International


Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone in Fourth Bid to Launch Oil Sector with Licensing Round

Jun 14, 2018 | Cooper Inveen, Reuters

Seeking to capitalise on higher oil prices, Sierra Leone has extended the deadline of a fourth oil licensing round for five deep water offshore blocks…


Afghanistan: How Afghanistan's Urban Gardens Are Changing Women's Lives

Jun 14, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

It may look like they're just planting and weeding, but for the women tending the public gardens of Jalalabad, the tasks represent far more: the…


Liberia: Investigation into Cyanide Spillage Finds MNG Gold Liable of Polluting Bong County

Jun 13, 2018 | FrontPage Africa

A Turkish mining company operating in Bong County has been found liable for environmental degradation after “a catastrophic failure” of its tailing storage facility (TSF)…


Conflict Minerals: US Suggests Need for Broader Conflict Diamond Definition, Due Diligence for Responsible Sourcing

Jun 13, 2018 | Marleny Arnoldi, Mining Weekly

The Kimberley Process (KP) intercessional, which will take place from June 18 to 22 in Antwerp, Belgium, will focus on proposed reforms in the certification…


China/South China Sea: How Beijing Is Winning Control of the South China Sea

Jun 13, 2018 | Simon Roughneen, Nikkei

Even by his outspoken standards, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s account of a conversation he had with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, was startling. During a…


Myanmar: Authorities Coordinate Handling of Recent Flash Floods

Jun 13, 2018 | Government of Myanmar

A coordination meeting was held yesterday at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement to effectively administer humanitarian aid and disaster management concerning the…


Afghanistan: Groundwater Pollution Renders Parts of Afghan Capital Uninhabitable

Jun 13, 2018 | Najia Safi and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Residents of Afghanistan’s restive, teeming capital have struggled for years with terrorist attacks, a lack of services, a booming population, clogged traffic, and toxic air.…


Conflict and Natural Disasters Drive up Child Labour in Agriculture Again

Jun 12, 2018 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

After years of steady decline, child labour in agriculture has started to rise again in recent years driven in part by an increase in conflicts…


Myanmar: Landslides Kill 11 as Monsoon Batters Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

Jun 12, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

Landslides triggered by monsoon rains killed at least 11 people on Tuesday in Bangladesh near camps housing one million Rohingya refugees, officials said. Aid agencies…


Somalia: Somalia Connects Disaster Risk Reduction

Jun 12, 2018 | John Snow, Mareeg

The Federal Government of Somalia and its constituent states have recognized that the stability of their country depends on developing comprehensive solutions to these problems,…


Conflict Minerals: SEC's Mixed Messages Prompt Warning from Institutional Investors on Conflict Minerals

Jun 12, 2018 | Bailey McCann, Opalesque

The SEC may be taking a more hands-off posture under the new administration, but institutional investors aren't about to let companies off the hook. A…


Colombia: FARC and the Forest: Peace is Destroying Colombia’s jungle — and Opening It to Science

Jun 12, 2018 | Sara Reardon, Nature

When the government of Colombia and the left-wing guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed an agreement in 2016 to end five decades…


Egypt/Ethiopia: Egypt and Ethiopia Fend off Water Wars over Nile Mega-Dam

Jun 11, 2018 | Deutsche Welle

The leaders of Ethiopia and Egypt signaled on Sunday that their two countries had achieved a breakthrough in the ongoing dispute over the Grand Renaissance…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Issues Tender for Hybrid Solar

Jun 11, 2018 | Emiliano Bellini, PV Magazine

The Ministry of energy and water of Afghanistan (MEW) has issued a tender for the construction of a 5 MW hybrid solar power plant in…


Sudan/South Sudan: Juba and Khartoum Agree on Oil Production Resumption

Jun 10, 2018 | Joseph Oduha, Nation

South Sudan and the Sudan have agreed to reopen oil wells in the contested Heglig area on their common border. South Sudan's Information minister and…


