International
Colombia: Colombian Chocolate Couverture Coming to Europe through Swiss Trade Deal
Jan 4, 2016
|
Oliver Nieburg, Confectionary News
Colombian cocoa processor Cacao Pacifico will sell chocolate couvertures made with fine flavor Colombian cocoa in Europe through a partnership with Swiss Global Enterprise.
Colombia: Agreement to Curb Rising Prices and Speculation in Food
Jan 4, 2016
|
Fresh Plaza
The price of food and the Colombians' personal economy have been affected by the rising dollar, the phenomenon of El Niño, and the structural problem…
Colombia: Inside Colombia’s (New) Cocaine Explosion
Jan 3, 2016
|
Jeremy Kryt, Daily Beast
Steep hills rise out of the morning mist like a junky’s dream of paradise: the slopes teeming with lush, illicit vegetation. Palm and banana trees…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Protests after China Lands Plane on Disputed South China Sea
Jan 2, 2016
|
Reuters
Vietnam formally accused China of violating its sovereignty and a recent confidence-building pact on Saturday by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built…
Myanmar: Low Water Hinders Kayah Hydropower Plants
Jan 2, 2016
|
Eleven Myanmar
Water levels supplying the Baluchaung hydropower plants in Lawpita, Loikaw Township, Kayah State, have been declining for a month. Myint Maung, a farmer near no.1…
Iraq: Iraq Says It Exported More Than 1 Billion Barrels of Oil in 2015
Jan 1, 2016
|
Khalid Al-Ansary and Kadhim Ajrash, Bloomberg
Iraq said it exported 1.097 billion barrels of oil in 2015, generating $49.079 billion from sales, according to the oil ministry. It sold 99.7 million…
Afghanistan: Salma Dam: Another Key Indian Project in Afghanistan
Dec 31, 2015
|
Ranjana Narayan, The Statesman
India’s major development works in Afghanistan are going at a fast pace. The parliament building was inaugurated in Kabul last week by Prime Minister Narendra…
Israel/Palestine: Further Land Grabbing in Jordan Valley
Dec 31, 2015
|
International Solidarity Movement
During the past 6 months, the Jordan Valley Solidarity Campaign has registered further land grabbing in Fasayal village in the Jordan Valley. The land, which…
Colombia: Landmines in Colombia Biggest Challenge for Post-War Nation
Dec 30, 2015
|
Maria Myka, LATINONE
After decades of war, the Colombian government has finally negotiated peace with the rebel group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). However, despite…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: Thousands of Foreign Workers Help ISIS Keep its Crude Oil Flowing
Dec 29, 2015
|
ARA News
The extremist group of Islamic State (ISIS) has recruited thousands of workers with experience in the oil industry to help the group keep crude pumping…
Colombia: Demining Colombia Will Take 'a Generation': Minister
Dec 29, 2015
|
Agence France-Presse
Clearing the landmines from the half-century conflict in Colombia, which has the most mines of any country outside Afghanistan, will take a generation, Defense Minister…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: Armed with Intel, U.S. Strikes Curtail IS Oil Sector
Dec 28, 2015
|
Ben Van Heuvelen, Iraq Oil Report
An intensifying campaign of U.S. air strikes on the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has nearly shut down its oil operations in Iraq and has hampered…
Iraq: Iraq Approaches Exxon, Petrochina over Southern Energy Project
Dec 28, 2015
|
Aref Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
OPEC's second-largest producer, has approached PetroChina and ExxonMobil about investing in a multi-billion-dollar project to boost output from its smaller southern oilfields, a senior Iraqi…
South Sudan: Deadly Famine Looms in South Sudan
Dec 25, 2015
|
Richard Nield, Al Jazeera
More than two years after the outbreak of civil war in South Sudan, tens of thousands of South Sudanese face starvation, say NGOs. More than…
Iraq: Iraq Seeks to Reopen Oil Pipeline through Saudi Arabia-Paper
Dec 24, 2015
|
Saif Hameed, Maher Chmaytelli, and William Hardy, Reuters
Iraq is seeking to reopen its crude oil export pipeline through Saudi Arabia, shut in 1990, state newspaper Assababah reported citing an unidentified Iraqi official.…
