News


The Civilian Health Risks from TNT in Syria’s Barrel Bombs

Mar 27, 2015 | Doug Weir

The TRWP was recently asked to help identify a substance associated with partially detonated barrel bombs in Syria. Syria’s White Helmets, the volunteers who daily…


Turkey: Reconciliation Process Helps Oil Operations in Northern Iraq

Mar 27, 2015 | Daily Sabah

The reconciliation process is permitting Turkey to explore for oil in northern Iraq, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said yesterday. Turkey's reconciliation process…


Yemen: War in Yemen Could Threaten One of the World's Most Important Oil Choke Points

Mar 27, 2015 | Armin Rosen, Business Insider

Oil prices are surging after Saudi Arabia began a military operation against Iranian-supported Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen:

Yemen isn’t a world-shaking oil producer, churning out…


Myanmar: Minister Faces Land-Grab Accusations

Mar 27, 2015 | Wa Lone, Myanmar Times

Minister for Agriculture U Myint Hlaing has been embroiled in allegations that he oversaw the confiscation of thousands of acres of land while military commander…


China/Philippines/South China Sea: China 'Seriously Concerned' by Philippine's Building in South China Sea

Mar 27, 2015 | Channel News Asia

China's Foreign Ministry expressed serious concern on Friday after the Philippines said it would resume repair and reconstruction works on disputed islands in the South…


South Sudan/Sudan/Abyei: More Than 30, 000 Flee Clashes in South Sudan’s Disputed Abyei region

Mar 27, 2015 | StarAfrica

The South Sudan government has disclosed that more than 30, 000 people have been displaced from Abyei State, a disputed area with neighbouring Sudan following…


Don't Torpedo The Dam, Full Speed Ahead For Ethiopia's Nile Project

Mar 26, 2015 | Gregory Warner

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is under construction near Assosa, Ethiopia. When it's completed, the dam will have be able to produce 6,000 megawatts of…


From Food Security to Regional Security: How Community Resilience Can Prevent Conflict in Africa

Mar 26, 2015 | Darius Mans

If we're going to prevent people from being susceptible to the false promises of extremism, then the international community has to offer something better... We…


DRC: DRC Will Learn from Zambia Tax U-turn

Mar 26, 2015 | David McKay, Miningmx

Commenting on a review of the DRC's mining code, which includes increases in the tax burden, Jacobs said: "I think what happened in Zambia this…


Sudan: U.S.: Schlumberger 'Willfully' Violated Sanctions

Mar 26, 2015 | David J. Graeber, United Press International

For six years, a division of oil services company Schlumberger "willfully" violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and Sudan, the Justice Department said.

"Over a period of…


Women On the Frontlines of Water Insecurity

Mar 25, 2015 | Mayesha Alam

Water is essential to life on earth, but we are facing a global crisis. According to a new report released by UNESCO on March 22…


Middle East: War in the Middle East is Pushing Vital Water Plants 'Close to the Breaking Point'

Mar 25, 2015 | Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters

Fighters are increasingly targeting water and sanitation facilities across the Middle East, exacerbating severe shortages for agriculture and households, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said…


China/South China Sea: Conquering the South China Sea

Mar 25, 2015 | Wall Street Journal

China is building military bases on artificial islands hundreds of miles off its coast, in waters claimed by six other countries. These new fortresses in…


Iraq: Iraq's Oil Exports in February Below Planned, Depriving Nation of Funds to Fight Islamic State

Mar 25, 2015 | Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press

Iraq's oil exports for last month were below planned levels, the country's Oil Ministry said Wednesday, depriving the nation of badly needed funds for its…


Land Grabbing: Coke's Zero Tolerance for Land Grabs Proves Difficult to Fulfill

Mar 25, 2015 | Stella Dawson, Reuters

The Coca-Cola Co has made a good start in axing land grabs from its supply chain, but it must work harder in proving that its…


Water Wars: Water Being Used as a Weapon in the Middle East, Red Cross Warns

Mar 25, 2015 | Lucy Westcott, Newsweek

Water supplies are being targeted by fighters in Syria and Iraq and water systems in the Middle East are approaching breaking point due to conflicts…


Responsible gold also means supporting livelihoods of artisanal miners

Mar 24, 2015 | Tyler Gillard

Last year, a blind Congolese civil society leader named Eric Kajemba helped broker a deal between the Congolese army, local authorities, three powerful Congolese families…


Conflict Minerals: U.S. SEC Spent $2.75 Mln on Conflict Mineral Rules, White Says

Mar 24, 2015 | Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has spent about $2.75 million to write, implement and defend itself against legal challenges to its "conflict mineral rules,"…


Timor-Leste: Minister of Timor-Leste Restates Government Plans to Process Gas from the Greater Sunrise Field

Mar 24, 2015 | Macauhub

The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources of East Timor, Alfredo Pires restated in Dili, the government’s plan to process liquid natural gas (LNG) from…


Liberia: EPA Trains Staff in Climate Change Data Collection

Mar 24, 2015 | The Inquirer

Twenty-five employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia over the weekend completed an intensive training workshop in Climate Change Data Collection. The workshop…


WHO Finds That Glyphosate is Probably Carcinogenic – Implications for Plan Colombia

Mar 23, 2015 | Doug Weir

On the 20th March 2015, the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified the world’s most widely used herbicide Roundup as probably…


Commentary: Oil’s Perfect Storm

Mar 23, 2015 | Jim Brooks

No commodity affects global economic landscape like oil, but there are some very important non-economic implications to the oil price swoon. With global oil prices down…


Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan: Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan Sign Agreement on Nile Dam

Mar 23, 2015 | Khalid Abdelaziz, Reuters

Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed a cooperation deal on Monday over a giant Ethiopian hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the river Nile,…


Iraq: Bomb Hits Diyala Pipeline to Daura Refinery

Mar 23, 2015 | Adam al-Atbi, Iraq Oil Report

A bomb exploded Sunday on an oil pipeline that carries crude from the Naft Khana oil field, in Diyala province, to Baghdad's Daura refinery."The extent…


Libya: 'New Level of Complexity': Oil Wealth and Libya's Power Struggle

Mar 23, 2015 | Al Bawaba

The battle for Libya's oil wealth has taken on new dimensions as rival governments lay claim to the National Oil Company (NOC), further deepening divisions…


China/Indonesia/South China Sea: Indonesia President Joko Widodo: China Claim to South China Sea Has 'No Legal Basis'

Mar 23, 2015 | Nigel Wilson, International Business Times

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said China's claim to much of the South China Sea has no foundation in international law, according to a report…


Timor-Leste: Timor Leste 'Running Out of Money'

Mar 23, 2015 | Jonathan Pearlman, The Straits Times

 In an unusual power swop last month, Timor Leste's charismatic resistance hero Xanana Gusmao voluntarily handed over control of one of the world's newest nations…


Iraq: Baghdad Has Lost $4b in Two Months from War and Lost Oil Fields

Mar 22, 2015 | Rudaw

The Iraqi government has suffered $4 billion in costs  over the past two months due to losses from violence, fighting the war with Islamic State…


Water Wars: Interactive Map: The Flow of Water and Conflict

Mar 22, 2015 | McClatchy News Network

Conflict. Crisis. And a vital resource.

Sunday is World Water Day, a United Nations initiative to draw attention to issues of water scarcity and sanitation.

Ahead of…


South Sudan: South Sudan Economy on Edge Amid War, Low Oil Production

Mar 22, 2015 | Jason Patinkin, The Associated Press

Hit by falling oil revenues, South Sudan’s economy is also troubled by a violent conflict that looks set to continue. It could get worse in this…