International
DRC: 'Catastrophic' Decline in Eastern Lowland Gorilla Blamed on Mining for Minerals Used in Mobile Phones
Oct 20, 2016
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Aislinn Laing, Telegraph
The Eastern lowland gorilla, the world's greatest ape, has suffered a "catastrophic decline" in the restive Democratic Republic of Congo, blamed on mining for minerals…
Myanmar: Illegal Myanmar Teak Importation Widespread to EU, Investigation Finds
Oct 19, 2016
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John C. Cannon, Mongabay
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) released allegations Tuesday about what it says is the illegal importation of Burmese teak from Myanmar to the EU. In…
Afghanistan: Large Afghan Pomegranate Crop Threatened by Lack of Markets, Farmers Say
Oct 19, 2016
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Ismail Sameem, Reuters
Farmers in Afghanistan's fertile south harvested a bumper crop of deep red pomegranates this year, but they say barriers to international trade in the landlocked…
China/South China Sea: China Using Ecological Protection to Boost Claims in Disputed Waters
Oct 19, 2016
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Ralph Jennings, Voice of America
China's public order to keep away from a rare, environmentally unique ocean sinkhole in the Paracel Islands signals a new effort to tighten its grip…
Afghanistan: Research Farms Build Foundation for Afghanistan’s Agriculture
Oct 19, 2016
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World Bank
The agricultural engineers at the Urdo Khan Research Farm, one of 10 regional research stations across the country owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation…
Myanmar: Jade Producers Hope to Get a Boost from Access to US Market
Oct 18, 2016
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Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
In terminating economic sanctions against Myanmar on October 7, the executive order signed by US President Barack Obama has opened the way to the resumption…
Afghanistan: Anti-Poppy Drive Remains Superficial in Past 15 Years: Survey
Oct 17, 2016
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Azizullah Hamdard, Pajhwok
A recent survey shows the fight against narcotics and policies in this regard have been only superficial and illusive over the past 15 years. Financed…
Iraq: LIfe under ISIS: Iraqis Choke as Sabotaged Oil Wells Blaze
Oct 13, 2016
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Ben Wedeman and Hamdi Alkhshali, CNN
ISIS militants had set the wells on fire hoping to obscure the view of Iraqi and coalition warplanes, but it didn't stop Iraqi forces from…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Kurds: Oil Rich, Still Poor - Drilling Down into the KRG's Oil Economy
Oct 12, 2016
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Erin Banco, IRIN
As global oil prices dropped off, KRG’s oil-dependent economy was hard-hit. Then, after taking Ramadi and Fallujah, IS focused its efforts north and began to…
Colombia: Plan Colombia Casts Shadow on Indigenous Rights as Peace Nears
Oct 12, 2016
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teleSUR
Marginalized Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in Colombia have been among the most battered by more than five decades of internal armed conflict between the military,…
Liberia: Concessions Violate Women’s Rights
Oct 12, 2016
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Daily Observer
A research report released in Monrovia over the weekend by Natural Resources Women’s Platform (NRWP), the Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD), and Green Advocates International…
Myanmar: Farmers Remain Camped on Military’s Disputed Land
Oct 11, 2016
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Si Thu Lwin, Myanmar Times
More than two dozen residents of a village tract purportedly owned by the military have dug their heels in. But after nine months through the…
Colombia: Legal Threats, Not War, Top Commodity Producers' Concerns in Colombia
Oct 11, 2016
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Julia Symmes Cobb and Nelson Bocanegra, Reuters
Gold mining companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars but not extracted a gram. Palm farmers are told their land belongs to someone else.…
Afghanistan: Afghan Women to Be Given 'Fair Share' in Property Rights Drive - Land Authority
Oct 11, 2016
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Zabihullah Noori, Reuters
Afghan women should benefit from a project to issue property titles to homeowners in Kabul, where more than two-thirds of the houses have no formal…
Iraq/Kurdistan: In Fight against Islamic State, Kurds Expand Their Territory
Oct 10, 2016
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Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin, Reuters
This is how the map is being redrawn across Iraq and Syria: Groups fighting Islamic State are using the battle to settle older disputes and…