Climate Change: War Gaming the Climate: How Global Warming Could Trigger Nationalism
Dec 24, 2015
|
Megan Darby, Climate Home
Backed by the UK’s foreign office and Skoll Global Threats Fund, 24 experts met to play out the implications of a heating planet. These included…
Cote d’Ivoire/Liberia/Sierra Leone/Guinea: US$2bn Power Transmission Line for 4 MRU States
Dec 23, 2015
|
Global News Network
A 225kv power transmission line costing over US2 billion is to be constructed linking the four Mano River Union (MRU) states to serve the expanding…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil Tears Iraq to Pieces
Dec 23, 2015
|
Rufiz Hafizoglu, Trend
The division of the Arab countries of the Middle East on a mini "state" is a painful process accompanied by military actions. The common religion…
Vietnam/China/South China Sea: Insight - Vietnam Builds Military Muscle to Face China
Dec 18, 2015
|
Greg Torode, Reuters
Vietnam's military is steeling itself for conflict with China as it accelerates a decade-long modernisation drive, Hanoi's biggest arms buildup since the height of the…
Liberia: The Importance of the Land Rights Bill to Liberia’s Land Reform Part II (Land Ownership)
Dec 18, 2015
|
Liberian Observer
The Land Rights Bill is a proposed law currently before the Legislature for review. The Bill seeks to establish authentic procedures and well organized processes…
Iraq: World Bank Lends Iraq $1.2 Billion to Face Oil, Security Shocks
Dec 18, 2015
|
Sylvia Westall, Reuters
The World Bank said on Thursday it would lend Iraq $1.2 billion in emergency support to help it deal with the economic effects of its…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: U.N. Targets Islamic State Oil Finance Network
Dec 18, 2015
|
Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International
Finance ministers gathered at the United Nations said that, with millions of dollars coming from illegal oil sales, it was time to target Islamic State…
Vietnam/China/South China Sea: Vietnamese Submarine Patrols South China Sea
Dec 17, 2015
|
Reuters
Vietnam's military is steeling itself for conflict with China as it accelerates a decade-long modernisation drive, Hanoi's biggest arms buildup since the height of the…
DRC: Student Leads Wisconsin School District to Go “Conflict-Free” as International Movement Gathers Steam in 2015
Dec 17, 2015
|
Enough Project
From high schools and college campuses to cities and states, the “Conflict-Free” movement continued to expand this year. Spurred by the activism of a high…
South Sudan: Fuelled by Corruption, South Sudan War Enters Third Year
Dec 17, 2015
|
Karin Zeitvogel, IRIN
South Sudan is an oil-rich country with fertile soil and a wealth of untapped mineral riches. Pilfering money is easy for those who are so…
Food Security: Building Peace: A Path to Resilience in the Face of Food Insecurity
Dec 16, 2015
|
Kate McMahon, Devex
This year’s weather forecast is grim for vulnerable communities and households around the world. Recent reports indicate that this year’s extreme El Nino is having…
Libya/Islamic State: Islamic State Looks to North Africa for Oil, Recruits
Dec 16, 2015
|
Carla Babb, Voice of America
Libya and the Sinai are “vulnerable” areas that the Islamic State group would like to exploit for potential oil revenue and recruits, officials say, as…
Myanmar: UN: Poverty, Conflict Drive Opium Production in Myanmar-Laos
Dec 15, 2015
|
Ron Corben, Voice of America
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime’s latest opium survey for Myanmar and Laos, released Tuesday, said poverty and conflict are the driving forces behind…
Global: Conflict Tops List of Global Risks
Dec 15, 2015
|
Strategic Risk
A UNEP report supports the findings of the World Economic Forum that interstate conflict with regional consequences is now rated as the most likely of…
Ethiopia: Five Dead in Ethiopia Protests Sparked by Land Grab Fears
Dec 15, 2015
|
Agence France-Presse
Ethiopia's government said Tuesday five people had died in weeks of protests sparked by land grab fears in the country's Oromia region, dismissing opposition reports…