International
Iraq: Iraq Offers Nine Oil and Gas Blocks for Exploration Near Iran, Kuwait Borders
Nov 26, 2017
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Reuters
Iraq will invite foreign energy firms to bid for the exploration and development of nine new oil and gas blocks bordering Iran and Kuwait, the…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: A Defiant Map-Hunter Stakes Vietnam’s Claims in the South China Sea
Nov 25, 2017
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Mike Ives, New York Times
Eight years ago, officials in Danang asked Tran Duc Anh Son to travel the world in search of documents and maps that support Vietnam’s territorial…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Turkey: Report: Turkey's PM Praises Iraqi Court Ruling on Kurdistan Referendum
Nov 25, 2017
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Rudaw
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has praised the cancellation of Kurdistan's independence vote by Iraq's Federal Court. The Turkish premier spoke by phone with his…
Afghanistan: Aino Mina Project Was Built Legally: Karzai
Nov 25, 2017
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Karim Amini, TOLOnews
A day after a presidential decree on assessment of Aino Mina Township in Kandahar was leaked to media, founder of the township, Mahmoud Karzai, said…
Uganda: Naked Force Meets Naked Resistance in Northern Uganda Land Conflict
Nov 24, 2017
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Liam Taylor, Thomson Reuters Foundation
When a government minister visited a remote part of northern Uganda earlier this year, she was greeted with a sit-down protest, indignant politicians and topless…
Colombia: Celsia Makes Pact with Indigenous Peoples over 100MW Colombia Solar Project
Nov 24, 2017
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Tom Kenning, PV-Tech
Celsia, the energy arm of Colombian conglomerate Grupo Argos, has moved forward with its development of a 100MW solar farm in Colombia by reaching an…
Saudi Arabia/Qatar: OPEC Chatroom Dead as Qatar Crisis Hurts Gulf Oil Cooperation
Nov 23, 2017
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Rania El Gamal and Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters
As a six-month-old spat between Saudi Arabia and Qatar deepens, the organization’s Gulf ministers will have to scrap their tradition of meeting behind closed doors…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Oil Exports on Rise, but Below Original Output Levels: Source
Nov 23, 2017
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Karzan Sulaivany, Kurdistan 24
Oil flows in Kurdistan are on the rise despite sanctions imposed by Baghdad after the Region’s vote for secession, but still remain below their original…
Afghanistan/Pakistan: Manual to Help Resolve Issues between Pakistan, Afghanistan Proposed
Nov 23, 2017
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Mushtaq Ghumman, Business Recorder
Participants of a panel discussion on Wednesday proposed that a manual should be developed to resolve issues including water sharing between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Giving…
Myanmar: MIC Suspends New Investments in Timber Businesses
Nov 23, 2017
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Htin Lynn Aung, Myanmar Times
Permission for to start new timber-based businesses will be temporarily suspended in Myanmar, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) said in a November 16 statement, which…
Afghanistan: US Strikes on Taliban Opium Labs Won't Work, say Afghan Farmers
Nov 23, 2017
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Mohammad Stanekza and Girish Gupta, Reuters
As U.S. and Afghan forces pound Taliban drug factories this week, farmers in the country’s largest opium producing-province and narcotics experts say the strategy just…
Liberia: Environmental Protection Agency Conducts Validation Training on Fuel Efficiency
Nov 22, 2017
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Gerald C. Koinyeneh, FrontPageAfrica
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia with support from the United Nations Environment Program has ended a two day validation workshop on fuel efficiency…
US Government Releases First US Global Water Strategy
Nov 22, 2017
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WaterWorld
The U.S. Government recently released its U.S. Global Water Strategy to address the challenges of the global water crisis that may increase disease, undermine economic…
Colombia: In Post-Conflict Colombia, Land-Rights and Funding for Peacebuilding Face off
Nov 22, 2017
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Taran Volckhausen, Christian Science Monitor
In 2016 – and in a series of similar rulings since – Colombia’s highest court struck down a 2001 mining law that granted the national…
Iraq/Kuwait: Iraq Looks to Kuwait Gas Pipeline to Pay off Reparations
Nov 22, 2017
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Rania El Gamal, Osamu Tsukimori and Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters
Kuwait’s oil ministry did not respond to a request for immediate comment. Oil minister Issam Al-Marzouq said last month that talks between Kuwait and Iraq…
Colombia: Colombia's Coffee Output, Exports to Hit 25-Year High
Nov 21, 2017
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Mike Verdin, Agrimoney
Colombia’s recovery in coffee output, and exports, will progress faster than had been thought this season, US officials said – but on an assumption of…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Turkey: Iraq Reviews Kirkuk Oil Exports with Turkey
Nov 21, 2017
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Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International
Getting oil flowing again from the fields in Kirkuk in northern Iraq to a Turkish sea port is the first order of business, the Iraqi…
Iraq/Kuwait: Iraq to Resume Oil Reparations to Kuwait for Gulf War Devastation, Says UN
Nov 21, 2017
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Lewis Sanders IV, Deutsche Welle
The UN Security Council's compensation agency has announced Baghdad's desire to settle war reparations by 2021. Iraq had suspended compensation payments following the rise of…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan's Economy Slowly on Rise, to Grow 2.6 Percent This Year - World Bank
Nov 21, 2017
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Girish Gupta, Reuters
Afghanistan’s economy is expected to grow 2.6 percent this year, up slightly from the previous year despite deteriorating security, the World Bank said in a…
Afghanistan: The US Begins Bombing Taliban Drug Labs as Trump’s Afghanistan Strategy Takes Hold
Nov 20, 2017
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Dan Lamonthe, Washington Post
US and Afghan forces have launched a series of attacks on narcotics laboratories in southern Afghanistan, marking the start of what could become a long,…
Aghanistan: Ghani Warns Regarding Looming Water Crisis Threatening Kabul City
Nov 19, 2017
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Khaama Press
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani warned regarding the looming water crisis threatening capital Kabul and other key cities of the country. Speaking during the 4th round…
Afghanistan: US-Funded 32 Irrigation Networks to Benefit 44,000 Afghans
Nov 19, 2017
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Daily Outlook Afghanistan
Thirty-two modern irrigation networks are being established in eight provinces to cover about 7,000 hectares of land, officials said on Saturday. Eng. Nasir Ahmad Durani,…
Bahrain: The "Oil War" in the Persian Gulf
Nov 19, 2017
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Dr. Shaul Shay, Israel Defense
An explosion ripped through the oil pipeline near the village of Buri some 15 kilometers from the capital of Bahrain, Manama, on November 10, 2017.…
Afghanistan: Ghani Pledges to Resolve Land-Grabbing Issue
Nov 18, 2017
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TOLOnews
Addressing the 4th Urban Conference in Kabul on Saturday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan’s urban areas were facing numerous challenges but that these issues…
Myanmar: New Aquaculture Economy Emerged on Rising Fish Demand
Nov 17, 2017
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Kang Wan Chern, Myanmar Times
Domestic demand for farmed fish in Myanmar has risen substantially over the past 10 years, with many small-scale fish farms emerging across the Ayeyarwady region.…
Conflict Minerals: Robin Wright’s Mission to End Conflict Minerals
Nov 16, 2017
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Carl Shih, The Lily
Robin Wright has never been the type of woman to sit still. As an activist and now entrepreneur, Wright began channeling her Hollywood fame as…
Iraq: Exclusive: Iraq Adds 400MW of Power as Flared Gas Recovery Kicks in
Nov 16, 2017
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Jennifer Gnana, The National
Iraq has added around 400 megawatts (MW) to its power grid from the first wave of flared gas recovery this year, according to the US…
Conflict Minerals: Apple Ranked as 'Clear Leader' in its Efforts to Source Conflict-Free Minerals from Supply Chain
Nov 16, 2017
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Mitchel Broussard, MacRumours
Apple has been designated the "clear leader" in its methods of supporting a conflict-free minerals trade throughout its supply chain. The title was awarded to…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Turkey: Iraq, Turkey Discuss Resuming Kirkuk Oil Exports
Nov 16, 2017
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Rudaw
Top Iraqi oil officials met with a Turkish energy delegation in Baghdad to discuss resuming Kirkuk's oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan which…
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone’s Land Challenges to Be Addressed by Reforms
Nov 16, 2017
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UN Economic Commission for Africa
The problems surrounding access and ownership of land in Sierra Leone will be solved by the implementation of the National Land Policy, said country representatives…