International

Iraq/Islamic State: They Go to the Desert to Hunt for Truffles. But ISIS Is Hunting Them.

Mar 19, 2019 | Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times

Driven out of most of the territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has gone underground, its remaining fighters in Iraq carrying out sporadic…

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Hosts the Annual Environmental Law Training Symposium

Mar 19, 2019 | Emmanuel Necoechea, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton hosted the Environmental Law Training Symposium at the Pacific Views Event Center aboard MCB Camp Pendleton, California, on March…

Myanmar: Land Lost, Families Uprooted as Myanmar Pushes Industrial Zones

Mar 19, 2019 | Rina Chandran, Reuters

For developing nations like Myanmar - which emerged from decades of economic isolation in 2011 when the military stepped back from direct control - SEZs…

Myanmar: Mandalay Compensates Farmers for Seized Land

Mar 18, 2019 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Farmers were paid on Wednesday for land seized by the Prisons Department when Mandalay Central Prison was built in Aung Myay Tharzan township, U Zaw…

Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan: Armed Conflict on Tajik-Kyrgyz Border Localized

Mar 18, 2019 | Victoria Panfilova, Vestnik Kavkaza

A conflict broke out on the border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan shortly before the informal summit of heads of Central Asian states. This is the…

Afghanistan: Afghans Battle with Flood Aftermath

Mar 18, 2019 | Stefanie Glinski, New Humanitarian

Besieged by months of drought and long-term conflict, rural communities in large swathes of Afghanistan are facing yet another emergency: widespread flooding that will leave…

Israel/Palestine: Israel’s Exploitation of Palestinian Resources Is Human Rights Violation, Says UN Expert

Mar 18, 2019 | UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Israel’s exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for its own use is in direct violation of its legal responsibilities as an occupying…

Conflict Minerals: Blockchain Boosters Aim to Ease Tracking of Conflict Minerals

Mar 18, 2019 | Bloomberg Environment

Companies at risk of fueling war and human rights abuses when purchasing metals are exploring the use of blockchain to reduce the likelihood that unethically…

Iraq: Water Woes Hit Henna Plant Farms in Iraq's Fao Peninsula

Mar 17, 2019 | Mohamed Atie and Aref Mohammed, Reuters

Local farmer says water shortages and ensuing use of salty water from a polluted river for irrigation has killed henna and palm trees.

China/South China Sea: Xi's South China Sea 'Fishermen' Risk Hooking US into Conflict

Mar 16, 2019 | Chris Horton and Cliff Venzon, Nikkei

The chances of an armed clash in the South China Sea appear to be rising fast, even as China paints a picture of regional harmony…

Iraq/Syria: Mystery Spill at Mosul Lake: Analyzing Potential Causes of Pollution

Mar 15, 2019 | Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat

During the monitoring of the ongoing situation in Syria and Iraq via open-access satellite imagery, a curious situation presented itself in early January at the…

South Sudan: WFP Warns Conflict Is Worsening Food Insecurity in South Sudan

Mar 15, 2019 | Xinhua

Simon Cammelbeeck, WFP acting country director in South Sudan, told journalists that the ongoing fighting in the country’s bread basket region of Yei has already…

Myanmar: Land Confiscation Is Latest Barrier to Return for Myanmar’s Displaced

Mar 15, 2019 | Peter Yeung, News Deeply

After being forced to flee Myanmar, Rohingya refugees face yet another threat to their livelihoods following a controversial amendment to Myanmar’s land-ownership law that came…

Climate Change: Kaine Aims to Help Defend Hampton Roads Military Readiness with Climate Security Act

Mar 14, 2019 | Tamara Dietrich, Daily Press

The Climate Security Act of 2019 would establish a “climate security envoy” within the State Department, outline how climate change data and forecasting should inform…

Climate Change: Key Democrat Has 'Considerable Doubt' about Military Readiness

Mar 14, 2019 | Courtney Columbus, E&E News

Hurricanes and wildfires caused extensive damage in 2018, and defense installations weren't spared, lawmakers and experts agreed yesterday during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing…

