International
Myanmar: Govt Releases Long-Awaited Environmental Guidelines for Megaprojects
Jan 15, 2016
|
Frontier Myanmar
The government on Thursday announced new assessment requirements for investment projects that could cause environmental and social harm. The new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures,…
Myamar: Water Management Requires a More Holistic View
Jan 15, 2016
|
Piyaporn Wongruang, Nationmultimedia
As of Tuesday, the combined amount of usable water retained in seven major dams, including Bhumibol and Sirikit, that feed the Central plains stood at…
Myanmar: Myanmar Aims High for Gas Discoveries in the Future
Jan 14, 2016
|
Khine Kyaw, Eleven Myanmar
The recent discovery of gas in Block A-6 is just the first of numerous discoveries in Myanmar, which remains an attractive frontier for international oil…
Afghanistan: The U.S. Spent a Half Billion on Mining in Afghanistan with ‘Limited Progress’
Jan 14, 2016
|
Megan McCloskey, Pro Publica
The United States has spent nearly half a billion dollars and five years developing Afghanistan’s oil, gas and minerals industries — and has little to…
Liberia: Land Commission and the Land Governance Support Activity (LGSA) Completes Ten Days Awareness Campaign on the Land Authority Bill
Jan 14, 2016
|
Liberian Observer
The Land Commission in collaboration with one of its partners, Land Governance Support Activity (LGSA) has completed a ten-day intensive awareness campaign on the draft…
Myanmar: Key Witness Missing in Illegal Jade Ownership Case
Jan 13, 2016
|
Swan Ye Htut, Myanmar Times
Kachin State resident Ngwe Si Hein and the Runjan Stone company have been battling for three years over the ownership of a rock of rough…
Myanmar: Govt Rejects China’s Request for Timber-Based Industrial Zone in Myanmar
Jan 13, 2016
|
Eleven Myanmar
The Myanmar government has rejected China’s requests to purchase timber in log form under a tender system and to build a timber-based industrial zone in…
Liberia: Senate Pro-Tempore Wants Review of Forest Policies
Jan 13, 2016
|
FrontPageAfrica
In the wake of recommendations from western countries to pay poor countries including Liberia for its forest reserve, Senate Pro-Tempore Armah Jallah is recommending a…
Colombia: Colombia Continues Work on Gold Projects Despite Dropping Prices
Jan 13, 2016
|
LATINONE
Mining companies are still continuing their gold projects in Colombia despite the weakening local currency, which offsets falling gold prices. Miners, including Continental Gold, Red…
Philippines/China/South China Sea: Time Is of the Essence in South China Sea Arbitration Case
Jan 13, 2016
|
Ernest Bower and Conor Cronin, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
The timing of the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the Philippines’ case against China’s nine-dash-line claims has critical geopolitical…
Afghanistan: Afghan Rivers Need Better Management
Jan 12, 2016
|
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
A national strategy to manage Afghanistan’s abundant water reserves is urgently needed, according to debates organised by IWPR in three Afghan provinces. The events in…
Conflict Minerals: How Intel Eliminated War from Its Supply Chain
Jan 12, 2016
|
Alexander C. Kaufman, Huffington Post
Seven years ago, Carolyn Duran realized the company she worked for had blood on its hands. Intel -- the world's largest semiconductor maker, where Duran…
Myanmar: Gold Miner Opens Case Amid Fresh Protests
Jan 12, 2016
|
Than Naing Soe, Myanmar Times
A gold-mining company supported by military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings opened a case with Mandalay police last week, after 100 people occupied the site…
Myanmar: CSOs Ask to Be Heard in Timber Trade Talks with China
Jan 12, 2016
|
Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy
A network of some 150 civil society organizations (CSOs) have called for their voices to be heard in bilateral timber trade talks between Burma and…
Colombia: La Peor Sequía en Casi dos Décadas Sacude a Colombia [The Worst Drought in Nearly Two Decades Shakes Colombia]
Jan 12, 2016
|
EL PAÍS
