Can Sustainable Farming Revive Colombia’s Former Killing Fields?

Mar 16, 2016 | Karen Tatiana Pardo, El Espectador

In what was once the setting of civil war and gangland murder, peasants in northern Colombia's Montes de María region are using sustainable farming practices…

South Sudan: South Sudan Army Says Land Grabbing Not Official Policy

Mar 16, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s national army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), has distanced itself from reports charging that some of its soldiers and officers have been…

Kurdistan: Iraq: Iraq Preparing to Push Islamic State Away from Oil Region: Report

Mar 16, 2016 | Reuters

Kurdish Peshmerga forces, an Iran-backed Shi'ite militia and Iraq's army will launch an offensive soon to push Islamic State fighters away from the northern oil…

Ethiopia/Egypt: Church Could Broker Peace in 'Water Wars' between Egypt and Ethiopia

Mar 16, 2016 | Mark Woods, Christian Today

Christians could play an important role in easing tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia, according to an Egyptian Coptic bishop. Tensions have risen between the two countries…

Syria: Syrian Kurds Hope to Establish a Federal Region in Country’s North

Mar 16, 2016 | Anne Barnard, New York Times

Syrian Kurdish parties are working on a plan to declare a federal region across much of northern Syria, several of their representatives said on Wednesday.…

Cambodia: Kingdom's Sugar Exports to EU Plummet

Mar 15, 2016 | Will Jackson, Phnom Penh Post

New figures show that Cambodia’s sugar exports to the European Union fell by 94.8 per cent between 2013 and 2015, amid accusations of rights abuses…

Myanmar: NLD under Pressure to Scrap Hydropower Projects

Mar 15, 2016 | Lun Min Mang, Myanmar Times

Huge hydropower projects along the Thanlwin River must be halted, civil society organisations said yesterday, in an appeal to the incoming National League for Democracy…

Iraq: Iraq Runs out of Money to Take on Islamic State

Mar 13, 2016 | Richard Spencer, Telegraph

In the last two months, a new foe has reared its head. The collapse in the price of oil on the world markets, thanks to…

Myanmar: Parliament Cancels Discussions on Letpadaungtaung Copper Mine Project, Military Land Seizures

Mar 11, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

Win Myint, the speaker of Lower House, announced to MPs at a regular parliament session that the discussions on the Letpadaungtaung copper mine project and…

Myanmar: Climate Change Could Cause 4450 Deaths in Myanmar

Mar 10, 2016 | Yola Verbruggen, Myanmar Times

Researchers have predicted that climate change will have such severe impact on food production that it could lead to 4450 deaths in Myanmar by 2050.…

Myanmar: Myanmar’s Jade Bounty is Disappearing ‘in Front of Our Eyes’: Hpakant MP

Mar 10, 2016 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

U Tint Soe, the new lower house MP for Hpakant township, discusses his frustration with Chinese lawbreakers, large-scale excavation, narcotics, landslides, environmental damage and the…

Conflict Minerals: Intel Commits to No More Conflict Minerals in 2016

Mar 10, 2016 | Ariella Brown, EBN

In his CES 2016 keynote, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich cast a spotlight on Intel's goals beyond technology, particularly the achievement of attaining conflict-free  status in 2016. In an…

South Sudan: Oil Minister: Technical Assessment of Damaged Unity Oil Fields Underway

Mar 10, 2016 | Radio Tamazuj

South Sudan's oil minister Steven Dhieu Dau says Wednesday that his ministry is working to boost oil production to raise more income for the country. Dau told…

Sierra Leone: 'Women Are Still Marginalised in Land Ownership'

Mar 10, 2016 | Joseph S. Margai, Concord Times

Director of Green Scenery, Joseph Rahall, has disclosed that in Sierra Leone women are still marginalised in the ownership of land. He made this disclosure…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Shrinking Oil Reserves Crimp Iraqi Kurdistan's Allure

Mar 10, 2016 | Ron Bousso, Reuters

A string of downgrades to Iraqi Kurdistan's oil reserves is a fresh blow to the autonomous region's fledgling oil industry already crippled by conflict, political…

Myanmar: Suu Kyi Party Mulling Myanmar China Dam Rethink, Says Economic Advisor

Mar 9, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Aung San Suu Kyi's incoming government is considering a rethink of a controversial Chinese-backed dam in Myanmar and looking for ways to end a military…

Sierra Leone: 'One Day, They Will Rise up': Explosive Anger Builds around a Tiffany Diamond Mine

Mar 9, 2016 | Cooper Inveen, VICE News

When the siren begins to wail, those who live closest to the mine start packing up their belongings. Armed guards keep watch, ensuring that they…

Iraq: Iraq Prepares to Amend Its Existing Oil Contracts

Mar 9, 2016 | Omar Sattar, Al-Monitor

Oil revenues accruing from oil field development and production in Iraq no longer match the revenues made before the licensing contracts the Ministry of Oil…

Myanmar: Yangon Water Supplies to Outlast Hot Season, Says YCDC

Mar 9, 2016 | Khin Wyne Phyu Phyu, Myanmar Times

Yangon has nothing to fear from El Niño, city officials say, despite warnings that the weather phenomenon will bring drought to many parts of the…

Africa: Hunger Intensifies in Areas Suffering From Drought, Flooding and Conflict - UN Report

Mar 9, 2016 | United Nations

Thirty-four countries, including 27 in Africa, are currently in need of external assistance for food due to drought, flooding and civil conflicts, according to a…

Myanmar: China Says Still Trying to Resolve Stalled Myanmar Dam Scheme

Mar 8, 2016 | Reuters

China is pursuing efforts to resolve the problem of a stalled dam project in Myanmar, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing had…