News


Conflict Minerals: Europe and Electronics: A Roundup of Legislation in 2014

Jan 19, 2015 | Gary Nevison, Evertiq

While Conflict Minerals legislation and RoHS2 (Recast) are amongst the more well known ones, other decrees were modified over the course of 2014, including those…


Colombia: Crime Ring Laundered $1 Billion in Colombia Gold Exports

Jan 19, 2015 | Elyssa Pachico, In Sight Crime

Colombia's Attorney General's Office announced the results of an investigation involving an illegal network that had allegedly laundered $1 billion through gold sales, in a…


Myanmar: Letpadaung Manslaughter Charge Should Be Pursued, Finds Inquiry

Jan 17, 2015 | Matt Roebuck, Mizzima

The case of manslaughter, in relation to the death of Daw Khin Win, a 53 year old villager who was shot in the head by…


South Sudan: Oil May Explain Why China Is Sending Its Infantry To A UN Peacekeeping Mission For The First Time

Jan 16, 2015 | Armin Rosen, Business Insider

An advanced party of Chinese peacekeepers is in South Sudan and the rest of the 700-strong contingent is due to arrive by early April, a…


Liberia: President Sirleaf Issues Executive Order No. 66 Extending the Tenure of the Land Commission by One Year

Jan 16, 2015 | Executive Mansion

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has issued Executive Order No. 66 extending the tenure of the Land Commission by one additional year ending January 9, 2016.According…


Water: Water Shortage is Biggest Global Threat

Jan 16, 2015 | Rick Pendrous, Food Manufacture

More than two-thirds of people on the planet – between 4-5bn – could be living in parts of the world affected by water stress by…


Rwanda: Kagame Says Rwanda Not Plundering DRC Coltan

Jan 16, 2015 | News of Rwanda

President Paul Kagame has offered free visa and air ticket to anyone disputing Rwanda's Coltan (tantalum) production capability to visit the country's active mining sites.

"Rwanda…


Myanmar: Govt to Continue Fight Against Illegal Timber

Jan 16, 2015 | Pyae Thet Phyo, Myanmar Times

The government is planning further crackdowns on the illegal timber trade in northern Myanmar, a senior government official says, and also plans to reduce legal…


Myanmar: Mandalay Farmers, Monks, Students Call for Constitutional Reform, Land Rights Protection

Jan 16, 2015 | Zarni Mann, The Irrawaddy

MANDALAY — About 1,000 farmers, students, labourers, Buddhist monks and community leaders gathered in Mandalay on Friday to call for better protection of land rights,…


South Sudan: South Sudan Army Says Oil Fields Under Full Protection

Jan 16, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

The South Sudanese army (SPLA) said on Friday it remains in full control of oil fields in both Unity and Upper Nile states, downplaying threats…


Musicians from Nile River Basin Collaborate for First U.S. Tour

Jan 15, 2015 | Jordan Levin

The idea that music brings people together is an appealing one, but it can seem inadequate in the face of the differences that wrack the…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: East Sea: Are Artificial Islands More Dangerous Than Oil Rigs?

Jan 15, 2015 | Vietnamnet

China’s East Sea policy has a clear delineation between short term and long term.

The strategy to maintain a continuous presence in the undisputed waters to…


Myanmar: Human Rights Commission Faults Police Over Copper Mine Shooting

Jan 15, 2015 | Nobel Zaw, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Burma’s National Human Rights Commission has said that the recent killing of a farmer at the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division was…


Cows and Conflict: South Sudan's “Slow Motion” Livestock Crisis

Jan 15, 2015 | Andrew Green, IRIN

At 11 million head, cattle outnumber people in South Sudan and are central to the country’s economy and society. Now, 13 months of civil war…


Colombia: Understanding Colombia’s Armed Conflict: International Actors

Jan 15, 2015 | Colombia Reports

Compared with much of the world, Latin America was relatively free inter-state wars during the 20th century, and Colombia is no exception. While tension with neighboring…


Guinea: Did Palm Oil Expansion Play a Role in the Ebola Crisis?

Jan 14, 2015 | Emmanuel K. Urey, Mongabay.com

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa may have been the result of complex economic and agricultural policies developed by authorities in Guinea and Liberia, according…


Liberia: Risky Gold Rush in Bassa - Deaths & Outlaw Overshadow Find

Jan 14, 2015 | Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, FrontPageAfrica

The temporary closure of a popular gold mine in Grand Bassa County has eased tension over the rush for gold which has led to the…


Liberia: 'Diversion of Resources'

Jan 14, 2015 | The NEWS

When the international watchdog, Global Witness warned some years back that oil discovery in Liberia could become a blessing or curse, depending how the country…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnamese Fishermen Suffer More Chinese Attacks

Jan 14, 2015 | Quang Ngai, Thanh Nien News

At least three fishing boats from Ly Son Island were attacked this month by Chinese crews that have moved into their traditional fishing grounds around…


Iraq/Syria: Operation Inherent Resolve: The War against Islamic State's Oil Network

Jan 14, 2015 | John C. K. Daly, The Jamestown Foundation

U.S. airstrikes launched on August 23 signaled the start of Operation Inherent Resolve. This is intended to eliminate the Islamic State terrorist group and the…


Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste’s Sun Will Rise at AOG 2015

Jan 14, 2015 | Gas Today

What is the future for the Sunrise gas field? What is the latest on maritime boundary discussions between Timor-Leste and Australia? What exploration and business…


South Sudan: South Sudan Provides Assurances for Safety of Chinese Oil Workers

Jan 14, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

JUBA – South Sudan’s foreign affairs minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, said he had provided assurances to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, of the government’s commitment…


What Haiti Needs to Do Next

Jan 13, 2015 | Alex Fischer and Marc A. Levy

Within three months of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the initial shock and sadness of the tragedy had been replaced by an enormous ambition: Haiti…


Myanmar: PNA Responds to Accusations of Land Grabbing

Jan 13, 2015 | Burma News International

Following a march in Taunggyi City, Shan State on 8 January by farmers protesting the seizure of their land by the Paoh National Organization (PNO)…


Conflict Minerals: Groups Update Electronics Proposal

Jan 13, 2015 | Abby Patkin, The Justice

On Dec. 3, members from Students Taking Action Now in Darfur and Conflict-Free Campus Initiative met with the Faculty Senate to discuss and make edits…


Myanmar: Two More Myanmar Protesters Charged Over China Mine Demo

Jan 13, 2015 | Bangkok Post

YANGON - Two more protesters opposed to a China-backed copper mine venture in Myanmar have been charged with offences that could see them jailed for…


The Civil War’s Environmental Impact

Jan 12, 2015 | Ted Widmer

The Civil War was the most lethal conflict in American history, by a wide margin. But the conventional metric we use to measure a war’s…


A Tale of Two Shocks in Iraq

Jan 12, 2015 | Masood Ahmed

Iraq is facing a “double shock” from the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) insurgency and the global plunge in oil prices. While…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad Bid to Raise Oil Exports from Kurdistan; British to Reconsider

Jan 12, 2015 | World Bulletin

The central government in Iraq began constructing a new oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Erbil to increase oil exports from region, an official from the…


Myanmar: Land Program Officer

Jan 11, 2015 | Namati

In a world where billions of people live outside the protection of the law, Namati is dedicated to putting the law in peoples' hands. We…