News

Iraq: The Explosive Battle to Build an Iraqi National Park [Photos]

Mar 19, 2018 | Peter Schwartzstein, National Geographic

If a determined band of local environmentalists get their way, all this might soon form part of Iraq’s first international standard national park. Undeterred by…

Liberia: Forest Dependents Hold Consultation on Community Resources Management

Mar 19, 2018 | FrontPage Africa

Under the auspices of the Liberia Forest Sector Project (LFSP), a team from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headed by the LFSP Focal Person, Z.…

Myanmar: ‘Excessive Mining’ Blamed for Kachin Water Shortage

Mar 19, 2018 | Aung Hein Min, Eleven

Residents of Kachin State have said “excessive jade mining” is a reason for a water shortage in the hot season. The Lonekhin village-tract where the…

South Sudan: Cows in the Classroom: Inside South Sudan's Cattle Camp Schools

Mar 19, 2018 | Stefanie Glinski, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Aid agencies are starting to provide mobile education in the remote cattle camps amid fears that South's Sudan's latest civil war is creating another "lost…

Iraq: Iraq Weighs Building an Island to Boost Oil-Exporting Capacity

Mar 19, 2018 | Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg

OPEC’s second-biggest producer is ramping up efforts to expand capacity to pump and export oil, with plans that include the injection of seawater into crude…

Iraq: Oil Was Supposed to Rebuild Iraq

Mar 19, 2018 | Krishnadev Calamur, Atlantic

In the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq 15 years ago, one factor in the debate was the notion that the the war would…

New DRC Mining Code Will Not Alter Positive Outlook

Mar 18, 2018 | BMI Research

The executive decision was made following the passing of the new mining code by the DRC parliament and Senate in December/January 2018 and in the…

Afghanistan: Gemstone Smuggler Says Badakhshan Mines out of Govt Control

Mar 18, 2018 | Tamim Hamid, TOLOnews

A suspected gem stone smuggler has said mines in Badakhshan’s Karan-o-Manjan district, especially those extracting Lapis Lazuli, are out of government’s control and are being…

Afghanistan: ‘Killed, Shovel in Hand’: Afghan Farmers Are Latest Victims of a Chaotic War

Mar 18, 2018 | Zabihullah Ghazi and Mujib Mashal, New York Times

Afghanistan has experienced a rise in violence in recent weeks, even before the official start of what is expected to be another bloody fighting season,…

Myanmar: Senior Environmental Policy Officer

Mar 17, 2018 | World Wide Fund For Nature

WWF’s work has evolved from saving species and landscapes to addressing the larger global threats and forces that impact them. Recognizing that the problems facing…

Somalia: Consultancy for Development of Livelihood strategies of Galkayo, Mudug

Mar 17, 2018 | Danish Refugee Council

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries throughout the world. DRC…

Below the Radar, the US Is Making Steady Progress on the Climate-Security Nexus

Mar 17, 2018 | Ellen Laipson

From the homeland security folks who respond to national disasters to the armed forces planning for hostile encounters with state or nonstate adversaries, the U.S.…

Afghanistan: Opium Production in Afghanistan Reaches Record High [Video]

Mar 17, 2018 | Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera

Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the US invasion in 2001. Last year 9,000 tonnes were produced, an increase of 87…

Seeking Applicants: DC Symposium on the New Frontiers of Peacebuilding Research Fellowship

Mar 16, 2018

The International Peace and Security Institute is very pleased to announce Research Fellowships for its inaugural DC Symposium on the New Frontiers of Peacebuilding. These fellowships…

Myanmar: Confiscated Land Returned to Farmers

Mar 16, 2018 | Mizzima

The Myanmar government has returned some 385 acres (156 hectares) of land out of 1,081 acres, confiscated by the Ministry of Defense, to 82 farmers…

DRC: Cobalt to Be Declared a ”Strategic” Mineral in DR Congo

Mar 16, 2018 | Herald

An advisor to Congolese Prime Minister Jean Nkunza on Wednesday said the Democratic Republic of Congo will declare cobalt and coltan, as “strategic” minerals which will earn…

