International
Nigeria: Nigeria Looks for Oil on Boko Haram’s Home Turf—and Pays the Price
Jul 28, 2017
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Robbie Corey-Boulet, World Politics Review
Last week, AFP reported on Nigeria’s search for oil in the country’s northeast, the home base of the Boko Haram insurgency. The Nigerian National Petroleum…
Iraq: Iraq Oil Pipeline Comes with Major Environmental Costs
Jul 28, 2017
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Adnan Abu Zeed, Al-Monitor
On July 21, farmers complained about a gas pipeline dredging their farmlands. The pipeline carries gas from Iran to Baghdad through Bismayah, which is located…
Myanmar: Recurring Floods Displace over 130,000 in Myanmar
Jul 28, 2017
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Myint Kay thi, Htike Nandar Win, Nay Aung, and Ye Ywal Myint, Myanmar Times
Recurring floods in large part of the country have forced over 130,000 people to flee their homes as of July 25, relief officials said. Among…
Myanmar: Fruit and Vegetable Exports to Be Prioritised
Jul 28, 2017
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Eleven
The Myanmar Trade Promotion Organisation at the Ministry of Commerce and Myanmar Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association are discussing the prioritisation of fruit and vegetables…
Myanmar: Objection to Farmland Law Changes Draft Bill
Jul 28, 2017
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Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Times
Almost 50 Civil Society Groups strongly objected to the facts related to the Farmland Law amendment draft hearing session in the parliament held in June.…
Colombia: Post-Conflict Colombia Seeks to Become Agricultural Powerhouse
Jul 27, 2017
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Oscar Medina, Bloomberg
Colombia is seeking to reinvent itself as a major agricultural powerhouse as the demobilization of thousands of guerrilla fighters opens up former war zones for…
Myanmar: Myanmar to Receive Revenues from China-Myanmar Crude Oil Pipeline
Jul 27, 2017
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Aung Shin, Myanmar Times
Myanmar will gain financially from the China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline, which began operations in early April after the two countries signed an agreement for the…
Colombia: Guerrillas of War to Guerrillas of Conservation
Jul 26, 2017
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Tunicia Phillips, Daily Maverick
The mega diverse South American country of Colombia finds itself in a post-conflict era (albeit on very uncertain terms) that may or may not contribute…
Colombia: Proposed Colombia Dam Threatens to Wipe out Endangered Plants, Disrupt River
Jul 26, 2017
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Taran Volckhausen, Mongabay
A Colombian conglomerate is moving ahead to build a nearly 400-foot-tall hydroelectric dam along the Samaná Norte River in northwestern Colombia, which threatens to extinguish…
DRC: Two Investigations into Corruption in Resource-Rich DR Congo Show Why It Stays So Poor
Jul 26, 2017
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Yomi Kazeem, Quartz
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) ranked 176 out of 187 on the latest United Nations Human Development Index and two new investigations have…
Afghanistan: Experts Urge Proper Management of Afghanistan’s Water Resources
Jul 26, 2017
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Zabihullah Jahanmal, TOLOnews
Critics have called on government to create proper mechanisms to harness and use Afghanistan's water resources and prevent it from going to waste. Currently most…
Syria: Syrian Farm Production Grows, but Is Still Far from Pre-War Levels
Jul 26, 2017
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RJ Whitehead, Food Navigator-Asia
In their latest report, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme have estimated that 6.9m Syrians are still food insecure, and an…
Conflict Minerals: Descending into Conflict: Tech Minerals Finance War
Jul 25, 2017
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Richard Brown, Raconteur
The next time you’re struck down with “power anxiety” over your mobile phone’s depleted battery, spare a thought for the mistreated children toiling away in…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China-Vietnam South China Sea Spat in the Spotlight
Jul 25, 2017
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Prashanth Parameswaran, Diplomat
On July 24, the BBC cited both a Southeast Asian oil industry source and a Vietnamese diplomatic source as confirming that Hanoi had terminated a…
Afghanistan: Trump Finds Reason for the US to Remain in Afghanistan: Minerals
Jul 25, 2017
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Mark Landler and James Risen, New York TImes
President Trump, searching for a reason to keep the United States in Afghanistan after 16 years of war, has latched on to a prospect that…
Afghanistan: Nangarhar Poultry Farm Industry Growing Despite Problems
