News
Afghanistan/Iran: Afghanistan Refuses to Supply Iran with Water Share of Hirmand
Mar 6, 2017
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Tasnim News Agency
In a move in violation of a 1973 treaty with Iran, Afghanistan has refused to supply its neighbor with share of water from the Hirmand…
South Sudan: South Sudan Grants Oranto Permit to Explore `Vast' Oil Block
Mar 6, 2017
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Okech Francis, Bloomberg
South Sudan’s government said it granted Oranto Petroleum International Ltd. a license to explore for oil in a block covering three states in the East…
South Sudan: UNEP Warns of Increasing Floods, Droughts in Parts of South Sudan
Mar 6, 2017
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Radio Tamazuj
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned that natural disasters such as floods and droughts have increased in recent days in parts of Jonglei,…
Iran/Iraq: Iraq and Iran Agree to Resolve Dispute on Joint Oil Fields
Mar 5, 2017
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Sara al-Qaher, Al-Monitor
On Feb. 20, the Iraqi Oil Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian Oil Ministry to settle disputes over the joint oil fields and…
Liberia: FDA, Communities Sign Community Forest Management Agreement
Mar 3, 2017
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Gloria T. Tamba, Daily Observer
The Peoples Rules and Organizations Supporting the Protection of Ecosystem Resources (USAID/PROSPER), in partnership with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), recently signed a community forest…
Colombia: Another Indigenous Human Rights Activist Killed in Colombia
Mar 3, 2017
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teleSUR
Colombian Indigenous and campesino leader Alicia Lopez Guisao was killed in Medellin on Thursday, adding to the growing list of recently murdered human rights activists in…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kirkuk Oil Flows in Jeopardy again as Kurdish Tensions Grow
Mar 3, 2017
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Reuters
Iraq's Kurdistan is facing growing tensions between its government and the key opposition faction, which briefly disrupted oil flows from the semi-autonomous region this week…
Afghanistan-Pakistan Treaty on the Kabul River Basin?
Mar 2, 2017
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Shafqat Kakakhel
Pakistani officials and experts have, time and again, suggested the negotiation of an Afghanistan-Pakistan treaty to regulate the sharing of the Kabul River Basin (KRB).…
Axing “Conflict Minerals” Rule Also Threatens DRC’s Endangered Grauer Gorillas
Mar 2, 2017
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Wilson Center
For weeks, the primatologists had followed a group of Grauer’s gorillas over rugged terrain – hacking through dense rainforest; following knife-edged ravines; and crossing a…
Food Security: Hunger Persists in Chronic Conflict Zones Despite Strong Global Harvests – UN
Mar 2, 2017
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UN
Despite robust food supply conditions, droughts are worsening food security across swathes of East Africa, and access to food has been dramatically reduced in areas…
Uganda: Museveni: There Is No Reason for Conflict over River Nile
Mar 2, 2017
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Nigeria Today
President Yoweri Museveni has said Uganda has not yet ratified the “Nile Agreement” on the use of the River Nile, as it is pursuing a…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kirkuk Oil Exports at Risk as Kurds Seize Pump Station
Mar 2, 2017
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Khalid Al Ansary, Kadhim Ajrash, and Sam Wilkin, Bloomberg
Iraqi oil shipments of about 105,000 barrels a day were halted briefly on Thursday after Kurdish troops seized control of a pumping station in disputed…
Myanmar: Forest Department Investigates Sizeable Seizures of Smuggled Timber
Mar 1, 2017
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Htun Htun, Irrawaddy
The forest department has launched an internal investigation in response to sizeable seizures of smuggled timber since late January. On Jan. 24, authorities seized more…
Iran/Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurds, Turkmen Concerned about Iran-Iraq Kirkuk Oil Deal
Mar 1, 2017
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Baxtiyar Goran, Kurdistan24
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Turkmen of Kirkuk are concerned about the Iran-Iraq deal to export Kirkuk oil to Iran. On Tuesday, Falah…
Bolivia/Ecuador/Peru: As Water Scarcity Deepens across Latin America, Political Instability Grows
Mar 1, 2017
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John Vidal, Guardian
Other Latin American countries are also experiencing renewed water conflicts as climate change affects rainfalls while mining and agribusiness demand more. In Chile, the first…
In Support of Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals Regulation
Feb 28, 2017
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Sasha Lezhnev
IRIN’s recent article, Who pays the hidden price for Congo’s conflict-free minerals, offers a compelling story that highlights some real challenges facing many Congolese people today.
