International

Congo: 'We Are Fighters, Too'

Mar 7, 2019 | Allison Shelley

Since the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled into eastern Congo, the region has been consumed by war. Armed groups proliferated, some from Rwanda…

Myanmar: Villagers Say Banana Business Threatens Their Way of Life

Mar 7, 2019 | Myanmar Times

Villagers and farmers protesting against the practices of a nearby banana plantation held a press conference at Mandalay monastery in Myitkyina township of Kachin State…

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…

Myanmar: Land Seizures, Protests, and Arrests in Myanmar

Mar 7, 2019 | Maximillian Mørch, Diplomat

Land confiscation is rife in Myanmar. Confiscation of land for plantations, Special Economic Zones, development projects or for use by the military or other armed…

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…

Iraq: After IS, Mosul Tackles another Terror: Super-Resistant Bacteria

Mar 6, 2019 | Maya Gebeily, Agence France-Presse

Doctors around the globe are sounding the alarm over bacterial infections immune to modern medicine, but their prevalence in Mosul -- where thousands of patients…

Afghanistan: USAID Improves Livelihoods for Afghan Women through Credit Shura

Mar 6, 2019 | ReliefWeb

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

Sahel: Persistent Needs in Sahel, Conflict Driving Massive Displacement

Mar 6, 2019 | UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, World Food Programme, and Save the Children

Top United Nations and non-governmental aid officials today sounded the alarm over rising conflict and insecurity that have accelerated forced displacement across the Sahel, where…

Afghanistan: 'Chilling Reality': Afghanistan Suffers Worst Floods in Seven Years

Mar 6, 2019 | Haroon Janjua and Karen McVeigh, Guardian

Afghanistan has been hit with the worst flooding in seven years, with 20 dead, thousands of homes swept away and many families, already displaced by…

Iraq: CPECC Agrees to Build Natural Gas Liquids Plant in Iraq

Mar 5, 2019 | Michael Marray, Asset

China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) and Basra Gas Company (BGC) have signed a contract to build a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant in…

South Sudan: UN Accuses Oil Firms of Fuelling Armed Conflict in South Sudan

Mar 5, 2019 | Kevin J. Kelley, East African

Transnational oil-production companies controlled by Asian interests have been complicit in South Sudan government military offensives that involved killings of civilians. "There has been a…

Myanmar: Naga Women in Myanmar Dream of Inheriting Land

Mar 5, 2019 | Morung Express

In November 2014, the Conference of Naga Nationals adopted a resolution that committed the indigenous Naga people in Myanmar to the Convention on the Elimination…

Myanmar: Mandalay Starts to Streamline Land Records

Mar 5, 2019 | Phyo Wai Kyaw, Myanmar Times

The Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC) has begun streamlining land records such as maps, surveys and title deeds, to be in line with rules and…

'Greening the Desert': What Drives Militants' Environmentalism?

Mar 5, 2019 | Austin Bodetti, New Arab

Though al-Qaeda would appear to have little in common with the likes of the Earth Liberation Army and the Earth Liberation Front, it apparently shares…

DRC: DRC President, Felix Tshisekedi, Ambiguous on Application of New Mining Code

Mar 4, 2019 | Miningmx

Felix Tshisekedi, the newly elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), gave mixed messages on how he would implement a recently promulgated mining…

Myanmar: Myanmar ups Efforts to Save Marine, Wildlife

Mar 4, 2019 | Myanmar Times

“Life below water: for people and planet” was the theme of World Wildlife Day 2019, which was celebrated on Sunday to raise awareness about the world’s…

Climate Change: The Urgency of Tackling Climate-Related Security Risk in Africa

Mar 4, 2019 | KAD Africana

The African Union Peace and Security Council has been commended for dedicating its 828th session to climate change. During an open session on the theme:…

Afghanistan: Heavy Rains, Floods Kill 20 Afghans

Mar 3, 2019 | DTN Progressive Farmer

A UN humanitarian agency says at least 20 people died as heavy rains and flooding over the past few days swept away their homes and…

Guatemala: Women Land Defenders Face 'Extreme Criminalisation', Added Risks

Mar 2, 2019 | Anna-Cat Brigida

El Estor, Guatemala - Since her teen years, Maria Magdalena Cuc Choc, now 39, has defended the natural resources of El Estor, a predominantly Mayan…

Iraq: Iraq State Company Denies Shiite Militia Smuggling Mosul Oil

Mar 2, 2019 | Rudaw

Iraq’s North Oil Company (NOC) denied on Sunday that Shiite militia groups were smuggling oil from Nineveh to Syria and Iran, saying that the company…

Myanmar: Myanmar Land Ownership Law Could Displace Millions of Farmers

Mar 1, 2019 | Peter Yeung and Carlotta Dotto, Deutsche Welle

Under a land reformation act, millions of farmers across Myanmar could be forced from land they have tilled for generations. Many are unaware of the…

Myanmar: Understand Customary System before Implementing Laws

Mar 1, 2019 | Morung Express

In 2014, the residents of Somra, a Naga village in Myanmar, found a new signboard posted on the side of the road inside the community…

Somalia: Set of Milestones to Meet Somalia’s Obligations under Environmental Conventions Agreed at a High-Level Meeting in Mogadishu

Feb 28, 2019 | UNDP

A set of milestones to meet three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification were agreed at a high-level environment meeting this month, which was…

Myanmar: Land Legacies, Segregation Could Deter Rakhine Investment Push

Feb 28, 2019 | Thompson Chau, Myanmar Times

The State Counsellor called for investments “implemented with responsibility” as a crucial force in “putting Rakhine’s development trajectory on track” at a Japan-sponsored investment forum…

South Sudan: Conflict to Blame for Extreme Hunger in South Sudan

Feb 27, 2019 | Norwegian Refugee Council

Around 6.4 million people are currently at risk of hunger according to a recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report into the escalating food…

Liberia: US$372.67M in Loans, Concession Agreements under House Review

Feb 27, 2019 | Leroy M. Sonpon, III, Observer

The House of Representatives is reviewing US$372.67 million Concession and Loan Agreements submitted by President George Weah, as well as an Incentive Agreement with the…

Colombia: Colombia to Examine Selling Coffee at Its Own Price, Ignoring New York Market

Feb 27, 2019 | Reuters

Colombia, the world’s top producer of washed arabica, will look into selling its harvest at a price which covers production costs, without being tied to…

Myanmar: Recognize Our Customary Tenure and Rights: Nagas to Myanmar Govt

Feb 27, 2019 | Morung Express

Indigenous Naga communities in Myanmar have called upon the Government of Myanmar to recognize “the customary tenure system and respect their rights to own, use…

Myanmar: Mandalay to Debate Effort to Resolve Land-Ownership Issues

Feb 27, 2019 | Phyo Wai Kyaw, Myanmar Times

The Mandalay Region hluttaw (parliament) will debate a proposal to give title deeds to people who have lived for a long time on land that does…

Myanmar: Myanmar’s Milling Industry Devastated by New Logging Policies

Feb 25, 2019 | Genevieve Belmaker, Good Men Project

Myanmar’s Timber Merchants Association is crying foul over what they say are the devastating impacts from a one-year logging ban and new, restrictive government policies.…