News


Iraq: Iraqis Kept in the Dark about Mosul Dam Emergency Plans

Mar 30, 2016 | Stephen Kalin and Saif Hameed, Reuters

Despite intense U.S. pressure to act to keep Iraq's largest dam from collapsing, Baghdad has done little to prepare Iraqis for the possibility of a…


Conflict Minerals: Apple Says Supply Chain Now 100% Audited for Conflict Minerals

Mar 30, 2016 | Emily Chasan, Bloomberg

Apple Inc. has reached what it’s calling a milestone in supply-chain transparency, saying it’s now auditing 100 percent of its suppliers for the use of…


Conflict Minerals: Edinburgh University Breaks New Ground by Opposing Conflict Minerals

Mar 30, 2016 | Owen Duffy, Guardian

Edinburgh university is to cut the use of so-called conflict minerals in goods it buys, with a promise to search out alternatives if a product…


Myanmar: Plea for Halt to Dams in Myanmar 'Conflict Areas'

Mar 30, 2016 | Shan Human Rights Foundation

A new report launched today by Shan community groups calls for an immediate halt to the Upper Yeywa dam and other planned hydropower dams on…


Myanmar: Power Plant Wastewater Causes Health Problems, Water Shortages in Tikyit

Mar 30, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

Wastewater from the coal-fired power plant in Tikyit, Pinlaung Township, Pa-O Self-Administered Region, has been identified as the cause of health problems and drinking water…


China/United States/South China Sea: US: No, China, We Won't Recognize These Red Lines You've Drawn All over the South China Sea

Mar 30, 2016 | Reuters

The US has told China it will not recognize an exclusion zone in the South China Sea, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said…


Nigeria/South Sudan: Diversify Your Economy from Oil, Buhari Urges South Sudan

Mar 29, 2016 | Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, Leadership

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged the South Sudanese government to invest more in agriculture and not to be solely dependent on oil revenues to…


Oil Prices: Hidden Force behind Oil's Rise: Sabotage by Terrorists

Mar 29, 2016 | Matt Egan, CNN

Oil prices have surged on hopes of a freeze in global production. But a more hidden factor is also fueling the price spike: terror attacks…


Myanmar: Myanmar to Introduce Rules, Regulations of Jewelry Law

Mar 26, 2016 | Shanghai Daily

Myanmar will introduce rules and regulations of the country's Jewelry Law, official media reported Saturday. The Myanmar Gems and Jewelry Entrepreneurs Association is working for…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: South China Sea Controversy: Beijing Urges Vietnam to Deepen Defense Ties amid Territorial Dispute

Mar 26, 2016 | Suman Varandani, International Business Times

China’s defense minister has urged his country’s military to deepen ties with Vietnam amid the ongoing territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Chinese Defense…


Will Peace Halt Colombia’s Coca Boom?

Mar 25, 2016 | Jim Wyss

Daniel Duarte has thick, rough hands and the burned scalp of someone who has spent more than two decades under the Andean sky tending coca…


Water Wars: In the South China Sea, Beijing Faces Twin Threats of New U.S. Military Presence and Pushback from an Old Friend

Mar 25, 2016 | Zack Bluestone and Chris Mirasola

China suffered two major setbacks in the South China Sea this week. First, sparks flew between the PRC and its longtime ally, Indonesia, when the…


Susan Martin: Migration a Climate Adaptation Strategy, but Displacement More Dangerous

Mar 25, 2016 | Sean Peoples

“Migration is a risk management strategy,” says Susan Martin, the Donald G. Herzberg professor of international migration at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, in…


DRC: Diamond Mining Industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 2020: Latest Market Research Report

Mar 25, 2016 | Empowered News

ResearchMoz added its latest research report titled " Diamond Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 2020: Worldwide Market Size, Shares, Trends, Growth,…


Sustainability Sourcing Data Analyst

Mar 24, 2016 | Illinois Tool Works

ITW is seeking a Sustainability Sourcing Data Analyst in the Conflict Minerals area to join its Strategic Sourcing team located in Glenview, Illinois, USA.  As part…


Pentagon Directive Quietly Makes Climate Change Long-Term Priority

Mar 24, 2016 | Wilson Center Staff

In the middle of January, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work signed off on one of the potentially most significant, if little-noticed, orders in recent…


Enhancing Women's Role in Land Management Decisions

Mar 24, 2016 | Thierry Berger

How can women's rights be strengthened when decisions are being made about large-scale agricultural investments that affect their livelihoods?