Colombia: More Than 800 Businesses in Colombia Tied to Death Squads: Report

Mar 16, 2018 | Frank Cardona, Colombia Reports

More than 800 businesses sponsored paramilitary groups that committed tens of thousands of human right violations in Colombia, in most cases without consequence, according to…

Afghanistan: Hopes Overflow for Afghan Water Project

Mar 16, 2018 | Safiullah Amiri, Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Residents of Nimruz have high hopes about the dramatic differences a major dam project will have on life in the semi-arid province. Now in its…

Colombia: Climate-Smart Farming in Colombia’s Last Agricultural Frontier

Mar 16, 2018 | World Bank

The Orinoquía is considered Colombia’s last agricultural frontier, with the potential to serve as a food source for Colombia, and the world. While exploiting this…

Iraq: Iraq Establishes National Oil Company

Mar 16, 2018 | Adnan Abu Zeed, Al-Monitor

The Iraqi parliament voted March 5 on the National Oil Company draft law, which regulates oil production and exports and fairly distributes its revenues to…

Food Security: Study Questions Food Scarcity Link in Driving African Conflict

Mar 16, 2018 | Africa Times

It isn’t climate change that will increase the frequency of civil war in Africa as a result of food scarcity, according to a study recently…

Afghanistan: Pressure Builds in 'Powderkeg' Kabul as Refugees Return Home

Mar 15, 2018 | Preethi Nallu, Guardian

Despite the billions of dollars being poured into the “stabilisation” of Afghanistan, the latest figures on displacement paint an alarming picture. The UN High Commissioner…

Colombia: In Colombia, a Losing Battle to Keep a Dump off Native Lands

Mar 15, 2018 | Camila Taborda, Worldcrunch

For more than a decade,  locals have done everything in their power to stop the project, demanding, among other things, that the Interior Ministry consult…

Conflict Minerals: EU Conflict Minerals Bill Still Three Years from becoming Reality

Mar 15, 2018 | Benjamin Fox, Euractiv

Nearly a year after being signed off by MEPs and ministers, the EU’s long-awaited conflict minerals law is still three years from going live. The…

DRC: Glencore, Randgold Mines Quit Congolese Industry Body ahead of Govt Talks

Mar 15, 2018 | Reuters

Mines run by Glencore, Randgold Resources and three other international companies have quit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s chamber of commerce, saying the industry body…

Sierra Leone: Waiting for Benefits from Sierra Leone's Giant 'Peace Diamond'

Mar 14, 2018 | Abu-Bakarr Jalloh, Deutsche Welle

One of the world's biggest uncut diamonds, the egg-sized gem was sold at auction for $6.5 million in December 2017 (the price was disappointing as…

Liberia: Global Oil Palm Body Rebukes GVL over Land Grab in Sinoe, Grand Kru

Mar 14, 2018 | FrontPage Africa

The Complaint Panel of the Roundtable on Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO) has rebuked Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) for land grab in communities in Sinoe and…

Bangladesh: The Biggest Refugee Camp Braces for Rain: ‘This Is Going to Be a Catastrophe'

Mar 14, 2018 | Somini Sengupta and Henry Fountain, New York Times

The world’s largest refugee camp, a temporary home to more than half a million people that sprawls precariously across barren hills in southeastern Bangladesh, faces…

Myanmar: Karen Villagers Protest Hatgyi Dam, Other Projects on Salween River

Mar 14, 2018 | Nyein Nyein, Irrawaddy

More than 1,700 people living near the site of the planned Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River in Karen State’s Hpapun district gathered to show…

Iran/Iraq: Iran Says IS Resurgence Could Hamper Oil Deal with Iraq

Mar 14, 2018 | Adnan Abu Zeed, Al-Monitor

The Islamic State (IS) appears to be staging a comeback in parts of Iraq, which could endanger the country's oil deal with Iran. Hamid Hosseini,…