International


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Agrees to Compensate Sudan for 2012 Heglig War Damage

Jul 6, 2018 | Dickens H. Okello, Chimp Reports

The South Sudanese government has agreed to pay Sudan damages incurred during the 2012 war in the disputed oil rich Helgig region. ChimpReports has seen…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan's Perilous Talc Mines

Jul 6, 2018 | Asad Jabarkhail, Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Safdigul Shirzad spends his days working in a talc mine in Markikhail village in the eastern province of Nangarhar’s Shirzad district. In return, he gets…


Sudan: Tribal Leaders in Sudan's Disputed Abyei Agree on Migration Corridors

Jul 5, 2018 | Radio Dabanga

At a conference brokered by the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) that ended today, leaders of the disputed border area's Misseriya and Dinka…


Iraq: Iraq Bans Farming Summer Crops as Water Crisis Grows Dire

Jul 5, 2018 | Philip Issa, Associated Press

Iraq has banned its farmers from planting summer crops this year as the country grapples with a crippling water shortage that shows few signs of…


Liberia: Charcoal Union Wants Allocation of 'Pro-Poor Forest'

Jul 5, 2018 | Alvin Worzi, Daily Observer

Women from five of the 15 counties represented their colleagues at the occasion in Monrovia. The government through the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) should place…


Liberia: Watchdogs Strategize to Protect Liberia’s Remaining Forest

Jul 5, 2018 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Daily Observer

The Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with funding from the British…


Food Security: Agriculture Key to Conflict Prevention, Says FAO Chief

Jul 5, 2018 | Business Standard

Agriculture plays a vital role in averting conflict and promoting lasting peace, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation chief Jose Graziano da Silva said on…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Fires and Armed Conflict Take Toll on Kurdish Flora, Fauna

Jul 5, 2018 | Fazel Hawramy, Al-Monitor

Wildfires are common in Iraqi Kurdistan, a scenic region where many Iraqis seek refuge from the summer heat. Several fires broke out across the Kurdistan mountains in…


Colombia: Can Bird Watching Help Save Colombia's Forests?

Jul 4, 2018 | Manuel Rueda, Deutsche Welle

Colombia teems with birds, but until recently fighting between the government and guerilla groups scared visitors away. Now, former war zones are fast becoming bird-watching…


Afghanistan: Farmers Display ‘Alternate Poppy Crops’ at Kabul Expo

Jul 4, 2018 | Rohullah Arman, TOLOnews

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock held an agricultural exhibition in Kabul on Tuesday that was an “alternate to poppy cultivation”. The produce on…


South Sudan: South Sudan Restricts Export of Charcoal, Scrap Metal

Jul 4, 2018 | Xinhua

South Sudan on Wednesday imposed restrictions on exports of charcoal, waste and scrap of ferrous cast iron in a bid to regulate depletion of natural…


Libya: Oil Exports Suspension Could Create Crisis

Jul 4, 2018 | Jamal Jawhar, Asharq Al-Awsat

The crisis of suspending Libyan oil exports from eastern regions overshadowed the political and social life of the country, amid the fear of a "catastrophic"…


Myanmar: Soil Dumping Worsens Impact of Flooding in Mining Areas, Activists Say

Jul 3, 2018 | Zarni Mann, Irrawaddy

Environmental activists in the Hpakant and Lonekin jade mining regions of Kachin State have urged the government to impose strict controls on the dumping of…


Sierra Leone: 144.12-Carat-Diamond Discovered in Sierra Leone

Jul 3, 2018 | National Minerals Agency

The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the National Minerals Agency (NMA) hereby inform the general public that a 144.12 carat diamond was brought…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Still in Talks with Turkey, KRG over Resuming Kirkuk Oil Exports

Jul 3, 2018 | Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Iraq is still in talks with Turkey and Kurdish regional authorities to resume Kirkuk oil exports through the Ceyhan port, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi…


Iraq/Kurdistan: KRG Unaware of Negotiations with Baghdad on Resuming Kirkuk Oil Exports

