News


South Sudan: South Sudan Government Denies Main Oil Fields Seized by Rebels

May 20, 2015 | John Tanza and Waakhe Simon Wudu, Voice of America

The South Sudan government on Wednesday dismissed claims by rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar that they have seized control of the strategic…


Nigeria: Youth and Civil Society Groups Protest against Governor Uduaghan over Embezzlement and Land Grabbing

May 20, 2015 | Sahara Reporters

More than 2,000 youth and community activists took to the streets in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, to protest the corrupt actions of Delta…


United States: Obama: Climate Change Poses Risk to US Military, National Security

May 20, 2015 | Roberta Rampton, Reuters

May 20 Rising seas, thawing permafrost and longer wildfires caused by warmer global temperatures threaten U.S. military bases and will change the way the U.S.…


Myanmar: Kachin MP Calls for Urgent Govt Intervention on Hpakant Jade Mines

May 20, 2015 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

A Union Parliament lawmaker from Kachin State has called for an urgent overhaul of mining in Hpakant, home to the world’s most lucrative sources of…


Cooperation Is Not Enough: Why We Need to Think Differently About Water

May 19, 2015 | Naho Mirumachi

In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2005 to 2015 to be the decade of “water for life” as a way to encourage countries…


European Parliament Must Seize its Chance to Stop Trade in Conflict Minerals

May 19, 2015

On 20 May, the European parliament will vote on a proposed regulation to tackle the trade in conflict minerals. The trade in tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG)…


South Sudan: South Sudan Rebels Say Capture Oil Refinery, Tell Firms to Leave

May 19, 2015 | Denis Dumo, Reuters

South Sudanese rebels said on Tuesday they had captured a refinery near a major oilfield in Upper Nile State, where fighting has flared up in…


Liberia: GVL Oil Mill - Welcoming News after Ebola in Liberia

May 19, 2015 | FrontPageAfrica

When news broke last Thursday that the Asian Oil Palm giant Golden Veroleum Liberia had signed a US$20.984M contract for the construction of its Oil…


China/Vietnam: Vietnam Opposes Chinese Fishing Ban in Disputed Sea

May 18, 2015 | Reuters

Vietnam said it resolutely opposes a temporary Chinese ban on fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin, the latest in a series of sovereignty disputes in…


Iraq/Kurdistan: If Baghdad Won't Be Responsive, KRG Will Sell Oil Independently

May 18, 2015 | The Kurdish Globe

The KRG delegation held a meeting with the parliamentary groups and relevant committees to discuss the latest developments in the implementation of the agreement reached…


Conflict Minerals: Call to Toughen European Rules on 'Conflict Minerals'

May 18, 2015 | BBC News

A letter has been signed by more than 150 groups before a European Parliament vote on ways to limit their sale. Many tech gadgets such…


Iraq: BP Agrees to Cut Spending on Iraq's Rumaila Field after Oil Price Drop

May 18, 2015 | Rania El Gamal, Reuters

BP has cut its development budget for Iraq's giant Rumaila oilfield by $1 billion this year after the government warned a slump in crude prices…


Democratic Republic of the Congo: General Manager

May 17, 2015 | Esco Kivu

Established in 1970, Esco Kivu came out of the coffee exporting business and now strives to be the bridge between smallholder farmers and the export…


Rwanda: Chief of Party II - Rwanda Multi-Sectoral Nutritional Program

May 17, 2015 | Catholic Relief Services

About CRS:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic…


Iraq: GIS Officer

May 17, 2015 | ACTED

ACTED began work in Iraq in 2003. ACTED has one base in southern Iraq in Kut and in 2007 opened a base in Erbil to…


China/South China Sea: Kerry Meets with China's Foreign Minister over Disputed Islands

May 16, 2015 | Scott Neuman, NPR

China's foreign minister today reasserted Beijing's claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea, dismissing a push by his counterpart, Secretary of State John…


DRC: 'Conflict Minerals' Funding Deadly Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo as EU Plans Laws to Clean Up Trade

May 16, 2015 | Sarah Morrison, The Independent

The European Parliament is set to vote on its first conflict minerals regulation aimed at cleaning up the trade this coming week. The European Union…


Syria: US Says Army Commandos on Overnight Raid into Syria Kill Islamic State's Oil Operations Head

May 16, 2015 | Robert Burns and Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press

In a rare ground attack deep into Syria, U.S. Army commandos killed a man described as the Islamic State's head of oil operations, captured his…


Cyprus/Turkey: Cyprus Peace Talks 'Positive and Productive'

May 16, 2015 | Deutsche Welle

Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci, met in Nicosia in search of a breakthrough to the…


Conflict in Yemen: Lessons for Citizen Environmental Monitoring

May 15, 2015 | Andy Garrity

The conflict in Yemen is likely to have produced a range of TRW threats for the civilian population but in common with other conflicts, data…


Colombia Halts Aerial Coca Eradication after WHO Glyphosate Cancer Ruling

May 15, 2015 | Doug Weir

As predicted on this blog in March, the classification of the commonly used herbicide Glyphosate as a Group 2A carcinogen by the WHO’s International Agency for Cancer…


Liberia: Moratorium on Logging Activities is Undermining Liberia’s Economy says Senate Pro-Tempore

May 15, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, Global News Network

The President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate Armah Zolu Jallah says Liberia needs to identify its priorities in terms of adopting policies that will benefit…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Oil Minister Leaves Erbil with No Progress in Oil & Budget Talks

May 15, 2015 | Rudaw

Iraq’s Oil Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi returned to Baghdad Friday evening after two days of talks with Kurdish officials over oil and budget disputes with…


Iraq: The Islamic State Threatens to Capture Massive Iraqi Oil Refinery

May 15, 2015 | Hugh Naylor, Washington Post

Six months after the government triumphantly announced that Islamic State militants had retreated from Iraq’s largest refinery, the extremist group is again threatening to overrun…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Images Reveal Vietnam's Expansion in the South China Sea

May 15, 2015 | Gabriel Domínguez, Deutsche Welle

Surveillance imagery recently obtained by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) shows that in recent years Vietnam has undertaken significant construction in the…


Armed Conflict and the Environment Publishing Opportunity

May 14, 2015 | ABC-CLIO

Authors with environment and peacebuilding background needed to write entries for Armed Conflict and the Environment: A Global Perspective.  This reference guide is a collection of case…


Iraq: 9th Circuit Court Overturns $85M Award for Oregon Soldiers

May 14, 2015 | Lynne Terry, The Oregonian

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday threw out a landmark verdict that a dozen Oregon Army National Guardsmen won against a defense contractor…


DRC: India Eyes Mineral Exploration, Procurement Deals from Congo

May 14, 2015 | Business Standard

India has expressed keen interest in having a "mutually beneficial" relationship with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in exploration as well as procurement of various…


Iraq: 12 Years Later, a Mystery of Chemical Exposure in Iraq Clears Slightly

May 14, 2015 | C.J. Chivers, New York Times

The toxic vapors acted quickly against the Second Platoon of the 811th Ordnance Company, whose soldiers were moving abandoned barrels out of an Iraqi Republican…


DRC: Conflict Minerals Rule: A View of Ongoing Compliance

May 14, 2015 | Deloitte, Wall Street Journal

As the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule approaches its second filing deadline in June, many registrants continue to face the challenge of gaining adequate visibility into…