News

Afghanistan/Iran: Iran, Afghanistan to Address Hirmand Border Issue

Oct 8, 2016 | Mehr News Agency

The pressing issue of current situation between Iran and Afghanistan is environmental disaster underway in Iranian side of the border where different governments of Afghanistan…

Rights for Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Communities are Crucial for Colombia’s Peace

Oct 7, 2016 | Omaira Bolaños

The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santosfor his efforts in ending a more than 50-year-long civil war, serves as a reminder that…

Do the ILC’s Draft Principles on Remnants and Data Sharing Reflect State Practice?

Oct 6, 2016 | Doug Weir

A new report from PAX and ICBUW on the legacy of depleted uranium use in the 2003 Iraq War could help inform the debate initiated…

Myanmar: US Gems Association Eyes Trade Ties as Sanctions End

Oct 6, 2016 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) arrived in Myanmar for the first time this week to assess the gems sector and build trade relationships ahead…

Iraq: Iraq War Records Reignite Debate over US Use of Depleted Uranium

Oct 6, 2016 | Samuel Oakford, IRIN

Records detailing as many as 181,000 rounds of depleted uranium munitions shot in 2003 by American forces in Iraq have been unearthed by researchers, representing…

Combat vs. Climate

Oct 5, 2016 | Miriam Pemberton

Our military calls climate change "an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic…

Afghanistan: Afghan Opium Production Increases as Eradication Collapses, UN Says

Oct 5, 2016 | Reuters

Opium production in Afghanistan increased this year to one of the highest levels on record as efforts to eradicate the crop in a country that…

Iraq: Iraqi Forces Burn ISIS Poppy Fields to Curtail Heroin and Opium Revenue

Oct 5, 2016 | Iraqi News

Iraqi security forces burned a 16 thousand square meter field planted with opium poppies belonging to ISIS gangs near Sharqat district in Salahuddin province. Iraqi media…

Iraq: Iraqi Qayyara Oil Keeps Burning Six Weeks after Ouster of Islamic State

Oct 5, 2016 | Reuters

Several wells in Iraq's Qayyara oilfield continue to burn six weeks after the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces ousted Islamic State militants from the town as part…

Sudan: Most of Sudan's Oil Opportunities Have Vanished, IMF Says

Oct 5, 2016 | Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International

Fragility in Sudan brought on by regional conflicts is exacerbated by the loss of most of its oil export potential, the International Monetary Fund said.…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Exclusive: U.S. Helped Clinch Iraq Oil Deal to Keep Mosul Battle on Track

Oct 4, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq and the U.S.-led military coalition backing it are relying on cooperation from the Kurds to retake Mosul from the ultra-hardline jihadists and undermine their…

South Sudan: RPT-Nespresso Temporarily Halts Coffee Operations in South Sudan

Oct 4, 2016 | Reuters

Nestle's Nespresso brand said it had halted coffee operations for now in South Sudan, where opposition leader Riek Machar has called for a return to…

Conflict Minerals: Conflict Cobalt Uncertainty Continues to Haunt Consumer Industries

Oct 3, 2016 | Greg Klein, Resource Clips

Nine months after issuing a report on cobalt produced by child labour, Amnesty International says major manufacturers still can’t guarantee conflict-free sources. The organization’s January…

Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, S. Sudan Border Commission Approves Demarcation Documents

Oct 1, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

The Joint Border Commission (JBC) between Sudan and South Sudan on Thursday has endorsed a number of documents pertaining to the border demarcation, said Sudan’s…

As Colombia Pursues Peace, Nature Could be Powerful Bridge

Sep 30, 2016 | Molly Bergen

On October 2, Colombian voters will vote on a historic peace deal between the government and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known by their…

India/Pakistan: Why the India-Pakistan War over Water is So Dangerous

Sep 30, 2016 | Michael Kugelman, Foreign Policy

Early on the morning of Sept. 29, according to India’s Defense Ministry and military, Indian forces staged a “surgical strike” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that targeted…

DRC: Bribe to Congolese Officials Revealed in US Corruption Case

Sep 30, 2016 | Geoffrey York, Globe and Mail

The cellphone message from the Israeli businessman was blunt and vulgar: The Canadian mining company must be “screwed and finished totally,” he told an associate…

DRC: The Cobalt Pipeline

Sep 30, 2016 | Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post

The world’s soaring demand for cobalt is at times met by workers, including children, who labor in harsh and dangerous conditions. An estimated 100,000 cobalt…

Myanmar’s Forests Face Myriad Problems as Logging Ban Continues

Sep 29, 2016 | Jennifer Rigby

Between 1990 and 2015, Myanmar lost nearly 15 million hectares of forest and other wooded land. Since 2010, half a million hectares of forest has…

Myanmar: Advanced Israeli Farming Technology offers Options for Myanmar

Sep 29, 2016 | Hong Sar, Mizzima

Israel uses technology for turning the country from desert into a successful agricultural economy. In the dry zone, they use computerized irrigation system and water…

Colombia: Colombia Peace Deal Will Allow Scientists to Uncover Country's Unexplored Biodiversity

Sep 29, 2016 | Anna-Cat Brigida, Fox News Latino

Scientists studying Colombia’s rich biodiversity are among many celebrating the August announcement of a permanent ceasefire between the Colombian government and FARC rebels. After decades…

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Fish Now as Precious 'as Diamonds'

Sep 29, 2016 | World Bulletin

Despite an abundance of fish in Sierra Leone’s waters, ordinary people are finding out that this part of their daily food is now increasingly becoming…

Conflict Minerals: 'Blood Diamond' Suspect Dies in Belgian Prison

Sep 29, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

A US-Belgian businessman accused of enslavement and diamond trafficking during Sierra Leone's civil war has died in a Brussels prison, officials said on Thursday.Michel Desaedeleer,…

Sierra Leone's Farmers Continue to Fight Multinational Land Grabs

Sep 28, 2016 | Silas Gbandia

A former member of Sierra Leone’s parliament has spoken of his determination to put an end to what he describes as the “underhand deals” taking…

Colombia: Rebels Could become Guides, Cheesemakers in Post-War Colombia

Sep 28, 2016 | Julia Symmes Cobb and Nelson Bocanegra, Reuters

Veterans of Colombia's FARC guerrilla army could soon be making a living as eco-tourism guides, beef processors or cheese makers under plans by the Marxist group to…

Iraq/Kurdistan: ISIS No Longer Controls Any Iraqi Oil

Sep 28, 2016 | Rudaw

Following the recapture of Shargat and Qayyarah – two oil-rich towns in northern Iraq – by the Iraqi army, the Islamic State (ISIS) no longer…

Myanmar: Magwe Farmers Demand Return of Land Seized in the 1990s

Sep 28, 2016 | Nay Aung, Myanmar Times

Farmers from Magwe Region have formally submitted complaints, for a third time this year, demanding the return of acreage seized by the Ministry of Defence…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Mosul: A Make-or-Break Moment for Aid Agencies

Sep 28, 2016 | Annie Slemrod

Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq, is the country’s second largest city. It has been under the group’s control since June 2014. In…

Greece: Shelter/WASH Officer

Sep 27, 2016 | Danish Refugee Council

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental and non-profit organization, founded in 1956, that works in 40 countries around the world. DRC’s mandate…

Ambassador Marie Jacobsson to Receive Fourth Al-Moumin Award in Environmental Peacebuilding

Sep 27, 2016

For the last three years, Ambassador Marie Jacobsson has served as the International Law Commission’s Special Rapporteur for the topic Protection of the Environment in…