News
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdish Leader Says No Turning back on Independence Bid
Jul 6, 2017
|
Samia Nakhoul, Maher Chmaytelli, and Stephen Kalin, Reuters
Iraq's Kurdish leader said on Thursday that there was no turning back on a bid to achieve an independent Kurdish state, but he would pursue…
Afghanistan/India: Coordination Needed with India, Afghanistan to Mitigate Flood Threat
Jul 6, 2017
|
Dawn
All the relevant authorities looking at ways to mitigate and counter flood threats have stressed the need for improved coordination with India and Afghanistan regarding…
Myanmar: UN Body Provides New Farming Techniques for Myanmar to Address Climate Change
Jul 5, 2017
|
Xinhua
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is providing new farming techniques for Myanmar as part of a project to address climate change risk on water…
Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Drills for Oil in South China Sea
Jul 5, 2017
|
Bill Hayton, BBC
Vietnam has begun drilling for oil in an area of the resource-rich South China Sea also claimed by China. An oil industry consultant told the…
Sudan/South Sudan: UN Force in Abyei Returns Stolen Cattle to Pastoralists
Jul 5, 2017
|
Dabanga
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei handed-over dozens of stolen animals back to the pastoralist groups, following incidents of cattle theft between the…
Colombia: Rural Development as a Path to Peace in Colombia is an Example for the World
Jul 5, 2017
|
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Colombia’s progress in using rural development as a tool to clinch peace after more than half a century of civil war can “fill the entire…
Colombia: From Palenque to the Buenaventura Strike: The Long-Standing Battle of Afro-Colombians
Jul 5, 2017
|
Nazaret Castro, Equal Times
Colombia’s Afro-descendant population, largely concentrated in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, has perhaps been the worst victim of the displacements and the massacres perpetrated by…
Afghanistan/Iran: Iran Criticism of Afghan Dam Projects Draws Rebuke from Kabul Officials
Jul 5, 2017
|
Noor Zahid, Voice of America
Afghan officials reacted strongly to recent remarks by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani concerning water management and irrigation projects in Afghanistan. Speaking at an international conference…
DRC: In DRC, Women Challenge Custom to Assert Legal Right to Inherit Land
Jul 5, 2017
|
Esther Nsapu, News Deeply
Traditionally, women in the DRC gained shares in property through marriage, not inheritance – and today, few realize that this custom contradicts the law. In…
South Sudan: Gold Trade is Unexpected Winner in Failed South Sudan’s Peace Deal
Jul 5, 2017
|
Okech Francis, Bloomberg
After South Sudan’s peace deal collapsed, gun battles rocked the capital and soldiers ransacked his clothing store, Ahmed al-Nur faced the economic crisis in a…
Iran: Iran Fears Tension over Water Shortage, Holds Neighboring Countries Responsible for Crisis
Jul 4, 2017
|
Adel Al-Salmi, Asharq Al Awsat
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani asked neighboring countries to collaborate to address the region’s water shortages and said environmental issues require planning would not be resolved…
South Sudan: Economic Chaos Fuels Gold Mining Rush in Africa's Newest Nation
Jul 4, 2017
|
Okech Francis, Bloomberg
After South Sudan’s peace deal collapsed, gun battles rocked the capital and soldiers ransacked his clothing store, Ahmed al-Nur faced the economic crisis in a trade…
Afghanistan/Iran: Iranian President Voices Concerns Regarding Dams Construction in Afghanistan
Jul 4, 2017
|
Khaama Press
The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has voiced concerns as the Afghan government plans to build more dams in a bid to regulate the waters for…
Why the New Conflict-Free Gold Program May Be about Far More
Jul 3, 2017
|
Rob Bates
Most mineral-tracking schemes—and we have covered quite a few—have a serious downside: They generally work with established mining companies. That threatens the artisanal sector, the…
Demining Workshop Helps Families in Afghanistan Return Home Safely
Jul 3, 2017
|
Amy OHalloran
People in many communities across Afghanistan face daily dangers from landmines and unexploded ordnance that remain behind as a deadly legacy of over four decades…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Canadian Court Orders Seizure of Kurdish Oil Tanker
Jul 3, 2017
|
Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com
A Halifax court issued last week a warrant for the seizure of an oil tanker that holds crude oil from Kurdistan, which was last spotted…
Myanmar: Myanmar’s ‘Sea Gypsies’ Threatened by Dynamite Fishing and Drugs
Jul 3, 2017
|
Agence France-Presse
Until recently the sea provided the Moken with everything they needed: a base for boats they lived in, fish and seafood to eat and bounty…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Tanker with Kurdish Oil Seen in Waters Near Canada/US East Coast
Jul 1, 2017
|
Rudaw
An oil tanker carrying crude oil from the Kurdistan Region that went off track and was allegedly heading to the US over a week ago…
The DRC is Revisiting its Mining Code. Why Reform is Long Overdue
Jun 30, 2017
|
Ben Radley
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recently announced plans to reintroduce the shelved changes to the country’s mining code. The current mining code,…
Costs of Conflict Minerals Compliance (1 of 3) - Why Lower than Expected?
