News

Nigeria: Are the Niger Delta Militants Now Targeting Oil Facilities in the South West?

Jul 14, 2016 | Adetula David, Ventures

On Tuesday night, suspected militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Ogijo area of Ogun state. Since the inauguration of President Buhari’s administration last…

Liberia: Liberia Must Pass Land Rights Bill or Risk Jeopardising Peace, Campaigners Warn

Jul 14, 2016 | Ruth Maclean, Guardian

Liberia could be plunged back into conflict if a historic land rights bill is not passed by August, civil society groups have warned. The country’s…

South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Hopes Thwarted Once Again by Civil War

Jul 14, 2016 | Julianne Geiger, Oilprice.com

A month after announcing oil production would resume, Sudan's peace agreement is cracking. Five days of heavy fighting have forced tens of thousands of people,…

Liberia: Failure to Pass Land Law Could Plunge Liberia Back into Conflict: Activists

Jul 14, 2016 | Reuters

Liberia's failure to pass a long-awaited law recognizing the rights of rural communities to their ancestral lands could plunge the West African nation back into…

Egypt: Programme Policy Officer (Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Adaption)

Jul 13, 2016 | World Food Programme

The Regional Bureau in Cairo (RBC) is supporting countries across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern European regions in reducing disaster risks,…

Conflict Minerals: Bill Passed in House Would Defund Conflict Minerals Rule

Jul 13, 2016 | Kelly Franklin, Chemical Watch

The US House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill, containing an amendment that would defund enforcement of the nation’s conflict minerals reporting rule. Amendment…

Myanmar: Myanmar Cracks Down on Dams

Jul 13, 2016 | Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat

No new irrigation dams will be built in Myanmar under the current government and spending on existing facilities will be halved given their questionable benefits…

China/South China Sea: China May Establish Air Defense Zone after Losing Court Ruling

Jul 13, 2016 | Katie Hunt and Steven Jiang, CNN

China said Wednesday it has the right to set up an air defense zone in the hotly disputed South China Sea, a day after a…

Oil, Greed, and Grievances in the Middle East and North Africa

Jul 12, 2016 | Axel Dreher and Merle Kreibaum

Political scientists Indra de Soysa and Eric Neumayer, among many others, have shown that countries rich in oil have a higher risk of civil war…

What is the Future of the South China Sea?

Jul 12, 2016 | M. Taylor Fravel, Jessica Chen Weiss, Peter Dutton, Orville Schell, Edward Friedman, Tom Nagorski

On July 12, a court based at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague rejected China’s sweeping claims over much of the South China Sea. The…

Colombia: As Colombia Peace Talks Advance, War Widows, Ex-Fighters Clear Landmines One at a Time

Jul 12, 2016 | Anastasia Moloney, Thomson Reuters Foundation

In the surrounding rolling countryside guns have fallen silent and the bombing raids have stopped following a bilateral ceasefire signed in June between the government…

China/South China Sea: Tribunal Rejects Beijing’s Claims in South China Sea

Jul 12, 2016 | Jane Perlez, New York Times

An international tribunal in The Hague delivered a sweeping rebuke on Tuesday of China’s behavior in the South China Sea, including its construction of artificial…

DRC: DRC Declares First New National Park in 40 Years

Jul 12, 2016 | Morgan Erickson-Davis, Mongabay

Late last week, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government announced the creation of the country’s first new national park in more than four decades. Spanning…

Myanmar: Vice President Issues Farmers Temporary Land Ownership Documents

Jul 12, 2016 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

The so-called Form 3 certificates were issued at a ceremony on July 9 in Madaya township, Mandalay Region, to allow 32 former owners to take…

South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Revenue Drops amid Renewed Conflict

Jul 12, 2016 | Oil Review Africa

South Sudan oil revenues have dropped by 75 per cent in June to US$60 million a month and the International Monetary Fund has warned of…

DRC: Gorillas Are Being Killed and Eaten by Miners in the Congo

Jul 12, 2016 | James Temperton, Wired

An endangered gorilla subspecies is being pushed towards extinction as mineral miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hunt it for bushmeat. Concerns have…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Sank Fishing Boat in the Disputed Region: Vietnam

Jul 12, 2016 | The Hindu

Vietnam has accused the Chinese coastguard of sinking a fishing boat near a disputed island chain, authorities said on Tuesday. Two Vietnamese boats were chased…

China/South China Sea: The Tribunal Renders its Award

Jul 12, 2016 | Permanent Court of Arbitration

A unanimous Award has been issued today by the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea…

Afghanistan: An Unlikely Fight to Protect Nature in War-Torn Afghanistan

Jul 12, 2016 | Jenny Peng and Tamsin Walker, Deutsche Welle

War doesn't only destroy human lives, but also land and ecologies - and therefore livelihoods. Afghanistan is a case in point. Enter a woman with…

Oil and ISIS: If We Hadn’t Needed One, the Other Wouldn’t Exist

Jul 11, 2016 | Ian Reifowitz

The moral responsibility for murders lies solely with those who carried them out, those who ordered them, and those who encouraged them. But beyond responsibility…

Livelihoods Research Consultant – Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq

Jul 11, 2016 | International Alert

International Alert is requesting ‘Expressions of Interest’ from qualified and experienced specialists for a research assignment that begins in August 2016. As part of its…

Myanmar: Re-launched Committee to Manage Water Resources

Jul 11, 2016 | Aye Sapay Phyu, Myanmar Times

U Htun Lwin Oo, director general of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems, said the National Water Resources Committee abolished by…

Myanmar: Palm Oil Drive under Review in Tanintharyi

Jul 11, 2016 | Aye Nyein Win, Myanmar Times

A failing scheme to expand oil palm plantations in Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi Region is under review, as the government hopes to concentrate on increasing yield…

Liberia: Liberia’s Forest in Danger- International Conservationists Alarm

Jul 11, 2016 | Front Page Africa

Several international conservationist have alarmed over a proposed plan by the Forestry development Authority (FDA) to develop a regulation to allow for forest destruction or…

Sierra Leone: Agriculture is the Future of the Artisanal Diamond Miner – Chairman Kono Diamond Dealers

Jul 11, 2016 | Awoko

Agriculture is the hope of the artisanal miners as diamonds are dwindling. It is now time to discuss with the people about diversification and on…

China/South China Sea: In a Chinese Port Town, South China Sea Dispute is Personal

Jul 11, 2016 | Anthony Kuhn, NPR

The atmosphere in Tanmen has become more tense since an international tribunal in the Hague announced that it would release a ruling on July 12…

New Approach Needed for Urban Planning in Yangon

Jul 10, 2016 | Sithu Aung Myint

IN LATE May, U Phyo Min Thein, the chief minister of Yangon Region, declared that he would rid Myanmar’s largest city of squatters as a…

Kenya: Environmental Assessment Consultant

Jul 10, 2016 | UNDP

Over the last 10 years no significant environmental assessment has been conducted to document the state of the Somali ecosystems, habitats and human and animal…

Illegal Mining is Fuelling Conflict in Afghanistan and China Can Play a Major Role in Curbing This

Jul 9, 2016 | Stephen Carter

For 6,500 years, Afghanistan has been famous for the brilliant blue lapis lazuli, coveted by everybody from the Egyptian pharaohs to the common jewellers of…

There is a Fourth Option on the Myitsone Dam

Jul 9, 2016 | Joern Kristensen

In his column in the June 16 edition of Frontier, Sithu Aung Myint wrote that the Chinese Ambassador, Mr Hong Liang, with a delegation from…