News


Myanmar: Irrawaddy Farmers Demand Return of Confiscated Land

Jun 14, 2017 | Salai Thant Zin, Irrawaddy

Farmers in Irrawaddy Division’s Myaungmya Township demanded the divisional government return more than 200 acres of land confiscated, and subsequently abandoned, by Myanmar’s military to…


Myanmar: Q-and-A on Seized Land ‘Irritates’ Hluttaw Speaker

Jun 14, 2017 | Myanmar Times

Questions and answers pertaining to confiscated land are irritating, Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker U Win Myint told the Hluttaw session yesterday. His remarks came when the…


Liberia: 23 Sent to Court in Maryland

Jun 14, 2017 | New Dawn

Police in Maryland County have arrested and forwarded to the Harper Magisterial court 23 suspects in connection with a recent violence land dispute in the…


Food Insecurity Strains Deepen amid Civil Conflict and Drought

Jun 13, 2017 | UN Food and Agriculture Organisation

8 June 2017, Rome--Large agricultural harvests in some regions of the world are buoying global food supply conditions, but protracted fighting and unrest are increasing…


Afghanistan: Afghan Wetlands Become UN-Protected Bird Sanctuary

Jun 13, 2017 | Sky News

Hundreds of migratory bird species that flock to an Afghan marsh on the outskirts of war-torn Kabul are to receive UN protection. Once a royal…


Myanmar: Land Compensation Issue Remains Unresolved

Jun 13, 2017 | Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times

Although a verbal promise had been made for compensation to be paid for lands which were seized from a subsidiary of a Chinese firm Wanbao…


Iraq/Kurdistan/Russia: Iraqi Kurdistan-Russia Oil Deal Could Have Major Implications for Region

Jun 12, 2017 | Al-Monitor, Mahmut Bozarslan

Iraq's central government for years has opposed the sale of Iraqi oil by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. The KRG’s biggest oil…


Myanmar: Workers Abandon Kachin Mines Due to Military Threat

Jun 12, 2017 | Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma

Hundreds of workers and their families have abandoned the gold and amber mines in Tanai, northern Kachin State, following threats from the Burmese military, which…


Iraq: Iraq Oil Ministry Companies Must Become Profitable - Minister

Jun 12, 2017 | Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Iraq's Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi says oil ministry companies must work on becoming profitable by the end of 2017. Luaibi encourages oil ministry companies to…


Ethiopia/South Sudan: Ethiopia, South Sudan to Develop Joint Border Infrastructure Development Projects

Jun 12, 2017 | Xinhua

Ethiopia and the world's newest nation South Sudan are to develop joint infrastructure development projects that would help create regional economic interconnection. The statement was…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Christians Complain about Land-Grabbing by Kurds – USCIRF Report

Jun 11, 2017 | Lorraine Caballero, Christian Daily

Iraqi Christians who have fled to Kurdistan to escape the atrocities of the Islamic State in their hometowns have complained that ethnic Kurds are seizing…


Colombia: Colombia is Fighting Cocaine by Making Coca Farmers Choose “Poverty or Prison”

Jun 10, 2017 | Christopher Crosby, Vice

Under a canopy hiding his laboratorio from patrolling military aircraft, Ricardo shreds green coca leaves until they carpet the jungle floor like confetti. It’s an initial step in a…


South Sudan: South Sudan Seeks More Investment in Oil Sector

Jun 10, 2017 | Xinhua

South Sudan has invited more oil companies to invest in exploration, production and distribution in order to double the country's daily output, Petroleum Minister Ezekiel…


Advancing U.S. Prosperity and Security in a Thirsty World

Jun 9, 2017 | Jane Harman & Carter Roberts

The waters of Lake Chad sustain 70 million people in four countries. Beginning in the 1970s, the 25,000-square-kilometer lake began shrinking due to excessive drawdown…


Palestine: Palestinian Co-Director

Jun 9, 2017 | EcoPeace Middle East

Job Description:

Palestinian Co-Director EcoPeace Middle East is a unique, 23 year old organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmentalists. Our primary objective…