Iraq: First Iraq-Flagged Oil Tanker in 3 Decades Leaves Port

Jun 10, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

An Iraq-flagged tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil has set sail for the US, the first such trip in nearly three decades, the…


Conflict Minerals: Unethically Mined Cobalt Haunts Companies’ Supply Chains

Jun 8, 2018 | Alyssa Danigelis, Environmental Leader

Cobalt, a chemical element crucial for making lithium-ion batteries, continues to be mined using child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With the DRC…


DRC: New DRC Mining Code Comes into Effect, Still Cause for Concern

Jun 8, 2018 | Mining Review

Regulations to immediately implement a new Mining Code in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be signed into law today. This follows the announcement that…


Liberia: Community Establishes Platform to Prevent and Mediate Conflicts in Senjeh

Jun 7, 2018 | FrontPageAfrica

“We, the citizens of Bomi County drawn from nine project affected communities and clans in Senjeh District comprising youth, women, chiefs, representatives of the Senjeh…


South Sudan: Resource Competition and Climate Change Hampering South Sudan Peace and Development

Jun 7, 2018 | UN Environment

Ongoing conflict in South Sudan continues to hinder its ability to sustainably manage and develop its natural resources, threatening the livelihoods of more than 10 million…


Liberia: USAID Wants Land Reform Feature in 'Pro-Poor Agenda'

Jun 7, 2018 | Abednego Davis, Observer

USAID's Deputy office director for Democracy and Governance yesterday told a gathering of stakeholders in the land sector that President George Weah's "pro-poor agenda" should…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan, Sudan Agree to Repair Damaged Oil Infrastructure

Jun 7, 2018 | Reuters

South Sudan said on Thursday it had agreed with its northern neighbour Sudan to repair oil infrastructure facilities destroyed by conflict within three months to…


South Sudan: South Sudan Launches UN-backed Environmental Policy Report

Jun 6, 2018 | Xinhua

South Sudan launched a UN-backed environmental policy and outlook report to tackle environmental challenges as the country commemorated the World Environment Day on Tuesday. Taban…


Sierra Leone News: NMA Provides Community Development Funds…Warns Chiefs Not to Misuse the Money

Jun 6, 2018 | Saffa B. Moriba, Awoko

The Natural Mineral Agency (NMA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) has dished out just over Le1 billion (Le1,124,841,246)…


Afghanistan: IFC, MIGA Support Raisin Production in Afghanistan

Jun 5, 2018 | Jessica Combes, CPI Financial

IFC and MIGA, members of the World Bank Group, are providing $3 million in financing and $7.8 million in political risk insurance coverage for a…


Rwanda: Rwanda Minerals Export Revenues Increase by $207M

Jun 5, 2018 | Dan Ngabonziza, KT Press

Rwanda has registered one of the best performances in mining, in the last two years after earning more than double in exports. Francis Gatare, Chief…


Liberia: EJS Authorized US$500K Bonus Payments, NOCAL Board Minutes Reveals

Jun 5, 2018 | Rodney Sieh, FrontPageAfrica

Board resolution minutes of the National Oil Company of Liberia dated April 27, 2013 obtained by FrontPageAfrica suggest that former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf gave the…


Myanmar: More Than Just Pollution Concerns at Htein Bin Dump

Jun 5, 2018 | Kyaw Ye Lynn, Frontier

A fire that burned for weeks at a massive garbage dump on Yangon’s outskirts and polluted the atmosphere of several townships with foul-smelling smoke has…


Colombia: Protecting Birds through War and Peace: Our Newest Partner, Colombia

Jun 4, 2018 | Alex Dale, BirdLife International

In Colombia, connections are everything. Especially when you’re working in some of the world’s most isolated regions. The unique animals that inhabit this richly biodiverse…


FAO Supports Communities to Monitor Benefits from Commercial Logging

Jun 4, 2018 | Judoemue Kollie, Observer

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) recently signed an agreement valued at over US$80,000 with the National Union of Community…