International


Iraq: Iraq's Qayyara Oil Wells Still Burning Weeks after Start of Battle

Aug 26, 2016 | Rudaw

After an operation that lasted more than two months Iraqi troops managed to reach the town of Qayyara on Thursday and expel its Islamic State…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Seeks Formal Deal With Kurds to Protect New Oil Exports

Aug 25, 2016 | Sam Wilin and Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg

Iraq’s resumption last week of oil shipments through a Kurdish-controlled pipeline bumped up its export capacity by five percent almost overnight. Now OPEC’s second-biggest producer…


Myanmar: Limited Capacity Hinders Myanmar’s Water Management

Aug 24, 2016 | Khine Kyaw, Myanmar Eleven

River basin organisations should be established to support the activities of the National Water Resource Committee (NWRC), to enhance the country’s water management which has…


Myanmar: Shan Groups Warn Salween Dam Could Fuel Conflict

Aug 24, 2016 | Libby Hogan, Democratic Voice of Burma

Shan community groups are calling for the suspension of a Chinese-backed dam on the Salween River that they say risks exacerbating conflict and environmental problems…


Myanmar: Shan Farmers Protest Nao Pha Dam Project

Aug 23, 2016 | Thu Thu Aung, Myanmar Times

With the future of the controversial Myitsone dam project apparently still in doubt following Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to China, local…


DRC: Katanga Youth Project Hopes to Cut Minerals Dependence

Aug 23, 2016 | Victor Muisyo, Africa News

The Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa’s largest copper producer, and heavily relies on the mining sector, which, alongside its small oil industries accounts for…


Food Security: Food Security Issues Plague Middle East

Aug 23, 2016 | Chris Lyddon, World Grain

The Middle East is a diverse region, but many believe it needs to work together to achieve greater food security. The region faces the challenge…


Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Agree to Extend Oil Deal

Aug 23, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Sudan and South Sudan agreed Tuesday to extend an oil deal between the two countries, officials said, but they failed to settle the exact terms.…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Asks for Khartoum Technical Assistance to Resume Oil Production

Aug 23, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai said that his country has asked Khartoum to provide technical assistance to restart oil production from oil…


Iraq: Iraq Has Not Yet Reached its Full Oil Market Share, Says PM

Aug 23, 2016 | Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Iraq's prime minister said the country has not yet reached its full oil market share, suggesting his government would not restrain crude output as part…


Myanmar: Myanmar Coffee to Hit Whole Foods as Economic Opening Continues

Aug 23, 2016 | Luc Cohen, Reuters

Two shipments of coffee beans from Myanmar arrived in the United States this month, the first commercial-scale imports in over 15 years and the fruits…


Colombia: Colombian Agribusiness in the Wake of War

Aug 23, 2016 | Mike Wilson, Farm Future

The Marxist guerilla group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) is the oldest and largest group among Colombia's left-wing rebels. They claim to be fighting…


China: Chinese Fishermen Caught up in Asian Geopolitical Conflict

Aug 22, 2016 | Lucy Hornby, Financial Times

The territorial tensions that are inflaming relations between China and its neighbours are due in part to a collapse in local fish stocks, which is…


Iraq: Iraq's New Oil Minister Sticks by Demand to Review Foreign Contracts

Aug 22, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq wants to review contracts with oil companies to cut the fees that the firms receive when crude prices are low, the OPEC nation's new…


Colombia: How Cocoa is Part of Preserving Newly-Won Peace in Colombia

Aug 22, 2016 | John Rivera, Sojourners

If an agreement is reached between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the current generation of Colombian youth will have…


Iraq: Iraqi Children Pay High Health Cost of War-Induced Air Pollution, Study Finds

Aug 22, 2016 | John Vidal, Guadian

Air pollution caused by war may be a major factor in the numbers of birth defects and cancers being reported in Iraq and other war…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Will Boost Oil Exports after Agreement on Kirkuk Fields

Aug 21, 2016 | Bloomberg, Khalid Al Ansary and Sam Wilkin

Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest producer, will increase crude exports by about 5 percent in the next few days after an agreement to resume shipments from three…


South Sudan: South Sudan Plans to Resume Oil Production in Unity Region

Aug 20, 2016 | Geeska Afrika

South Sudan has announced it was working to restart oil production in Unity state after more than a year of no operation due to the…


Afghanistan: Funding Cuts, Insurgency Hamper Afghan Goal to Clear Mines by 2023

Aug 19, 2016 | Josh Smith and Mirwais Harooni, Reuters

Afghanistan's campaign to clear millions of landmines left by the Soviet invasion and ensuing civil war is in danger of stalling, as international aid slumps…


Myanmar/Thailand: Chevron Says No Plan to Exit Thailand, May Keep Stake in Myanmar Gas Field

Aug 19, 2016 | Reuters

Chevron is committed to its Thailand investments despite job cuts that have spurred rumours of the U.S. oil major's exit, and may keep a Myanmar…


Afghanistan: Funding Cuts, Insurgency Hamper Afghan Goal to Clear Mines by 2023

Aug 19, 2016 | Josh Smith and Mirwais Harooni, Reuters

Afghanistan's campaign to clear millions of landmines left by the Soviet invasion and ensuing civil war is in danger of stalling, as international aid slumps…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Resumes Pumping Oil through Kurdish Pipeline

Aug 18, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq has resumed pumping oil from fields operated by state-run North Oil Company (NOC) via a Kurdish pipeline to Turkey, a spokesman for the oil…


Myanmar: Myanmar's Suu Kyi Assures China of Solution to Stalled Dam

Aug 18, 2016 | Ben Blanchard, Reuters

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi told China's premier on Thursday that her new government is willing to look for a resolution that suits both…


Myanmar: Year-Long Ban on Myanmar’s Logging Trade Kindles Hope for Forests

Aug 17, 2016 | Ping Manongdo, Eco-Business

Myanmar has enacted a national logging ban for one year and a 10-year logging ban in the Pegu Yoma region to protect the country’s vastly…


Colombia: Fracking Operations Spur Violence and Unrest in South Colombia

Aug 17, 2016 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

Protests were reported in El Doncello, El Paujil, Morelia and Valparaiso where thousands of locals reportedly took to the streets to demand action that would…


Myanmar: MP Accuses Militia of Aiding Chinese Timber Smugglers in Puta-o

Aug 17, 2016 | Swan Ye Htut, Myanmar Times

Smuggling of valuable timber in northern Kachin State has reduced forest cover in some areas by up to 80 percent, say local officials. They blame…


Myanmar: Massive Dam Project at Center of China-Myanmar Talks

Aug 17, 2016 | Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press

Efforts by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week to bolster ties with her country's dominant northern neighbor China may hinge on whether she…


Haiti: U.N. Admits Role in Cholera Epidemic in Haiti

Aug 17, 2016 | Jonathan M. Katz, New York Times

For the first time since a cholera epidemic believed to be imported by United Nations peacekeepers began killing thousands of Haitians nearly six years ago,…


Myanmar: Farmers Seek Reform of Seized Lands Scrutiny

Aug 16, 2016 | Nay Aung, Myanmar Times

Villagers in Magwe Region’s Sinbaungwe township are calling for the reconstitution of committees in the township tasked with resolving seized land claims, saying their current…


Myanmar: Seized Timber under Military Microscope in Pyin Oo Lwin

Aug 16, 2016 | Si Thu Lwin, Myanmar Times

The Tatmadaw is responsible for taking action in a case involving more than 300 tonnes of illegally harvested timber in Pyin Oo Lwin township, Mandalay…