International


Iraq: Iraq Reborn: The Slow Renaissance of Hammar Marshes

May 4, 2017 | Suadad al-Salhy, Middle East Eye

One of the world's most important wetlands, the marshlands used to be a source of fresh water, and home to wide range of fish, rare…


Sudan: Reaping the Benefits of Better Catchment Management in North Darfur

May 4, 2017 | UNEP

Resilience as a result of a better water management.  When the project team surveyed 12 random village councils from across the project’s 34, it found…


Afghanistan/India/Pakistan: Pak to Work with India, Afghan on Water Management

May 3, 2017 | Sajjad Hussain, Press Trust of India

Pakistan is seeking a joint mechanism with India and Afghanistan for watershed management and trans-boundary aquifer sharing to minimise the negative impact of development projects.…


Myanmar: Gov’t Takes Steps to Protect People from Ravages of Climate Change

May 3, 2017 | Government of Myanmar

The Union Ministries have teamed up to manage all the water resources of Myanmar to fight flood and drought induced by climate change. At the…


Myanmar: Foreign NGOs Accused of Instigating Opposition against Myitsone Dam

May 3, 2017 | Myanmar Times

The One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR) – Beijing’s grand design to connect China and Eurasia with roads and railways and other transport infrastructures –…


Myanmar: Burma Army Seizes More Than 400 Tons of Sawn Logs

May 3, 2017 | Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint, Irrawaddy

The Burma Army seized 15 trucks and 402 tons of unattended teak and kino (gum) sawn logs in Nansang Township, southern Shan State, on April…


Yemen: Yemen Conflict Leaves 17m People at Risk of Malnutrition

May 3, 2017 | RJ Whitehead, Food Navigator Asia

As Yemen’s conflict continues, two thirds of the country’s population are now suffering from severe food insecurity.


Sierra Leone: How I Funded My Studies by Digging for Sierra Leone Diamonds

May 3, 2017 | Umaru Fofana, BBC Africa

In my teens, I worked as an artisanal miner, waist deep in water, sieving the gravel to find a diamond. Growing up in diamond-rich eastern…


Iraq: Iraq's Fuel Oil Exports Soar Despite OPEC Supply Cut

May 3, 2017 | Roslan Khasawneh, Reuters

Iraqi fuel oil exports have soared since January despite a reduction in the country's crude production in line with OPEC supply cuts, industry sources said,…


Climate Change: NATO Urges Global Fight against Climate Change as Trump Mulls Paris Accord

May 3, 2017 | Timothy Gardner, Reuters

Climate change poses a global security threat that all countries must fight together, a NATO general said on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump nears…


Sudan: Reversing the Cycle of Conflict over Resources in North Darfur

May 3, 2017 | UNEP

That conflict occurs over scarce natural resources, such as water, is an accepted fact. But in a region in North Darfur, after more than a…


Myanmar: Prospectors Sued after Finding Massive Jade Boulder on Company Land

May 2, 2017 | Zarni Mann, Irrawaddy

Five prospectors who found a jade boulder weighing 8.7 tons have been charged with theft in Kachin State’s Lone Kin jade mining region. According to…


Myanmar: Villagers Continue Protests against Myitsone

May 1, 2017 | Mark Inkey, Frontier

More than five years after it was suspended by the U Thein Sein administration, villagers displaced by the controversial Myitsone Dam project are urging the…


Colombia: Indigenous People of Chocó Forced to Flee for Their Lives

Apr 30, 2017 | ABColombia

Many communities in Choco are being forced to displace due to combats between the ELN and neo-paramilitary group the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC). These…


India/Myanmar: BRO Water Tanker Attacked along Indo-Myanmar Border ; Two Local Men Killed, Many Decry

Apr 29, 2017 | Sangai Express

Two labourers engaged with the BRO/GREF were killed along the Indo-Myanmar border today when a heavily armed group reportedly waylaid the water tanker they were…


DRC: The DRC's 'Resources Curse' [Photos]

Apr 29, 2017 | Meggie Morris, Deutchse Welle

Cobalt and coltan are abundant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But, paired with regional instability, the minerals attract militia, exploitation and violence.


