International


Cambodia: ICC Focus on Land Grabs May Turn Attention to Cambodia

Sep 15, 2016 | Lauren Crothers, Anadolu Agency

The release of a new policy paper on case selections at the International Criminal Court (ICC) could “open the door” for further consideration of a…


International Court to Prosecute Environmental Crimes in Major Shift

Sep 15, 2016 | Voice of America and Reuters

The International Criminal Court said Thursday that it will start focusing on crimes linked to environmental destruction, the illegal exploitation of natural resources and unlawful…


ICC Widens Remit to Include Environmental Destruction Cases

Sep 15, 2016 | John Vidal and Owen Bowcott, Guardian

Environmental destruction and landgrabs could lead to governments and individuals being prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court following a decision to…


India: Angry Clashes in Karnataka as India's Water Wars Run Deep

Sep 15, 2016 | Michael Safi and Vidhi Doshi, Guardian

There have been regular predictions that “water wars” between Asian states will be a major security threat to the continent in the coming decades, particularly…


Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals and Firms’ Ignorance over Their Supply Chains

Sep 15, 2016 | Journalist's Resource

Researchers from the University of Michigan analyzed all the due diligence reports the SEC received in 2014 and 2015 — about 1,300 reports per year. They…


Liberia: NOCAL Collapses One Year On - Liberia's Oil Basin Goes Quiet

Sep 15, 2016 | FrontPageAfrica

Liberia's oil industry is at a crossroads: If no new production sharing contracts (PSCs) are signed and existing ones are not extended, there will be…


Liberia: Liberia Land Policy a ‘Challenge to National Development’

Sep 14, 2016 | Mark M. Dahn, Mongabay

Liberians are anxiously awaiting the passage of the stalled Land Rights Act, which many land experts in Liberia say will help drastically curtail conflicts. Liberia has…


Climate Change: Climate Change Could Pose 'Significant Risk' to US National Security, Reports Say

Sep 14, 2016 | Catherine Thorbecke, ABC News

A bipartisan group of military experts released a statement and two reports today arguing that climate change poses a significant risk to U.S. national security.…


Myanmar: Obama to Lift Myanmar Sanctions, Including Those on Dirty Jade, Sooner than Human Rights Organizations Wanted

Sep 14, 2016 | Benjamin Soloway, Foreign Policy

After meeting Wednesday with Myanmar’s de facto leader and fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, U.S. President Barack Obama made an announcement that few…


Libya: After Libya’s Oil Grab, Compromise Could Lead to a Restart of Exports

Sep 14, 2016 | Claudia Gazzini, International Crisis Group

Key crude oil export terminals in eastern Libya were seized on 11 September by General Khalifa Haftar’s Libya National Army (LNA). This is a force…


Myanmar: Ministry Mulls Dam Fisheries Proposal

Sep 13, 2016 | Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation is weighing the merits of issuing fishing permits for over 500 dams across the country, in response to…


Myanmar: Ban on Logging to Be Lifted Next Year

Sep 13, 2016 | Kyi Kyi Sway, Myanmar Times

The temporary suspension of logging in Myanmar’s forested areas is set to be lifted in April, with production next financial year to resume at reduced…


Myanmar: Tatmadaw Insists Landmine Use Kept within Reasonable Minimum

Sep 13, 2016 | Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times

The Tatmadaw continues to produce and use landmines, deputy defence minister Major General Myint Nwe told parliament yesterday, emphasising that this activity was kept to…


India: Why Water War Has Broken out in India's Silicon Valley

Sep 13, 2016 | BBC

Violence has broken out in India's technology hub Bangalore in Karnataka state over a long-running dispute about water. Protesters are angry at a Supreme Court…


Afghanistan: Snow Leopards' Return Brings Hope to Remote Afghan Region

Sep 12, 2016 | Associated Press

In a picturesque corner of Afghanistan, a unique conservation effort has helped bring the elusive snow leopard back from the brink and given hope to…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Wants You to Come See its Snow Leopards