Colombia, un país donde el verde y la lluvia caracterizan gran parte de su territorio, vive la peor sequía en casi dos décadas. Sus efectos…
Libya/Islamic State: Islamic State Targeting Libyan Oil to Make Trouble, Not a Profit
Jan 11, 2016
|
Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor
When the Islamic State first set its eyes on Libya, it no doubt saw fertile soil for conquest in a lawless land being fought over by myriad political and military factions.…
DRC: The True Cost of Mineral Smuggling in the DRC
Jan 11, 2016
|
Institute for Security Studies
Africa loses far more money through illicit financial flows every year than it receives in aid and foreign direct investment. Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimated…
DRC: Intel Plans to Remove All Conflict Materials from Supply Chains
Jan 11, 2016
|
The Strategic Sourceror
When talking on an iPhone, putting on a piece of jewelry or driving in a car, most people don't consider where the materials used to…
Liberia: As Chevron Contract Expires, Liberia Oil Firm Board Chair Quits
Jan 11, 2016
|
Rodney D. Sieh, FrontPageAfrica
The Chairman of the Board of the National Oil Company of Liberia has reportedly stepped down, FrontPageAfrica has learned. But it is unclear whether Cllr.…
Myanmar: 20 Villages in Mrauk U Face Drinking Water Shortage
Jan 11, 2016
|
Eleven Myanmar
Around 20 flood-affected villages in Mrauk U Township, Rakhine State, are facing a shortage of drinking water, according to civic organisations and local residents.
Afghanistan: Apiculture, Honey Production Significantly Grow in Kandahar
Jan 11, 2016
|
Bashir Ahmad Naadem, Pajhwok Afghan News
Beekeeping has significantly increased in southern Kandahar provinceduring the current solar year,when farmers collected 8,000 kilograms of honey. In the past, beekeeping in Kandahar had…
Côte d’Ivoire: U.S. Top Court Rejects Nestle Bid to Throw out Child Slavery Suit
Jan 11, 2016
|
Lawrence Hurley, Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by Nestle SA, the world's largest food maker, and two other companies to throw out a…
South Sudan/Sudan: S. Sudan Asks Khartoum to Reduce Oil Transportation Fee
Jan 10, 2016
|
Sudan Tribune
The Government of South Sudan has asked Khartoum to cut the lease of Sudanese oil transportation facilities. Juba said its request was prompted by the…
Iraq: Neglect May Do What ISIS Didn’t: Breach Iraqi Dam
Jan 10, 2016
|
Michael R. Gordon, New York Times
More than 16 months after Iraqi and Kurdish forces reclaimed Mosul Dam from Islamic State fighters, the structure faces a new threat: the danger that…
Vietnam/China/South China Sea: Vietnam Warns China over Air Safety Threat
Jan 9, 2016
|
Agence France-Presse
Vietnam's civil aviation authority has accused Beijing of threatening regional air safety by conducting unannounced flights through its airspace to a disputed reef in the…
Myanmar: YCDC Moves to Avoid Hot-Season Water Shortages
Jan 9, 2016
|
Eleven Myanmar
Yangon City Development Committee Water and Sanitation Department said it had taken measures to avoid water shortages during the hot season as a result of…
Liberia: Liberia Vulnerable to Climate Change’ - Says Dr. Slawon
Jan 8, 2016
|
Willie N. Tokpah, FrontPageAfrica
Climate change remains an environmental cancer which has been covertly eating up the green of every nation including Liberia and the world at large. It…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: Airstrikes Reduce Islamic State Oil Revenue
Jan 8, 2016
|
Jim Michaels, USA Today
An air campaign aimed at crippling the Islamic State’s lucrative oil smuggling business has reduced the terror group's revenue from a peak of about $1.3 million…
Myanmar: New Permits for Gem Mining to Go Ahead Despite Objections
Jan 7, 2016
|
Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
The Ministry of Mining invited applications for new permits in August 2015, with a deadline of November 16 that year. It has extended the deadline…
Myanmar: Why Can't Myanmar Clear its Landmines?
Jan 7, 2016
|
Ann Wang, IRIN
Children are among thousands of people in Myanmar who have been killed or injured by landmines planted by the military or ethnic armed groups during…