International
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Announces EoI for 2 GW Solar Tender
Dec 14, 2018
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Becky Beetz, pv magazine
In a bid to reduce dependence on energy imports, improve energy access for the around 70% of the Afghani population still lacking it, and to…
Timor-Leste: E. Timor President Vetoes Using Petroleum Fund to Buy Sunrise Gas Project
Dec 14, 2018
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Nelson Da Cruz, Reuters
East Timor’s president has vetoed a government bid to increase access to its petroleum fund for investment in energy projects, potentially delaying a $650 million…
Iraq: Iraq’s Charred Olive Groves - Another Ruinous Legacy of Islamic State
Dec 13, 2018
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Tom Westcott, Middle East Eye
Before the Islamic State (IS) group seized control of the rural town in mid-2014, its olive-loving locals had not imported the fruit for decades, relying…
Climate Chnage: US Blocks Climate Security Discussion at NATO Level - EU Military Staff Member
Dec 13, 2018
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Faizan Hashmi, UrduPoint
Due to the skeptical position of the US administration on climate change, a discussion on climate security has been regrettably blocked at the NATO level,…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Faces Severe Water Shortage: Osmani
Dec 13, 2018
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Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews
Former minister of water and energy Ali Ahmad Osmani on Thursday said Afghanistan faces a severe water shortage in the northern water zone and in…
Colombia: Fragile Wetlands Face Major Threat from Climate Change in Colombia
Dec 13, 2018
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Michelle Begue, China Global Television Network
Colombia is home to a unique ecosystem which is a treasure in the northern Andes. These wetlands provide 70 percent of the country’s water supply.…
Iraq: Amnesty: Iraq Should Use Oil Revenue to Fund Reconstruction of War-Torn Areas
Dec 13, 2018
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Kurdistan 24
The Iraqi government would be wise to use an expected budget surplus to begin the reconstruction of rural areas affected by the Islamic State (IS)…
South Sudan: South Sudan’s Neighbours Help Launder the Loot from Its Civil War
Dec 13, 2018
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Economist
Since South Sudan’s independence in 2011 its leaders have pillaged the country. Nearly $7bn has gone missing since 2012, reckons Kenya’s Institute of Economic Affairs,…
Afghanistan: Red Gold: Afghanistan Saffron Production Grows
Dec 12, 2018
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Phys.org
Authorities struggling to wean farmers off the highly profitable opium poppy trade are hoping to use saffron as an attractive alternative. And the results are…
Timor-Leste: President of Timor-Leste Vetoes Changes to the Oil Operations Law
Dec 12, 2018
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Macauhub
The President of Timor-Leste (East Timor) has vetoed a set of amendments to the oil operations law focused on financing the purchase of two holdings…
Conflict Minerals: Responsible Minerals Initiative Releases Blockchain Guidelines to Drive Alignment in Mineral Supply Chain Due Diligence
Dec 12, 2018
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Responsible Business Alliance
The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), a coalition of leading companies dedicated to improving the security and human rights conditions in their mineral supply chains, today…
Governments Reflect on Key Elements of Peacebuilding, Sustaining Peace
Dec 11, 2018
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Catherine Benson Wahlén, International Institute for Sustainable Development
The UN Security Council discussed peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the context of post-conflict reconstruction, security and stability, in a debate on 5 December 2018.…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Hopeful about Replacing Opium Crops with Saffron
Dec 11, 2018
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Mohammad Sadiq Rashtinai and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara
At a sprawling government agricultural research farm in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, workers are now picking tiny purple flowers. Officials in the region…
Myanmar: Renewed Calls to Stop Dam Construction in Shan
Dec 11, 2018
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Naw Betty Han, Washington Post
Shan communities and local members of parliaments have renewed their opposition to two dams being built in Namtu and Nam Teng rivers in Shan State…
South Sudan: South Sudan's Oil Suitors Still Skeptical over Security
Dec 11, 2018
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Ian Lewis, Petroleum Economist