Penn State Experts Promote Cacao as an Alternative to Illicit Crops in Colombia

Jun 9, 2017 | David Pacchioli

As codirectors of Penn State’s endowed cocoa research program and professors in the College of Agriculture, Mark Guiltinan and Siela Maximova work together all over…


Myanmar: State Agencies Face Legal Dispute over Pak Beng Dam

Jun 9, 2017 | Pratch Rujivanarom, Eleven

Citizens from eight Thai provinces along the Mekong River are suing state agencies for ill planning the Pak Beng hydropower dam. Various provinces are suing…


Colombia: As Colombia's FARC Disarms, Rebels Enlisted to Fight Deforestation

Jun 9, 2017 | Anastasia Moloney, Reuters

Seen from the air, muddy rivers snake through rolling forested hills stretching to the horizon in Colombia's southern province of Caqueta that for decades were…


Conflict Minerals: Financial CHOICE Act Passes House — Would Repeal SEC Conflict Minerals Rule

Jun 9, 2017 | National Law Review

On June 8, 2017, the US House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act by a vote of 233 to 186.  The bill was sponsored…


Sudan: Country Programs Manager

Jun 8, 2017 | United Methodist Church on Relief (UMCOR)

PURPOSE: The Country Programs Manager plays an important role in the United Methodist Church on Relief (UMCOR) Sudan’s field management structure. UMCOR-NGO’s program areas in the…


DRC: Program Director of Integrated Water Resource Management

Jun 8, 2017 | International Rescue Committee

BACKGROUND:

With headquarters in Kinshasa and field offices in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut Katanga and Tanganyika, the IRC is one of the…


Cambodia: Junior Water Resources Management Specialist

Jun 8, 2017 | Winrock International

Position Summary:

The Junior Water Resources Management Specialist will provide technical assistance to the project at the direction of the Team Leader/Senior Water Resources Management Specialist…


Cambodia: Team Leader/Senior Water Resources Management Specialist

Jun 8, 2017 | Winrock International

Position Summary:

The Team Leader/Senior Water Resources Management Specialist will be the in-country manager for an anticipated 4-year pilot project that will create a stakeholder-driven water…


East Syria: Team Leader - Scoping Mission

Jun 8, 2017 | Solidarités International

The Team Leader will be the head of the scoping mission, particularly overseeing the security management, networking, actors mapping and overall leadership of the scoping…


Jordan: Syria Mission - Food Security & Livelihood Program Manager

Jun 8, 2017 | Solidarités International

The FSL program manager will support the Program Coordinator to analyze the situation toward FSL in Azaz district (or any other area) and to subsequently…


Conflict Minerals: US Could Fuel War in Africa by Dropping Conflict Minerals Rule Argue Senators, Rights Groups

Jun 8, 2017 | Conor Gaffey, Newsweek

The United States could fuel widespread violence and corruption in central Africa if it drops a rule requiring American companies to account for their use…


Iraq: Iraq on a Tear to Triple Its Refining Capacity, Keep up with Its Growing Production

Jun 8, 2017 | Oil & Gas 360

Iraq is planning to triple its refining capacity as the third-largest oil exporter increases crude oil production, Bloomberg reported, based on an interview with an…


Conflict Minerals: EU Commission Seeks SME Views on Conflict Minerals Regulation

Jun 8, 2017 | Chemical Watch

The European Commission is seeking the views of SMEs on the EU conflict minerals Regulation, which was published in the EU’s Official Journal in May.…


Myanmar: Burma Will Join Asian Forest Cooperation Organization

Jun 7, 2017 | Nyein Nyein, Irrawaddy

The Union Parliament on Tuesday approved the signing of the regional agreement for the establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), after President U Htin Kyaw put…


Myanmar: Dam and Water Tax Bill Adopted

Jun 7, 2017 | Soe Min Htike, Nyein Zaw Lin, and Myo Min Htet, Eleven

The farmers have to pay Ks 2,000 (US$1.5) per acre for using water throughout the farming season, plus Ks 500 per acre for the protection…