Unfortunately,…
Afghanistan: Afghan Capital's Thirsty Residents Dig Deep to Combat Drought, Overuse
Feb 28, 2017
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Sayed Hassib, Reuters
A growing population is straining water supplies in Afghanistan's capital, forcing those who can afford it to dig unregulated wells ever deeper to tap a…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Exclusive: Iraq's Kurdistan Negotiates New Terms, Raises Oil Pre-Payments to $3 Billion
Feb 28, 2017
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Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters
Iraq's Kurdistan has increased the loans guaranteed by future oil sales to $3 billion in new deals with trading houses and Russian state oil firm…
Colombia: Colombian Indigenous Community Fight to Protect Land from Paramilitary Resurgence
Feb 28, 2017
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Julián Villabona Galarza, PanAm Post
The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta in Colombia’s northern region is home to multiple indigenous communities living peacefully on sacred land. But the Arhuaco people there were…
Are We Headed Toward “Recurring Storms” of Global Food Insecurity?
Feb 27, 2017
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Erica Martin
It’s often assumed that in the modern era, food security is an achievable goal. But between 2007 and 2008, a confluence of conditions shook the…
Enough Project Comment to the SEC in Support of Conflict Minerals Rule Implementation
Feb 27, 2017
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Enough Project
On January 31, Acting Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Michael Piwowar welcomed interested parties to submit comments in response to a statement calling…
Are We Headed Toward “Recurring Storms” of Global Food Insecurity?
Feb 27, 2017
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Erica Martin
It’s often assumed that in the modern era, food security is an achievable goal. But between 2007 and 2008, a confluence of conditions shook the…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Four Bombs Blast Oil Pipeline In Iraq
Feb 27, 2017
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Irina Slav, Oil Price
Four bombs detonated at an oil pipeline in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, killing one and injuring three members of the Kurdish security forces. At the time…
Government Neglects Land Disputes at its Peril
Feb 26, 2017
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Eleven
Land disputes remain one of the many problems still to be cracked in Myanmar. Many farmers end up in court and jail after their land…
Helping Afghan Farmers Build Better Lives
Feb 26, 2017
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Mohammad Hassan Ibrahimi
Mohammad Ibrahimi is a messenger between local farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). That’s his role as provincial coordinator of the National Horticulture and…
Liberia: Liberia Revenue Authority Investigates Logging Companies for US$25 million in Unpaid Taxes
Feb 26, 2017
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Gbatemah Senah, Bush Chicken
The Liberia Revenue Authority says it is investigating a Global Witness’ report that logging companies in the country owe US$$25 million in unpaid taxes. The…
South Sudan: Famine-Hit South Sudanese Eat Weeds and Water Lilies to Survive
Feb 26, 2017
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Reuters
Last week the United Nations declared that parts of South Sudan are experiencing famine, the first time the world has faced such a catastrophe in…
Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Urges Afghans to Plant More Trees
Feb 26, 2017
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BBC
The leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has urged Afghans to plant more trees. In a statement, he called on civilians and fighters…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Bombs Target Oil Pipeline in Iraq's Kirkuk, One Killed
Feb 25, 2017
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Reuters
Four bombs went off on Saturday near a minor pipeline from an oilfield close to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, security and oil industry…
South Sudan: South Sudan Launched the National Adaptation Programme of Actions (NAPA) for Climate Change
Feb 25, 2017
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UNEP
Over one hundred and twenty people representing national, regional, international institutions including national and state governments, donors, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and media houses witnessed…