An agreement under which South African state-controlled companies could invest as much as $1bn in South Sudanese energy projects, including a refinery, is welcome news…
Syria: Syrian Civilians Seize Oil Wells from Rebel Group
Dec 11, 2018
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Irina Slav, OilPrice
A large group of Syrian civilians took control over several oil wells in eastern Syria after clashes with rebel group Syrian Democratic Forces, Iranian Fars…
Liberia: Five Counties ‘Red Zones’ for Land Conflicts in Liberia
Dec 11, 2018
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Alvin Worzi, Observer
The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has said Liberia continues to experience huge land conflicts in Montserrado, Margibi, Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties as these…
Myanmar: Log Exports to Be Permitted to Lure Timber Plantations
Dec 11, 2018
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Thiha Ko Ko, Myanmar Times
The Forest Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation has been planning to permit the export of logs harvested from private timber…
Afghanistan: Armed Groups, MPs, Officials Involved in Illegal Mining: MEC
Dec 10, 2018
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Anisa Shaheed, TOLOnews
The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) on Monday released its first report on extraction of mines in the country, in which it…
Afghanistan: Afghan Villagers Face Hunger as Fighting Cuts Northern Roads
Dec 10, 2018
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Matin Sahak, Reuters
Villagers in the northern Afghan province of Faryab have appealed to the government for help after being cut off from food supplies for weeks by…
Nigeria: The Ordinary People Keeping the Peace in Nigeria’s Deadly Land Feuds
Dec 10, 2018
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Max Bearak, Washington Post
Nigeria’s population has grown exponentially and is projected to surpass the United States’ by 2050, although Nigeria is 11 times smaller in area than the…
Liberia: “Data Is a Serious Problem for Agriculture Sector”
Dec 10, 2018
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David A. Yates, Observer
Agriculture Minister Dr. Mogana Flomo says the lack of agriculture data remains a serious challenge to the sector, “because data collection is a serious problem…
DRC: This Congo Project Could Supply the World with Lithium
Dec 10, 2018
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Frik Els, Mining.com
Manono project became the world’s largest non-brine lithium resource after the Perth-based company released the maiden estimate for its 60%-owned project in the southern Congo…
Colombia: Miners Operating in Colombia Accused of Forcing People off Their Land
Dec 9, 2018
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Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Mining.com
Colombian Forjando Futuros foundation issued a report accusing 33 companies and 150 individuals, both foreign and Colombian, of forcing people living in rural communities off…
Afghanistan: 'Worst Drought I Have Seen': Afghan Farmers Forced to Flee
Dec 7, 2018
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Phys.org
Wheat and opium farmer Murad Khan Ishaqzai, 80, has never seen a drought as bad as the one ravaging western Afghanistan where more than 250,000…
Colombia: 'Forgiveness Is to Remember Without Pain': FARC Ex-Combatants Live Fragile Peace in Colombia
Dec 7, 2018
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Albin Hillert, SOJO
Following the 2016 peace treaty between FARC and the Colombian government, Rubén and a group of ex-combatant families purchased and now cultivate 36 hectares of…
Colombia: Their Waters Wrested Away, Colombia's Island Fishermen Lament - and Learn
Dec 6, 2018
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Anastasia Moloney, Thomson Reuters Foundation
“But we can’t fish there. I’m afraid to go there,” fisherman Oreste Howard laments, as his small one-engine motor boat bobs in the breeze. The…
New Zealand: Food Scarcity, Land Disputes: New Zealand Defence Force Issues Alarming Climate Forecast
Dec 6, 2018
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Zane Small, NewsHub
The New Zealand Defence force has issued a stark warning about the effects of climate change and how it will be forced to adapt to…
Yemen: Almost Four Years of Conflict Leads to Declaration of Catastrophic Food Security Conditions in Yemen
Dec 6, 2018
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CARE
As pockets of famine-like conditions are announced in parts of Yemen and the majority of the population are shown to be suffering from emergency or…
Iraq: Cleaning up after ISIS: How Iraq’s New Chemicals Team Is Trying to Undo Years of Conflict Pollution
Dec 5, 2018
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UN Environment
ISIS (also known as the Islamic State or Da’esh) has more or less been defeated in Iraq, but throughout the areas it once occupied, the…