International
South Sudan: UN: South Sudan’s Oil Patch Is Living on Borrowed Time
Mar 3, 2020
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Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com
South Sudan continues to spend oil revenues in advance and its oil sector continues to lack transparency, according to a UN report that was made…
Conflict Minerals: Civil Society Calls for Transparency about Companies Subjected to the EU Regulation on 3TG Conflict Minerals
Mar 3, 2020
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Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations
EU member states seem to be adopting a loose interpretation of the text of the Regulation on the responsible sourcing of minerals from conflict-affected and…
Conflict Minerals: UN General Assembly Highlights Importance of Regime to Curb Conflict Diamonds
Mar 3, 2020
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Xinhua
The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution that acknowledges the successful role that the Kimberley Process, a mechanism aimed to prevent "conflict diamonds"…
Colombia: Colombia’s ‘Peace Laboratory’ Decries Government Failures in Coca Substitution
Mar 2, 2020
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Alex Diamond and Pedro Arenas, Colombia Reports
Former coca farmers from Colombia’s “Peace Laboratory” fear a return to war if the government doesn’t live up to the peace process’ coca substitution program.
DRC: Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo Mine for Coltan and Face Abuse to Supply Smartphone Industry
Feb 29, 2020
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Esdras Tsongo, ABC News
Years of violence and political conflict across the Democratic Republic of Congo have made its vast mineral wealth an attractive revenue raiser — and rebel…
Myanmar: Myanmar Seizes over 600 Tons of Illegal Timbers in Single Week
Feb 29, 2020
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Star
Myanmar authorities recently seized over 626.1 tons of illegal timbers across the country in a week, state-run media reported on Saturday (Feb 29).
Food Security: Conflict Resolution Crucial for Food Security, Poverty Alleviation, Say Experts
Feb 28, 2020
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Ibe Wada, Guardian
Professionals have explained that food insecurity is aggravated by conflicts, crimes, terrorism and religious extremism, especially from the grain and arable crop-producing zones of the…
South Sudan: South Sudan Targets 200,000 b/d Production This Year: Official
Feb 28, 2020
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Namala Doreen, S&P Global Platts
South Sudan crude production is stuck at 185,000 b/d, hindered by rising water shortages and power rationing, but the country is targeting 200,000 b/d this…
South Sudan: Ruweng Community Demands Compensation for Oil Spills
Feb 28, 2020
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Viola Elias, Voice of America
Residents of South Sudan's oil-rich Ruweng County have petitioned the country's Supreme Court, demanding millions of dollars in compensation for oil spills that have polluted…
Myanmar: Myanmar Court Jails 9 People for Timber Smuggling
Feb 27, 2020
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Myat Moe Aung, Myanmar Times
A local court sentenced nine people to 10 years in jail each for timber smuggling, an official of the Yangon Region Forestry Department said. They…
Myanmar: Rising Sea Levels Put Myanmar's Villages on Frontline of Climate Change
Feb 26, 2020
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Rozanna Latiff and Zaw Naing Oo, Reuters
Ta Dar U is among hundreds of villages at the frontline of Myanmar’s climate crisis, where extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels have amplified…
Colombia: Colombia Is Still the Deadliest Place for Environmental Activists
Feb 25, 2020
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Carlos Dela Vega, Latin Post
Colombia has remained the deadliest place to live in for environmental and human rights activists according to a recent study. Human rights and environmental activists…
South Sudan: NGO Urges Shutdown of 'Dilapidated' South Sudan Oil Pipeline
Feb 25, 2020
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Agence France-Presse
A key South Sudan oil export pipeline suffered at least two massive spills last year, an NGO reported Tuesday, urging the government to shut it…
Food Security: More Funding Needed to Combat Locust Swarms ‘Unprecedented in Modern Times’
Feb 25, 2020
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UN
Along with climate shocks, conflict and acute food insecurity, the East Africa region now faces a hunger threat from desert locusts, top UN relief officials…
Climate Change: National Security Experts Call for Eliminating Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Feb 25, 2020
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Thomas Frank, E&E News
National security experts urged the elimination of all greenhouse gas emissions in a report yesterday that warns of international catastrophe if the global temperatures continue…
Rwanda: Rwandan Tin Smelting Firm Certified as Conflict Free
Feb 25, 2020
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Collins Mwai, New Times
A Rwandan tin smelting plant, LuNa Smelter, has been certified as a conflict free smelter by the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP). The qualification is…
Colombia: Colombian Armed Forces to Form Special Unit to Protect National Parks
Feb 25, 2020
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Reuters
Colombia will create a special military unit to protect its national parks and step up operations against illegal armed groups who burn vegetation to clear…
Colombia: Colombia Was the Deadliest Place on Earth for Environmental Activists. It's Gotten Worse.
