International


Afghanistan: Governor Orders Halt to Forest Cutting in Nangarhar

Feb 6, 2016 | Zeerak Fahim, Pajhwok Afghan News

Launching a spring tree plantation campaign, the governor on Saturday said he had directed district and police chiefs of some districts to prevent forests from…


Myanmar: Myanmar Submits Landmark Extractive Industries Report

Feb 5, 2016 | Oliver Slow, Frontier Myanmar

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has welcomed the first report to be submitted by Myanmar since it was granted candidate status for membership with the…


Colombia: Peasants Sue over Mining Contamination

Feb 5, 2016 | World War 4 Report

Indigenous and Black communities in Colombia's Chocó department filed a lawsuit this week, claiming 37 of their children died after drinking water contaminated with mercury by…


Climate Security: New Climate & Security Film: The Age of Consequences

Feb 4, 2016 | Sophie Robinson, Huffington Post

A documentary is taking a new twist on climate change: THE AGE OF CONSEQUENCES, to be released in late 2016, investigates the impacts of climate…


China/Vietnam/United States/South China Sea: Vietnam Backs Latest US Challenge to Beijing’s Sovereignty in South China Sea, Say Analysts

Feb 3, 2016 | Kristine Kwok, South China Morning Post

Washington may claim its latest operation in the South China Sea was aimed at challenging Vietnamese territorial claims in the region as much as China’s,…


Iraq: Iraq Awards Contract for Repairing 'Most Dangerous Dam in the World'

Feb 3, 2016 | Qassim Abdul-Zahra, The Associated Press

Iraq on Tuesday awarded an Italian company a contract to overhaul and maintain the Mosul dam in the country's north, days after a U.S. general…


Iraq: Iraq's Illegal Hunting Problem

Feb 3, 2016 | Wassim Bassem, Al-Monitor

The abduction of 26 Qatari hunters, including members of the ruling family, by a Shiite armed group — which demanded a $1 million ransom for…


South Sudan/Sudan: South Sudan and Sudan Agree to Peg Crude Pipeline Fees to Oil Price

Feb 3, 2016 | Africa Report

Transit fees that Sudan charges its neighbour South Sudan will be based on prevailing crude oil prices, a move away from a fixed fee, South…


Liberia: Burkinabe Land Occupants ‘Claim’ Ownership in Grand Gedeh

Feb 3, 2016 | Agence Africaine de Presse

Reports from southeastern Grand Gedeh County say Burkinabes occupying an estimated 500 acres of land in the forest bordering Cote d’Ivoire are laying claim to…


Land Rights: Investor Push Urged to Help Secure Indigenous Land Rights

Feb 3, 2016 | Megan Rowling, Reuters

Conditions are ripe for a global leap forward in recognizing the land rights of indigenous people and forest communities, but investors and the public need…


Iraq: Iraq Oil Exports up but Revenues Plunge on Low Prices

Feb 2, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Iraqi oil exports rose in January compared to the previous month but revenue fell by more than $650 million due to plunging crude prices, the…


United States/China/South China Sea: US Moves Highlight South China Sea Conflict

Feb 1, 2016 | Brooks Boliek, Radio Free Asia

In a sign that the United States isn’t going to let China’s ambition to dominate the South China Sea go unchecked, Washington sent the guided…


Iraq: Salt Industry Evaporating in Iraq

Feb 1, 2016 | Wassim Bassem, Al-Monitor

Iraq annually imports salt worth $250 million, though it has one of the largest salt ponds in the world. It seems a viable idea to invest in the country's salt…


Nigeria: Bomb Attacks on Pipelines Cause Massive Oil Spill in Nigeria

Feb 1, 2016 | Hilary Uguru, Associated Press

Multiple bombings of Agip oil pipelines have caused thousands of barrels of oil to pollute waterways, farms and fishing grounds in Nigeria's southern Bayelsa state,…


Colombia: Santander: 85 Municipios en Alerta Roja por Incendios Forestales

Feb 1, 2016 | W Radio Colombia

85 de los 87 municipios que conforman Santander han sido declarados en alerta roja  por los incendios forestales que se han presentado en medianas magnitudes,…