A recent IIED webinar examined how women's…


China/Indonesia/South China Sea: Chinese, Indonesian Fishery Dispute Rekindles Competing Seas Claims

Mar 24, 2016 | Ade Irma, Voice of America

Tension is mounting between China and neighboring Indonesia after a recent fishery dispute brought to light their competing claims over the 200-nautical miles exclusive economic…


Iraq: Iraq Oil Minister Suspends Duties Citing Political Disarray

Mar 24, 2016 | Khalid Al-Ansary, Kadhim Ajrash, and Grant Smith, Bloomberg

Iraq’s Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi suspended his participation in the cabinet, citing disarray in government ministries in OPEC’s second-biggest supplier. Abdul Mahdi said in…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Minister Proposes Solution to Resolve Oil Dispute

Mar 24, 2016 | Kurdsitan24

The Iraqi Oil Minister proposes a resolution for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government to resolve the oil dispute.  Adil Abdulmahdi,…


Engineered Volatility in Kyrgyzstan

Mar 23, 2016 | Geopolitical Diary - Ghostwriter

Kyrgyzstan is a small yet strategically located country in Central Asia whose geopolitical significance has often outstripped its geographic size. March 23 marked the sixth…


Iraq: US Marines Enter Battle in Iraq to Help Army and Peshmerga Defend Oil Fields from ISIS

Mar 23, 2016 | Erin Banco, International Business TImes

The Islamic State group is trying to retake control of the oil fields it lost two years ago in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan…


South Sudan: Oil Ministry: South Sudan Will Never Recover Earlier Production Levels

Mar 23, 2016 | Radio Tamazuj

South Sudan’s oil ministry has concluded that oil production is in quick decline, and future production will not reach even half of its peak 2010…


Myanmar: Mandalay Industrial Zone Waste Water Poisons River

Mar 23, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

According to reports, over 90 factories in the Mandalay Industrial Zone in Pyigyidagun Township, have been dumping waste water into the Dunawadi River, depriving villages…


Environment in Humanitarian Action: Why It Matters?

Mar 22, 2016 | Consultative Group for Emergency Preparedness and Response

When you think of humanitarian action, do you ever reflect on the environment? You surely see humanitarian relief as saving lives, alleviating suffering, providing aid…


Will the World's Next Wars be Fought Over Water?

Mar 22, 2016 | Peter Engelke

California’s ongoing drought is one sign that we have entered some uncharted and uncomfortable territory. Of the fears that have risen alongside a warming planet,…


Creating a Water Ready World

Mar 22, 2016 | Sherri Goodman

Sitting at my desk looking at bills to be paid, the first one on the stack is for the water company, emblazoned with the phrase,…


How Exploiting the Earth Can Fuel Violent Conflict

Mar 22, 2016 | Chelsea Harvey, Washington Post

At the end of May, the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA) will convene for the second time ever in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the United Nations’…


Stirling Scientist Wins £1.1 Million to Tackle Global Environmental Conflicts

Mar 22, 2016 | University of Stirling

University of Stirling scientist, Dr Nils Bunnefeld, is tackling one of the biggest environmental problems facing government agencies and communities across the globe -how humans…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Denies Conceding Abyei Region to Sudan

Mar 22, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s foreign affairs minister has denied reports that he authorised an official response to a United Nations Human Rights report on his country’s situation,…