News


South Sudan: Group: Wildlife Poaching on the Rise in South Sudan

Mar 3, 2016 | Rodney Muhumuza and Charlton Doki, Associated Press

South Sudan's wildlife and other natural resources are being threatened by an alarming expansion of illegal exploitation and trafficking, a conservation group said Thursday. The…


Climate and Conflict: El Niño’s Ability to Magnify Tensions Between Companies and Communities

Mar 2, 2016 | Josh Fisher

The Pacific island of Papua New Guinea has a long history of conflict and grievances among local communities and extractive industries like mining and oil…


South China Sea Dispute

Mar 2, 2016 | Florencio Fianza

One of the most important issues that President Aquino is leaving to the next President is the problem in the South China Sea. Contrary to…


A Mysterious Pipeline Closure Is Bankrupting Iraqi Kurds

Mar 2, 2016 | Keith Johnson

The export pipeline connecting Kurdish oil fields to Turkey has been offline for two weeks, costing Erbil at least $200 million.

Iraqi Kurds’ dreams of energy-financed…


Is the Illegal Trade in Congolese Minerals Financing Terror?

Mar 2, 2016 | Sebastian Gatimu

Many resource-rich states across the globe have used revenues from mining to finance their development. In Africa, however, a lack of sufficiently robust or effectively…


El Niño, Peace and the Green

Mar 2, 2016 | Santiago Villaveces Izquierdo

El abrasante niño en apogeo, los campos secos y los cerros bogotanos ya ardidos son muestras de la necesidad de una estrategia solida de crecimiento…


Climate Change: Bin Laden Called for Americans to Rise up over Climate Change

Mar 2, 2016 | Jonathan Landay, Reuters

Osama bin Laden wrote a letter calling on the American people to help President Barack Obama fight "catastrophic" climate change and "save humanity", in the…


India's Water Wars

Mar 1, 2016 | Aman Sethi

NEW DELHI — Army trucks rumbled along dusty village roads, soldiers opened fire, crowds panicked and eventually the Indian Army took control of Munak canal,…


Myanmar/Thailand: For Thai Buyers, Uncut Myanmar Gems Lose Their Shine

Mar 1, 2016 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

Thailand's demand for uncut Myanmar gems has fallen as jewellers increasingly source from other countries across the globe, experts said last week at a major…


Kono Bleeds in Silence (Part I)

Feb 29, 2016 | Felix D. Fofoh

Part I of this article in the previous edition looked at the discovery of diamonds in Kono District, the colonial control of the minerals and…


Iraq: Iraq's Mosul Dam Faces 'Risk of Catastrophic Failure,' U.S. says

Feb 29, 2016 | Dana Ford, CNN

Iraq's Mosul Dam is facing a "serious and unprecedented risk of catastrophic failure with little warning," the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned on Sunday. At…


Afgahnistan: Saffron Production in Afghanistan to Exceed over 4,000 kg This Year

Feb 29, 2016 | Khaama Press

The production of saffron in Afghanistan is expected to surpass 4,000 kg this year with the officials expressing optimisms that the production boost could help…


Liberia: Gunfire Near Monrovia

Feb 29, 2016 | The New Dawn Liberia

A shootout over a land dispute on the Bright Farm, located on the outskirt of Monrovia left one person critically injured over the weekend as…


Iraq: Iraq Second Behind US in Global Oil Supply in 2015

Feb 29, 2016 | Phil Allan, Energy Voice

Iraq was the second-leading contributor to the growth in global oil supply in 2015, behind only the United States. Crude oil production in Iraq, including…


Angola: Angola Hopes to Turn Steel into Gold as Oil Hammers Economy

Feb 28, 2016 | Dawn Kissi, CNBC

Angola is about to provide a test case of whether diversification can help boost an economy that relies heavily on oil production The brutal global…


The Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE) Expert System

Feb 27, 2016 | American University

How do we understand conflict and environment case studies?  Often, there is an informal process of searching similar cases for points of comparison and contrast.…


Sri Lanka: Project Coordinator

Feb 27, 2016 | UNDP

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority under the Ministry of Power and Energy in collaboration with UNDP will implement the ‘Appropriate Mitigation Actions in the…


Sierra Leone: National Consultant to Contribute to the Development of a GEF LDCF Project on Climate Change Adaptation and Coastal Zone Management in Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone Nationalities Only)

Feb 27, 2016 | UNDP

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) recently approved the Project Identification Form (PIF) that was presented by UNDP on behalf of the Environment Protection Agency on…


Turkey/Kurdistan/Iraq: Turkey Starts Repairs on Iraqi Kurdish Oil Pipeline as Violence Flares

Feb 27, 2016 | Humeyra Pamuk and Seyhmus Cakan, Reuters

Turkey has begun work to repair a pipeline taking crude oil from northern Iraq to the Mediterranean through its restive southeast and aims to restore…


How Bad Will El Niño Be? Worse Than You May Think

Feb 26, 2016 | Prof. Marc Levy

Much of the discussion about the fear that the current El Niño will turn out to be even worse than the devastating 1997-1998 El Niño…


Papua New Guinea: Uncovering Impacts of Gold Mining

Feb 26, 2016 | Joshua Fisher

The pacific island of Papua New Guinea is one of the world’s most resource rich countries, hosting nearly 7 percent of global biodiversity and important…


Trading Away Ancient Amber's Secrets

Feb 26, 2016 | Shuo Wang, Chao Shi, Yun-jiao Zhang, Guo-xiong Hu and Li-zhi Gao

In the swamps of North Myanmar lies some of the oldest stone in the world. Burmese amber (burmite) is more than 100 million years old…


South China Sea: Fresh Tension in South China Sea Erupts – Analysis

Feb 26, 2016 | Rajaram Panda, Eurasia Review

The South China Sea is the most critical waterway through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. The area is believed…


Australia: View from Canberra: Defence and Climate Change

Feb 26, 2016 | Australian Defence Magazine

As the rising waves lap seaside homes around the nation, global warming induced storms wreak devastation and soaring temperatures bring the national power grid to…


Iraq: Total, Vitol Fined in Iraq Oil-for-Food Case by French Court

Feb 26, 2016 | Gaspard Sebag, Bloomberg

French oil company Total SA was fined 750,000 euros ($826,125) after judges found it guilty of corruption in Iraq’s oil-for-food program. Total is guilty of…


Kurdistan/Iraq: Iraqi Kurdish Oil Pipeline Seen Shut for Two More Weeks

Feb 26, 2016 | Humeyra Pamuk and Orhan Coskun, Reuters

Iraqi Kurdish oil exports to world markets could remain halted for another two weeks, Turkish shipping and industry sources said on Friday citing rising security…


Afghanistan: More Problems for the Dahla Dam – One of Canada’s Afghan Signature Projects

Feb 26, 2016 | David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

When Canada’s diplomats, development specialists and soldiers left Kandahar in 2011, our involvement with the dam ended and the government declared the $50-million project a…


Uganda: Program Director

Feb 25, 2016 | Grassroots Reconciliation Group

The Grassroots Reconciliation Group (GRG) seeks a Program Director (Head of Mission) to head the office in Gulu, northern Uganda and lead the setting up of projects…


Worldwide: Rotary Peace Fellowships

Feb 25, 2016 | Rotary Peace Fellows

Each year, Rotary selects up to 100 individuals from around the world to receive fully funded academic fellowships at one of our peace centers. These…


Sierra Leone: Diamond Exports in Ebola-hit Sierra Leone Plummet in 2015

Feb 25, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Diamond exports from Sierra Leone saw a steep fall in 2015, the deputy minister for mines said Wednesday, February 24, with miners restricted from working…