Jun 30, 2017
|
Dynda A. Thomas
The out-of-pocket costs of compliance with the SEC conflict minerals rule have been lower than those originally estimated by industry and by the SEC. But,…
Whose Responsibility is it Anyway? Environmental Obligations in the Nuclear Ban Treaty
Jun 30, 2017
|
Doug Weir
We’re just over halfway through the negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons and, while some campaigners and states seem generally happy with the progress being made on…
Myanmar: Jade Stones on Way to China Seized at Yaypu Checkpoint
Jun 30, 2017
|
Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
Jade stones which were about to be smuggled into China were seized from a truck that was on forest track leading to Theinni from Lashio. After…
Myanmar: Over 1000 Mandalay Farmers Protest Land Seizure, Suits
Jun 30, 2017
|
Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times
More than 1000 farmers in the Mandalay Region staged a protest against what they described as unfair lawsuits filed against them pertaining to seized land.…
North Korea/South Korea: Water Issue Can Escalate Inter-Korean Tension
Jun 29, 2017
|
Kim Se-jeong, Korea Times
Climate change is creating water scarcity around the world, and Korea is not an exception, especially considering inter-Korean relations. "If North Korea releases water from…
Global Rights, Local Struggles: Barriers to Women's Participation in Community Land Decision-Making
Jun 28, 2017
|
Celine Salcedo-La Vina
Seven women quietly filed in and sat on the rough cement floor of the tiny stone block house. We were in a small, dusty village…
Climate Change: House Lawmakers back Amendment Requiring Pentagon Climate Change Report
Jun 28, 2017
|
Ellen Mitchell, Hill
The House Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill will include a provision requiring a Defense Department report on the effects of climate change on military…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad Threatens Legal Action against KRG over Authorized Exports
Jun 27, 2017
|
Zainab Calcuttawala, OilPrice.com
Two weeks after a 700,000-barrel tanker named Neverland reportedly began its journey towards the U.S. East Coast, Baghdad declared its readiness to challenge the legal…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Independence: '800,000 bpd of Crude Needed to Oil Statecraft
Jun 27, 2017
|
Jijo Jacob, International Business Times
Kurdistan is a state in the birth throes. Almost 30 million Kurds in countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran hope to be a…
Philippines/Vietnam/South China Sea: What's behind the Resumed Vietnam-Philippines South China Sea Activity?
Jun 27, 2017
|
Prashanth Parameswaran, Diplomat
On June 22, Vietnam and the Philippines conducted the third iteration of their naval personnel interactions on Southwest Cay in the Spratly Islands in the…
Water Wars: The South China Sea Security Dialogue That Wasn’t
Jun 26, 2017
|
Jared Dummitt and Eliot Kim
The United States and China participated in the inaugural U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue (D&SD) on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.. The negotiations were initially launched by President…