News

Myanmar: Plaintiff Fails to Show Up at the Second Court Hearing of Land-Grabbing Case

Oct 15, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

The commander of No 360 Field Artillery Regiment failed to show up for the second court hearing at Loikaw District Court on October 14, as…

Conflict Minerals: The Phone Co-Op Offers UK's First Ethical Smartphone

Oct 15, 2014 | The Guardian

The Fairphone, the first smartphone to be marketed as being free of “conflict minerals”, has arrived in the UK this week, after the Phone Co-op…

South Sudan: Program Manager

Oct 14, 2014 | United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

The Program Manager plays an important role in the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) South Sudan's field management structure. UMCOR’s program areas in South Sudanfocuses primarily…

Nigeria: Community Conservation Manager

Oct 14, 2014 | CERCOPAN

The Centre for Education, Research and Conservation of Primates and Nature (CERCOPAN) is a UK-registered Charity (Reg. No. 1116955) with operations in Cross River State,…

Afghanistan: Consultant - Jogi Study

Oct 14, 2014 | People in Need

Very little is known about the Jogi community in Afghanistan. While not an ethnic group per se, they are considered to be part of the…

Interview on the Front Lines: Congolese Researcher Murairi Speaks on Dodd-Frank, Conflict Minerals

Oct 14, 2014 | Enough Project

Bisie is a remote town in the Walikale district in eastern DR Congo. It has lucrative deposits of tin (cassiterite), along with coltan, diamond, uranium,…

North Africa: Companies Abandon Ambitious Desert Solar Project

Oct 14, 2014 | Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — It sounded like a good idea: build massive solar energy plants in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East to…

Iraq/Syria: IEA: ISIS Oil Production Reduced by Air Strikes

Oct 14, 2014 | Sam Wilkin, Reuters

U.S.-led air strikes have significantly reduced Islamic State of Syria and Iraq’s ISIS) ability to produce, smuggle and refine oil, the International Energy Agency said…

Iraq/Kurdistan: World Oil Slump Limits Appetite for Kurdish Crude

Oct 14, 2014 | Sharmila Devi, Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A slump in the world price of oil is adding to the woes of the Kurdistan Regional Government, where the fight…

Liberia: Timber Union Rejects $150 Million Deal

Oct 14, 2014 | Winston W. Parley, AllAfrica

The Liberia Timber Union Association or LTA has strongly rejected a US$150m forest deal recently signed between Liberia and Norway, demanding a public debate on…

Conflict Minerals: Church Leaders Call for EU Rules on Conflict Resources to be Binding and Consistent

Oct 14, 2014 | CIDSE

In a joint statement, supported by CIDSE, the international alliance of Catholic development agencies, they warn that European citizens expect guarantees that they are not…

Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: Security Council Extends UN Peacekeeping Force in Abyei Through February 2015

Oct 14, 2014 | United Nations

The Security Council today extended the United Nations peacekeeping force in Abyei – a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan – as part…

South Sudan/Abyei: Abyei Belongs to Us: Warrap Leadership

Oct 14, 2014 | Ariik Atekdit, Gurtong

JUBA - State Information Minister and Spokesman Paul Dhel Gum told the press that Abyei region is politically and geographically in Warrap State.He called upon…

Papua New Guinea: PNG Governors Concerned About Land Grabbing

Oct 14, 2014 | Radio New Zealand

The Governor of Papua New Guinea’s Oro province says there’s a lot of concern about land grabbing among Governors of the country’s twenty provinces.

Land-related issues…

Somalia: ACT Alliance Preliminary Appeal: Drought and Food Insecurity in Somalia

Oct 14, 2014 | Elisabeth Gouel, ACT Alliance

The humanitarian situation in Somalia remains dire with drought alerts being sounded. Somalia has been characterized by clan and armed conflict which still continue in…

Iraq/Syria: Islamic State Loses Its Oil Business

Oct 14, 2014 | Matthew Philips, Bloomberg

It’s been a month since President Obama announced that the U.S. would engage in a sustained campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State, the militant Sunni…

Liberia: Community Land Mapping in Liberia Captured on Film

Oct 14, 2014 | Namati

The work of Namati’s Liberian partner, the Sustainable Development Institute, has been captured on film by the climate change campaign organisation If Not Us Then…

Sudan: Roundup: Economic Circles in Sudan Optimistic Over Breakthrough in Economy

Oct 14, 2014 | Global Post

KHARTOUM -- Sudan's economic circles are optimistic that the country's economy could see key improvement as monthly inflation rate has significantly dropped to 39.2 percent.On…

Liberia: Timber Assciation Threatens Anti-Forest GOL Letter of Intent

Oct 14, 2014 | Edwin M. Fayia III, AllAfrica

Barely two weeks after the Liberian Government's 'Letter of Intent' agreement with the Norwegian Government, the Liberia Timber Association (LTA) has threatened legal action to…

Food Security: Conflict and Ebola Outbreak Threaten Food Security in Africa

Oct 14, 2014 | Derrick Mbatha, United Nations

The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West Africa and conflict in South Sudan are causing food shortages, according to the President of the…

Iraq: The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons

Oct 14, 2014 | CJ Chivers, New York Times

The soldiers at the blast crater sensed something was wrong.It was August 2008 near Taji, Iraq. They had just exploded a stack of old Iraqi…

New Publication: Environmental Peacebuilding Perspectives No. 1 featuring Michael Ross

Oct 13, 2014 | ELI & UNEP

Environmental Peacebuilding Perspectives is a new series of briefs that contain commentary, analysis, and opinion from leading thinkers who are shaping the field of environmental…

China’s Dark Designs after 25 Years of Seizing Johnson South Reef

Oct 13, 2014 | Vietnam Net

Twenty-five years after the illegal use of force to occupy Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef) and six other reefs in Vietnam’s Spratly Islands, China once…

Climate Change: Pentagon Says Global Warming Presents Immediate Security Threat

Oct 13, 2014 | Coral Davenport, New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon released a report Monday asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism,…

Iraq: Goverment Reviews Oil Ties with United States

Oct 13, 2014 | United Press International

BAGHDAD, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. energy companies need to stay invested in Iraq's oil sector as the war-torn country continues on the path of reconstruction,…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Foreign Tankers Blacklisted by Baghdad After Kurdish Oil Transfers

Oct 13, 2014 | International Business Times

Iraq's oil marketing agency has banned three foreign tankers from Iraqi ports, according to the Platts news service, citing market sources.

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation…

Liberia: Cavalla Rubber, Maryland County Oil Palm Donate Ebola Gears

Oct 13, 2014 | allAfrica

Maryland County — As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Management of Cavalla Rubber Corporation and Maryland Oil Palm Plantation on October 10, 2014…

South China Sea: China’s Dangerous Game

Oct 13, 2014 | The Atlantic

In the tranquil harbors that dot the coastline of Palawan, a sword-shaped island in the western Philippines, the ferry boats are crowded with commuters traveling back…

Myanmar: First Half Gas Exports Rise by $400 mn

Oct 13, 2014 | Natural Gas Asia

Myanmar’s natural gas exports has crossed $2.1 billion in the first half of current fiscal, up more than $400 million over same period last year,…

Myanmar: Controversial Hat Gyi Dam Blamed for Karen Conflict

Oct 13, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

Ongoing fighting in southeastern Burma between the government and Karen rebels is linked to a planned hydropower dam nearby on the Salween River, according to…