Myanmar: With Logging Ban Lifted, Myanmar Timber Policy Falls Flat

Apr 28, 2017 | Jacob Goldberg, Coconuts

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lackluster first year in power was perforated by at least one bold policy – a yearlong ban on logging across all of Myanmar.…


Myanmar: Nansibon Jade Mine – a Battlefield for Scavengers and Companies

Apr 28, 2017 | Aung Kyaw Min, Myanmar Times

Nansibon jade mine is situated at about 30 miles from Hkamti township in upper Sagaing Region. It was demarcated as Hkamti Gem Area by the…


Myanmar: Farmers Stage Protest in Naypyidaw over Land Grabs for Businesses, Mine

Apr 27, 2017 | Radio Free Asia

Thirteen farmers staged a protest in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw on Wednesday to demand compensation for farmlands seized in 2007 and 2015, seizures they said…


Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals Rule Relax Sets ‘Dangerous Precedent': Senators

Apr 27, 2017 | Andrea Vittorio, Bloomberg

One of the architects behind a corporate disclosure rule meant to help keep minerals that fund conflict in Africa out of computer chips, jewelry and…


South Sudan/Somalia/Nigeria/Yemen: Conflict Deepens Hunger Crises in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen

Apr 27, 2017 | Lauren Anderson, International Institute for Sustainable Development

The 165th session of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Council opened with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva warning that, without urgent intervention,…


Is There a Correlation Between Crude Oil Prices and Military Spending?

Apr 27, 2017 | Ben Myers, Forex Binary News

Was the oil economy responsible for the worldwide rise in military expenditure? A recent report from SIPRI suggests that plunging oil prices made major oil…


Colombia: Colombia’s Indigenous Arhuaco Awarded 500 Hectares in Ongoing Bid to Regain Ancestral Lands

Apr 26, 2017 | Bram Ebus, Mongabay

Although the Arhuaco indigenous peoples of Colombia’s coastal mountain range — the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — are known for their century-long track record…


Iraq/Islamic State: Planting Cannabis to Make up for Lost Oil Revenues: Daesh

Apr 26, 2017 | Al Bawaba

Following its oil revenues loss in Nineveh, Daesh "ISIS" is resorting to drug dealing to increase its funds, according to a top intelligence official. Drug…


Myanmar: Farmers Demand Return of Lands

Apr 26, 2017 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Farmers in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu township staged a protest demanding the return of their land which were confiscated by the government, claiming that those lands…


Brazil: Brazil Indigenous Clash with Police over Land Grabs, Killings [Photos]

Apr 26, 2017 | teleSUR

Indigenous people defied police repression in Brazil's capital city as officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas while tribe members shot arrows in return during…


Sierra Leone: Setting the Record Straight…the Full Story of the 709-Carat Diamond

Apr 26, 2017 | Alhaji M. Kamara, Awoko

The discovery of a 709-carat diamond has captivated the nation. Details of the discovery, however, have been the topic of debate and discussion in the…


Myanmar: Efforts to Change Chin Farming Habits Seek to Slow Harmful Deforestation

Apr 25, 2017 | Phyo Thiha Cho, Myanmar Now

Chin is Burma’s poorest state and its communities suffer from isolation, a lack of arable land and the effects of climate change. A 2013 World…


Sudan: New Report Details Massive Corruption and Theft of Oil, Gold, and Land in Sudan

Apr 25, 2017 | South Sudan News Agency

The Enough Project’s new report published today, “Sudan’s Deep State: How Insiders Violently Privatized Sudan’s Wealth, and How to Respond,” details how a powerful inner…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Annexation of Kirkuk by KRG May Lead to a New Conflict, Experts Say

Apr 24, 2017 | Yusuf Selman İnanç, Daily Sabah

In the already troubled Middle East, which is still reeling from endless wars in Syria and Yemen, the emergence of terror groups like Daesh and…