Feb 23, 2020
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Teresa Tomassoni, NBC News
Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world for activists who seek to help protect land and other natural resources, according to a recently…
Libya: East Libya FM Demands 'Fair Distribution' to End Oil Closure
Feb 22, 2020
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Asharq Al-Awsat
Foreign Minister of the interim government in eastern Libya, Abdelhadi Lahouij, said Saturday the shutdown of vital oil facilities in the country would come to…
Afghanistan: The Nature and Pace of Afghanistan’s Economic Growth in Last Two Decades
Feb 22, 2020
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Mohammad Zahir Akbari, Outlook Afghanistan
Despite notable progress since 2001, Afghanistan still faces many challenges and considered as one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half of…
Liberia: Accountability Issues at FDA as Levy Collected Are Paid into Mobile Money Account; Workers Alarm Corruption
Feb 21, 2020
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Lennart Dodoo
The Forestry Development Authority has been collecting hundreds of thousands in Liberian dollars as levy on non-timber products at various checkpoints across the country but…
Iraq: Ex-Unaoil Exec Says Payments Went for Security, Not Bribes
Feb 21, 2020
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Law360
A former Unaoil executive accused of conspiring to bribe an official at an Iraq- state-owned oil company believe that the money was for security to…
Myanmar: Photos Reveal Impact of Illegal Banana Plantations on Workers, Land in Myanmar’s Kachin State
Feb 21, 2020
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Lwin Mar Htun, Irrawaddy
An ongoing exhibition of photographs by young local documentary photographer Hkun Li spotlights the negative impact of illegal banana plantations in Kachin State on the…
Afghanistan: US-Taliban Truce Begins, Feeding Hope of a Peaceful, More Prosperous Afghanistan
Feb 21, 2020
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Elizabeth B. Hessami, The Conversation
If a seven-day truce between the United States and the Taliban holds until Feb. 28, 2020, Afghanistan’s decades-long conflict may finally end. A peace deal…
South Sudan: Clouds of Black Smoke Darken South Sudan’s Growing Oil Profits
Feb 20, 2020
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Okech Francis, Bloomberg
Crude oil, key to boosting South Sudan’s economy, is destroying crucial pasture land, polluting water, and increasing birth defects. Now it’s finally bad enough for…
Water: Water Insecurity as a Driver of Global Instability
Feb 19, 2020
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OOSKAnews
A new report, compiled and written by international military and security experts, provides a global overview of security risks specifically as they relate to changing…
Kenya: Locusts Threaten to Trigger Conflicts in Samburu
Feb 19, 2020
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Geoffrey Ondieki, Nation
The invasion of desert locusts in Samburu is now threatening to trigger conflicts over grazing fields among pastoralist communities. Statistics from the Samburu County Special…
Syria: Turkish Media Claim Kurds, US Smuggle Syrian Oil
Feb 19, 2020
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Tsvetana Paraskova, Oilprice.com
According to the accounts of the surrendered Kurds, reported by Turkish media, oil from Syria’s oil-rich Deir Ezzor region is being smuggled out of the…
Liberia/Sierra Leone: Liberia, Sierra Leone to Jointly Manage Gola Forest
Feb 18, 2020
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Hannah N. Geterminah, Observer
The Gola National Park, which is home to several endangered species, is expected to be jointly managed by the governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone…
South Sudan: Locusts Swarm into South Sudan as Plague Spreads
Feb 18, 2020
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Denis Dumo, Reuters
Swarms of locusts ravaging crops and grazing land across east Africa have reached South Sudan, already reeling from widespread hunger and years of civil war,…