Sep 12, 2016 | Jess McHugh, Travel + Leisure

The return of snow leopards to one of the poorest and most isolated regions of Afghanistan has been hailed as a victory for tourist professionals…


Myanmar: Hungry for Power, Myanmar Bets on Hydro in New Energy Plan

Sep 11, 2016 | Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Antoni Slodkowski, Reuters

Electricity-starved Myanmar is looking to overhaul its long-term power strategy, aiming to hike the planned share of hydropower in its energy mix at the cost…


Libya: Libyan Rebels Loyal to Khalifa Haftar Seize Key Oil Facilities

Sep 11, 2016 | Heba Saleh, Financial Times

Forces under the command of General Khalifa Haftar, a renegade general in eastern Libya, say they have seized control of key oil export facilities, dealing…


Iraq: Baghdad Wants Back All Oilfields that Fell to Kurds During ISIS War

Sep 10, 2016 | Rudaw

Iraq's ministry of oil says that it intends to retake full control of all Kirkuk oil fields that fell to the Peshmerga during the war…


Myanmar: Is Yearly Flooding the New Normal?

Sep 9, 2016 | Hein Ko Soe, Fronteir

Environmentalists and activists told Frontier that they believed there were two factors driving more regular flooding. The first is man-made climate change. Myanmar’s National Adaptation…


Myanmar: Jade Companies Threaten to Sue Trespassing Prospectors

Sep 9, 2016 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, Irrawaddy

Jade mining companies in upper Burma have threatened to sue jade prospectors taking small stones from dumping areas, in an announcement made by Sagaing Division…


Iraq: Trump’s Illegal, Impossible, and ‘Beyond Goofy’ Idea of Seizing Iraq’s Oil

Sep 9, 2016 | Steven Mufson, Washington Post

The United States can’t just walk off with Iraq’s oil when it decides to get out. In 2015, Iraq produced about 4 million barrels a…


Nature Protection Mulled as Path for Peace

Sep 9, 2016 | SciDev.Net

The United Nations and other peacekeeping bodies should include an element of environmental protection and research in their efforts to pacify warring nations, a conference…


Myanmar: Thanlwin Dams Only Benefit China: Activists

Sep 8, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

Chinese-sponsored dam projects on the Thanlwin River are unacceptable because of their environmental impact while the benefits will go to China and Thailand, activists from…


Colombia: Owner of Land Where FARC is Set to Demobilize Assassinated

Sep 8, 2016 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

The owner of a plot of land in southwest Colombia that was designated to host a concentration camp for demobilizing and disarming FARC guerrillas has been assassinated, her…


Liberia: Low Income, Adaptive Capacity Makes Liberia Vulnerable to Climate Change

Sep 8, 2016 | Henry Karmo, FrontPageAfrica

Recently, Liberia has experienced pest infestation in Bong County and rainstorms in several parts of the country as well as flood in Monrovia and its…


Myanmar: The Lost Forests of Myanmar [Photos]

Sep 7, 2016 | Ledger Independent

These hills were once so thick with trees that condemned criminals were sent here to die. Today, illegal logging has left only a handful of…


Liberia: Liberian Speaker's Resignation Enhances Land Bill Approval, Reducing Land Rights Protests but 2017 Electoral Unrest Risk Remains

Sep 7, 2016 | Corinne Archer, IHS Jane's Intelligence Weekly

Liberia's speaker of the house, Alex Tyler, formerly of the ruling Unity Party, stepped down on 1 September over his alleged role in a corruption…


Myanmar: More Timber Found on Military Research Compound

Sep 7, 2016 | Si Thu Lwin, Myanmar Times

Another 11 tonnes of illegal timber was confiscated from a former wood factory within a forest area cordoned off for military research on September 1,…


Myanmar: Collapsed Dam Destroys Homes in Mon State

Sep 7, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

A dam collapsed in Aung Thukha Ward, Kyaikkhami, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State, on September 2, causing several homes to flood.