Peru: Illegal Gold Mining Fueling Crime, Violence in Peru
Oct 10, 2016
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Tristan Clavel, Insight Crime
A high-ranking Peruvian police officer recently linked rising violence in Madre de Dios to the region’s illegal gold mining industry, highlighting the various criminal activities…
Afghanistan/Iran: Iran, Afghanistan to Address Hirmand Border Issue
Oct 8, 2016
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Mehr News Agency
The pressing issue of current situation between Iran and Afghanistan is environmental disaster underway in Iranian side of the border where different governments of Afghanistan…
Myanmar: US Gems Association Eyes Trade Ties as Sanctions End
Oct 6, 2016
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Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) arrived in Myanmar for the first time this week to assess the gems sector and build trade relationships ahead…
Iraq: Iraq War Records Reignite Debate over US Use of Depleted Uranium
Oct 6, 2016
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Samuel Oakford, IRIN
Records detailing as many as 181,000 rounds of depleted uranium munitions shot in 2003 by American forces in Iraq have been unearthed by researchers, representing…
Afghanistan: Afghan Opium Production Increases as Eradication Collapses, UN Says
Oct 5, 2016
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Reuters
Opium production in Afghanistan increased this year to one of the highest levels on record as efforts to eradicate the crop in a country that…
Iraq: Iraqi Forces Burn ISIS Poppy Fields to Curtail Heroin and Opium Revenue
Oct 5, 2016
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Iraqi News
Iraqi security forces burned a 16 thousand square meter field planted with opium poppies belonging to ISIS gangs near Sharqat district in Salahuddin province. Iraqi media…
Iraq: Iraqi Qayyara Oil Keeps Burning Six Weeks after Ouster of Islamic State
Oct 5, 2016
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Reuters
Several wells in Iraq's Qayyara oilfield continue to burn six weeks after the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces ousted Islamic State militants from the town as part…
Sudan: Most of Sudan's Oil Opportunities Have Vanished, IMF Says
Oct 5, 2016
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Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International
Fragility in Sudan brought on by regional conflicts is exacerbated by the loss of most of its oil export potential, the International Monetary Fund said.…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Exclusive: U.S. Helped Clinch Iraq Oil Deal to Keep Mosul Battle on Track
Oct 4, 2016
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Reuters
Iraq and the U.S.-led military coalition backing it are relying on cooperation from the Kurds to retake Mosul from the ultra-hardline jihadists and undermine their…
South Sudan: RPT-Nespresso Temporarily Halts Coffee Operations in South Sudan
Oct 4, 2016
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Reuters
Nestle's Nespresso brand said it had halted coffee operations for now in South Sudan, where opposition leader Riek Machar has called for a return to…
Conflict Minerals: Conflict Cobalt Uncertainty Continues to Haunt Consumer Industries
Oct 3, 2016
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Greg Klein, Resource Clips
Nine months after issuing a report on cobalt produced by child labour, Amnesty International says major manufacturers still can’t guarantee conflict-free sources. The organization’s January…
Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, S. Sudan Border Commission Approves Demarcation Documents
Oct 1, 2016
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Sudan Tribune
The Joint Border Commission (JBC) between Sudan and South Sudan on Thursday has endorsed a number of documents pertaining to the border demarcation, said Sudan’s…
India/Pakistan: Why the India-Pakistan War over Water is So Dangerous
Sep 30, 2016
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Michael Kugelman, Foreign Policy
Early on the morning of Sept. 29, according to India’s Defense Ministry and military, Indian forces staged a “surgical strike” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that targeted…
DRC: Bribe to Congolese Officials Revealed in US Corruption Case
Sep 30, 2016
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Geoffrey York, Globe and Mail
The cellphone message from the Israeli businessman was blunt and vulgar: The Canadian mining company must be “screwed and finished totally,” he told an associate…
DRC: The Cobalt Pipeline
Sep 30, 2016
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Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post
The world’s soaring demand for cobalt is at times met by workers, including children, who labor in harsh and dangerous conditions. An estimated 100,000 cobalt…