Afghanistan: Major Greenery Project Inaugurated in Capital Kabul

Jan 31, 2016 | Khaama Press

A major greenery project was formally inaugurated in capital Kabul on Saturday with the officials saying the project will cover ten thousand hectares of land…


Kurdistan/Iraq: Battered by War, Iraq Now Faces Calamity from Dropping Oil Prices

Jan 31, 2016 | Tim Arango, New York Times

Iraqis seeking to withdraw money from banks are told there is not enough cash. Hospitals in Baghdad are falling back to the deprivation of the…


Iraq: Mosul Dam Flows, Returning Power to IS Held City Below

Jan 30, 2016 | Patrick Osgood and Rawaz Tahir, Iraq Oil Report

The Iraqi government restarted electricity and water supplies to Mosul on Saturday, as engineers running the Mosul hydroelectric dam re-opened its main gates, fearing the…


China/United States/South China Sea: U.S. Challenges China’s Claim of Islands with Maritime Operation

Jan 30, 2016 | Jane Perlez, New York Times

China on Saturday accused the United States Navy of violating its laws by sending a warship within the 12-mile territorial zone of an island it…


Liberia: Public Hearing on Proposed Land Authority Bill Reconvenes Soon Senate Commended

Jan 29, 2016 | Liberian Observer

The Liberian Senate, through its Committees on Lands, Mines, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment & Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions, has been commended for…


Afghanistan: Mining Leases to Foreigners Upset Local Investors in Fata

Jan 29, 2016 | The News International

The issuance of prospective licenses and leases to Afghan refugees on the basis of fraudulently made nationality documents on the one hand has caused unrest…


Angola: Land-Grabbing as a Path to Riches and Status in Angola

Jan 29, 2016 | Maka Angola

Angolan investigative journalist and human rights defender Rafael Marques de Morais has submitted a complaint to the Office of the Attorney General about the behaviour…


Colombia: UN Pushes Colombia to Support Family Farming Post-Peace Deal

Jan 29, 2016 | teleSUR

Colombia should invest more in small family farming, and at least 30 percent of the public budget should go toward supporting small scale producers—at least…


Middle East: Hunger Grips Millions across Middle East as Conflict Fighters use Food as Weapon of War

Jan 29, 2016 | Associated Press

In a Middle East torn apart by war and conflict fighters are increasingly using food as a weapon of war. Millions of people across countries…


Conflict Minerals: Global Witness: 'EU Needs to Take Firm Stand on Conflict Minerals' [Interview]

Jan 29, 2016 | Anke Rasper, Deutsche Welle

The NGO Global Witness campaigns against human rights violations. It says more needs to be done to combat the trade of diamonds from conflict zones.…


Kurdistan/Iraq: Electricity Supply in Iraq's Kurdistan Region Hit by Blast

Jan 29, 2016 | Reuters

A pipeline for gas used to generate around half the electricity in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region was blown up on Friday, knocking out power, a…


Iraq: Iraq's Mosul Dam Could Face Catastrophic Collapse - Top U.S. General

Jan 28, 2016 | Reuters

The U.S. military has a contingency plan to deal with a potential collapse of Mosul dam in northern Iraq which would be catastrophic, the top…


Yemen: FAO Warns of Rapidly Deteriorating Food Security in Yemen

Jan 28, 2016 | Gulf Today

More than half of the total population of Yemen, some 14.4 million people, are food insecure, as ongoing conflict and import restrictions have reduced the…


Myanmar: Malnutrition Spikes in Myanmar's Rakhine State after Floods - EU Agency

Jan 28, 2016 | Alisa Tang, Thomson Reuters Foundation

The number of severely malnourished children has spiked in northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, a European Union agency said, after floods six months ago dealt…


Myanmar: Letpadaung Farmers’ Crop Compensation Demands Denied

Jan 27, 2016 | Thuzar, The Irrawaddy

The Chinese firm Wanbao’s Burma subsidiary has reportedly told locals in the Letpadaung mine area that it has no plan to compensate them further, after…