Jul 3, 2018 | Rudaw

A senior Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official has denied knowledge of any negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad on the possible resumption of Kirkuk exports via…


South Sudan: US Envoy Sees Rise in Oil Output Easing South Sudan Peace Deal

Jul 3, 2018 | Okech Francis, Bloomberg

South Sudan’s plan to boost oil production should help it fund a forthcoming transitional government that seeks to end more than four years of civil…


Colombia: Colombia’s Serranía de Chiribiquete becomes World’s Largest Tropical Rainforest National Park

Jul 3, 2018 | WebWire

Serranía de Chiribiquete National Park, located in the heart of the Colombian Amazon, was expanded today to 4.3 million hectares, making it the world’s largest…


Myanmar/Thailand: Water Purification Plant to Be Built Near Letpadaungtaung Copper Project

Jul 2, 2018 | Kaung Khant Lin, Eleven Myanmar

Thailand and Myanmar will invest US$5 million to build a water purification plant near Letpadaungtaung copper mining project in Monywa, Sagaing Region, according to the…


South Sudan: 'The Conflict Must End' - Fighting Threatens to Drive up Hunger Lean Season

Jul 2, 2018 | Africa Renewal

On Saturday, a new ceasefire came into effect in South Sudan. But within hours it had been violated - terrible news for millions of South…


Myanmar: Chasing Dinosaurs in Myanmar's Conflict-Ridden North

Jul 1, 2018 | Richard Sargent, Agence France-Presse

"Amber hunters" on a quest for a Jurassic Park-style discovery of dinosaur remains sift through mounds of the precious resin in Myanmar -- a lucrative…


Myanmar: Bid to Boost Good Governance in Myanmar’s Extractive Industries

Jun 30, 2018 | Khine Kyaw, The Nation

In an effort to improve transparency and good governance in extractive industries such as mining, gems and jade, oil and gas, Myanmar on Thursday launched…


China/South China Sea: China Will Not Give up 'Any Inch of Territory' in the Pacific, Xi Tells Mattis

Jun 28, 2018 | Steven Jiang, CNN

China will not give up "any inch of territory" in the Pacific Ocean, President Xi Jinping told US Defense Secretary James Mattis Wednesday during a…


Climate Change: Climate and Security: July 2018 Monthly Report

Jun 28, 2018 | Security Council Report

The Council is increasingly being exposed to evidence of the linkages between climate change and security, and has taken some steps in recent years to…


Climate Change: EU Event Addresses Linkages between Climate Change and Security

Jun 28, 2018 | Adam Fishman, International Institute for Sustainable Development

An EU high-level event titled, ‘Climate, Peace and Security: The Time for Action,’ brought together ministers, UN officials and subject experts to discuss security threats…


Myanmar: Myanmar President Promises to Return Confiscated Farmland to Original Owners

Jun 27, 2018 | Xinhua

Myanmar President U Win Myint has given a directive to local authorities to swiftly return the confiscated farmland to their original rightful owners, Myanmar News…


Myanmar: Government Moves to Revive and Promote Bamboo Forests

Jun 27, 2018 | Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times

The Forest Department is inviting people interested in growing bamboo, saying it will offer help to planters in producing quality bamboo products. People in a…


Iraq: UK Court Begins Criminal Proceedings against Oil Firm for Corruption in Iraq

Jun 27, 2018 | John J. Catherine, Kurdistan 24

Criminal proceedings began in London on Tuesday against two companies run by Unaoil, a Monaco-based energy consultancy firm accused of corrupt business practices in Iraq.…


Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Agree Deal to Increase Oil Output - Minister

Jun 27, 2018 | Reuters

Sudan and South Sudan on Tuesday agreed on a deal to nearly double oil output from South Sudanese fields by the end of the year,…


Colombia: Colombia Tree Loss Spikes as Peace Deal Leads to Land Grabs

Jun 27, 2018 | Caitlin Tilley, Climate Change News

Tree loss in Colombia for 2017 jumped by 46% from 2016 to 2017, a World Resources Institute report revealed on Wednesday. It follows a doubling of tree loss between 2001 and…