Myanmar: Myanmar Land Reform: Calls for New Law to Be Scrapped [Video]

Mar 14, 2019 | Alexi O'Brien, Al Jazeera

Rights groups are calling on Myanmar's government to scrap a new land reform law they fear could leave millions of people with nowhere to call…

Myanmar: Myanmar's Black Gold Lures Plucky Oil Drillers

Mar 14, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

The fields near Minhla, north of Yangon, are Myanmar's equivalent of the American Wild West, where informal oil entrepreneurs scramble from site to site in…

Afghanistan: Nangarhar Losing Agriculture Land to Urbanisation

Mar 12, 2019 | Yousuf Zarifi, Pajhwok Afghan News

The expanding construction sector has negatively affected agriculture besides increasing pollution in eastern Nangarhar province. Residents complain urbanisation is leading to the loss of agricultural…

Colombia: How to Steal Land the Size of a Small Country and Get away with It: Part III

Mar 12, 2019 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

More than 3 million hectares of land, an area the size of Belgium, was stolen during Colombia’s armed conflict. One of these land thieves reportedly…

Myanmar: Tanintharyi Villagers Keep up Fight against Tin Mine

Mar 12, 2019 | Win Zar Ni Aung and Ye Htut Win, Frontier

Myaung Phyo is located 43 kilometres from Dawei, the capital of Tanintharyi Region, in Myitta sub-township. Close by is the Heinda tin mine, one of…

Myanmar: Renewed Fears of Mass Displacement as Land Deadline Nears

Mar 11, 2019 | Thompson Chau and Kyaw Soe Htet, Myanmar Times

Farmers and displaced communities are in a state of high anxiety as the deadline set by the government’s controversial land law amendment takes effect today…

Liberia: SDI Segments Conflicting Issues in Land Laws

Mar 11, 2019 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Observer

Forest watchdog, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), has synchronized and identified  “Contradictions” between the Community Rights Law (CRL) and the Land Rights Law (LRL), and…

Afghanistan: Should Go ahead with Shahtoot Dam on Kabul River – Analysis

Mar 9, 2019 | S. Chandrasekharan, South Asia Analysis Group

When work was begun on Shahtoot dam on Kabul River that would provide drinking water to the burgeoning population of Kabul City, there has been…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Says Fishing Boat Rammed and Sunk by Chinese Ship in South China Sea

Mar 9, 2019 | Associated Press

A Vietnamese fishing boat capsized after being rammed by a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea’s contested Paracel Islands, a Vietnamese official said Friday.…

Afghanistan: Afghan Leader Distributes Land among Flood-Hit Victims

Mar 9, 2019 | Shadi Khan Saif, Anadolu Agency

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday distributed thousands of residential plots among the inhabitants of western Farah province devastated by the recent flash floods. Ghani…

Women Hold the Key to Curbing Climate Change

Mar 8, 2019 | Katharine Wilkinson

In 1911, over one million people took to the streets of Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland for equal rights and suffrage. It was the first International Women's…

Colombia: Colombia Mines Minister Aims for Greater Transparency

Mar 8, 2019 | Peter Kennedy, Resource World

Colombia Energy Minister Maria Fernanda Suarez is aiming for greater transparency in the way the country’s resources are managed. She said Colombia hopes to achieve…

Climate Change: Empowering Women on the Frontlines of Climate Change

Mar 8, 2019 | UN Environment

While the scene is age-old, the number of women farmers—and those performing traditionally male roles—has grown out of the impacts of climate change and environmental…

Afghanistan: Improving Livelihoods of Afghan Women through Credit Shura

Mar 7, 2019 | Wadsam

One of the most difficult challenges for female farmers and women who operate agriculture-related businesses in Afghanistan is access to credit. In addition, many women…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Chinese Ship Sinks Vietnamese Fishing Boat off Paracel Islands

Mar 7, 2019 | Viet Tuan, VnExpress

A Chinese vessel rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat off the central coast Wednesday, but its five-member crew was rescued unscathed. The boat was…