News


Food Security: How Drought and Rising Prices Led to Conflict in Syria

Jan 26, 2017 | Aled Jones

But what [Charlotte Church] said was correct – and there will be an increasing convergence of climate, food, economic and political crises in the coming…


Myanmar: Kachin Park Handed Back to Original Owners

Jan 26, 2017 | Eleven

Some parts of the Kareinnaw recreation gardens, one of the most prominent parks in Myitkyina, has been transferred to the family of the original owner,…


Myanmar: Dozens Facing Trespass Charge for Cutting Bamboo in Delta

Jan 26, 2017 | Mratt Kyaw Thu, Frontier

Thirty-seven farmers in Ayeyarwady Region are facing the possibility of prison time after the son of a retired military officer accused them of cutting bamboo…


Does Myanmar Need a Gemstone Law?

Jan 25, 2017 | Paul Shortell

In July 2016, Myanmar’s government took the positive step of suspending jade and gemstone licensing until relevant laws could be reviewed and an environmental management plan for…


Conflict Minerals in 2017 – What’s New?

Jan 25, 2017 | Dynda A. Thomas

It’s January 2017, and some believe it will be the last year for the SECs conflict minerals rule.

President Trump’s inclination to roll back regulation reduces or…


Famine Isn't Just a Result of Conflict—It's a Cause

Jan 25, 2017 | Justa Hopma

The relationship between food insecurity and conflict is almost so logical that it appears to state the obvious: Conditions of food insecurity contribute to the…


Why Iraq Needs the Oil

Jan 25, 2017 | Jack Watling

Baghdad’s control of Iraq’s provinces is, in part, based on its custodianship of the country’s petrodollars, with the oil sector contributing up to 99 percent…


Myanmar: Mandalay Govt to Confiscate Unused Farmland

Jan 25, 2017 | Eleven

The Mandalay Region government announced Tuesday that it will confiscate unused farmland from its current owners. The announcement stated the government plans to confiscate 40,895…


Iraq: PM Abadi Says Iraq's Oil is for Iraqis, in Reaction to Trump

Jan 24, 2017 | Reuters

Iraq's oil is the property of Iraqis, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday, in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump who argued that the…


Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pakistan Aims for Water Treaty with Afghanistan

Jan 23, 2017 | Maqbool Malikm, The Nation

Pakistan is about to start talks with Afghanistan to secure a bilateral treaty for the use of water related to Kabul River. The move apparently…


Iraq: The Minister of Oil Declares the Accomplishment of the Draft of the Oil and Gas Law

Jan 23, 2017 | Rebuilding Iraq

Mr. Jabbar A. Allibi, the Minister of Oil, declared for the accomplishment of the laws of the national petroleum company and the national gas company…


Liberia: Chinese Firm to Make $2.6bn Investment in Liberian Iron Ore Mining

Jan 23, 2017 | Tech Featured

China Union intends to spend US$2.6bn to bring the Bong iron ore deposit to production within two years, and will also recondition the capital’s port…


Afghanistan/Iran: Afghan Authorities Accuse Iran of Using Taliban to Undercut Water Projects

Jan 23, 2017 | Noor Zahid, Voice of America

Afghan governors in southern and western provinces charged on Monday that Iran is using an increasingly close relationship with the Afghan Taliban to target power…


India: MPs’ Panel Asks WB to Arbitrate on Indus Waters Treaty

Jan 21, 2017 | Israr Khan, The News

In the face of the India’s threat to Indus Water Treaty 1960, Pakistani parliamentarians in a special combine standing committee on foreign affairs and water…


Iraq: Trump on Iraq: ‘We Should Have Kept the oil’

Jan 21, 2017 | Danny McDonald, Boston Globe

On the day after he was sworn in as the 45th president in American history, Donald Trump stepped in foreign policy controversy, saying the US…


Water Wars: Hedging Bets in the South China Sea

Jan 20, 2017 | Chris Mirasola

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe followed last week’s trip to Manila with a busy schedule of state visits to Canberra, Jakarta, and Hanoi reaffirming Japan’s role in…


Myanmar: Freed Myanmar Farmers Renew Fight against Army over Land

Jan 20, 2017 | Wa Lone, Reuters

Farmers locked in a land dispute with Myanmar's armed forces pledged to renew their fight after being released from jail on Friday, in a case…


Iraq: Iraqi Sheep, Locals, Environment Suffer Islamic State Oil Fires

Jan 19, 2017 | Girish Guptam, Reuters

Shepherds herd blackened flocks through the Iraqi desert. Locals cough and wheeze under vast clouds of smoke, and NASA images show oil threatening to encroach…


Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Police Halt Anti-China Protest over Islands

Jan 19, 2017 | Reuters

Police in Vietnam's capital stopped an anti-China protest within minutes on Thursday at a ceremony to commemorate a clash between the two countries in the…


Myanmar: The Salween Peace Park: A Radical, Grassroots Alternative to Development in Karen State

Jan 18, 2017 | KIC

A path has opened for environmental conservationists and rights advocates to strengthen their fight against gold mining and other socially and environmentally destructive projects in…


Iraq: Iraq's Marsh Arabs Test the Waters as Wetlands Ruined by Saddam Are Reborn

Jan 18, 2017 | Peter Schwartzstein, Guardian

Authorities in Baghdad are rebuilding lost communities. They are keen to resettle properly at least some of the roughly 250,000 Marsh Arabs who have trickled…


Myanmar: Yangon Chief Minister Hopes to Resolve Land Issues in 3 years

Jan 18, 2017 | Eleven

The parliamentary commission for assessing legal affairs and special cases suggested better land management policy at a parliamentary session last month. It stated that speculation…


Leading Jewelry Manufacturer Richline Group States Public Support for Conflict Minerals Regulations

Jan 17, 2017 | Enough Team

On January 9th, the Richline Group released a statement voicing strong support for Section 1502, the conflict minerals provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer…


The Power of Cocoa: Preserving Peace - and an Indigenous Tribe - in Colombia

Jan 17, 2017 | Lutheran World Relief

Now that an agreement has been reached between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the current generation of Colombian youth…


Global Surge Delegate - Food Security & Livelihoods

Jan 16, 2017 | British Red Cross

The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural…


Afghanistan: Natural Resources Management & Food Security and Livelihood Coordinator - Kabul

Jan 16, 2017 | Solidarités International

SI has been working in Afghanistan for 35 years. It is currently implementing Food Security (1 Natural Resources Management and Rural Development project) and Emergency/livelihood…


Somalia: National WASH & Infrastructure Coordinator

Jan 16, 2017 | Danish Refugee Council

The position of the National WASH & Infrastructure Coordinator is an overall coordination of the technical Infrastructure sectors of DRC construction projects in Somalia, in…


South Sudan: Pipeline Coordinator (Shelter/NFI and WASH)

Jan 16, 2017 | International Organization for Migration

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is…


South Sudan: Pipeline Officer (Shelter/NFI and WASH)

Jan 16, 2017 | International Organization for Migration

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is…


Yemen: WASH Coordinator

Jan 16, 2017 | International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs.…