Jul 25, 2017
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Yousuf Zarifi, Pajhwok Afghan News
The establishment of around 2,500 poultry farms in eastern Nangarhar provinces has met domestic need and generated thousands of jobs for people. However, the farm…
Afghanistan: Studies Identify Significant Problems in the Mining, Good Governance and Migration Sectors in Afghanistan
Jul 24, 2017
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Ahmad Masoud, Khaama Press
The Governance Forum Afghanistan initiative was financed by the German government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH or GIZ. A consortium, spearheaded by…
Myanmar: How Jade, the Precious Stone, Is Funding Ethnic Conflicts in Myanmar
Jul 24, 2017
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Angshuman Choudhury, WIONews
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a country with many names. Yet, ‘land of jade’ remains the most evocative of all, at least for the…
South Sudan: Locals Bring Clean Water to South Sudan
Jul 24, 2017
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Mike Donahey, Time Republican
Peace, freedom from hunger, and clean water do not come easy to South Sudan, the world’s newest country. South Sudanese desperately want all. Fortunately for…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Stops Drilling for Energy in South China Sea after Beijing Threatens to Attack Bases
Jul 24, 2017
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Nandini Krishnamoorthy, International Business Times
Chinese threat to attack Vietnamese military bases is reported to have forced Hanoi to halt drilling for oil and gas within the "nine-dash line" in…
Nigeria: Nigeria Crisis Inches Closer to Famine
Jul 24, 2017
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Norwegian Refugee Council
The food security crisis in north-east Nigeria is forecast to deteriorate between now and the end of August, moving the country even closer to famine.…
Myanmar: Flood Victims Rise to More Than 1,000 in Irrawaddy Region
Jul 24, 2017
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Salai Thant Zin, Irrawaddy
Heavy rains and floods have forced more than 1,000 people from their homes to relief camps in Danubyu, Myanaung, and Ingapu townships in Irrawaddy Region.…
Myanmar: Myanmar Floods Kill Two, Displace Tens of Thousands
Jul 24, 2017
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Wa Lone, Reuters
Flooding across large parts of Myanmar has displaced more than 100,000 people, causing two deaths, while dramatic riverbank erosion has washed away a Buddhist pagoda,…
Colombia: Conservationists Attempt to Save Colombia’s Magnolia Tree from Extinction
Jul 24, 2017
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Ann Bush, City Paper
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the Magnolia Guatapensis on their Red List as a “critically endangered. As the world’s authority on…
Timor-Leste: Time (and Oil) Running out for Timor-Leste
Jul 24, 2017
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Anthony Fensom, Diplomat
Elections in Timor-Leste have highlighted the challenges facing one of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations, amid predictions that its key oil and gas resources could be…
Afghanistan: Mining Industry’s Incomes Decline Due to ‘Embezzlement’
Jul 22, 2017
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Zabihullah Jahanmal, TOLOnews
Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi has expressed his concerns over a descending incomes from the mining industry, urging the relevant government organizations to put in place…
Conflict Minerals: Decreased Enforcement Expected from SEC Regarding Conflict Minerals Regulations – For Now
Jul 22, 2017
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Joan Meyer, Reagan Demas, and Maria McMahon, Global Compliance News
In April 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporate Finance announced it will not recommend enforcement action for companies that disclose,…
Timor-Leste: Timorese Go to the Polls Unaware of 'Gas Shadow' over Their Nation's Future
Jul 21, 2017
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Lindsay Murdoch, Sydney Morning Herald
More than 750,000 East Timorese will cast votes on Saturday to elect a government that will face tough negotiations that could deliver the poverty-stricken nation…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Neverland Tanker with Disputed Kurdish Oil Reappears off Malta
Jul 21, 2017
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Julia Payne and David Goodman, Reuters
The Neverland tanker has reappeared off the coast of Malta after going off radar near Canada on June 30, when it was chartered by Vitol…
Colombia: FAO and the Colombian Territory Renewal Agency Boost USD 8.8 Million to Support Peace Agreement
Jul 21, 2017
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
During a visit to Colombia, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva announced USD 8.8 million in new joint work initiatives with the Territory Renewal Agency…