International
Climate Change: Germany Aims to Put Climate into Focus at UN Security Council
Dec 21, 2018
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Julian Wettengel, Clean Energy Wire
Germany plans to use its diplomatic clout during its two-year term on the UN Security Council to ensure that climate change concerns are an integral…
Myanmar: Myanmar Land Grab Fears Stoked by New Law
Dec 21, 2018
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Libby Hogan, Voice of America
A new land conflict is threatening to erupt in Myanmar, where land is so sought after that even a cemetery can be eyed by developers.…
Sahel: Peace in Sahel Requires Tackling Causes of Instability, Special Adviser Tells Security Council amid Calls to Advance Development, Fight Terrorism
Dec 20, 2018
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UN Security Council
The Sahel is awash with challenges — from food insecurity and terrorist-related security threats to the negative impacts of climate change — but it has…
Sierra Leone: Underground Mining to Start in Kenema District
Dec 20, 2018
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Saffa B. Moriba, Awoko
The paramount chief of Lower Bambara chiefdom Kenema district PC Alimamy Moiwai Farma V spoke as Chair during the public consultation and disclosure of the…
Myanmar: Myanmar Continues Efforts to Generate International Demand for Local Gems
Dec 19, 2018
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Chan Mye Htwe, Myanmar News
The Second Yangon International Gems and Jewelry Fair is set to take place in Yangon’s Lotte Hotel from January 9 to 13, according to the…
Syria: New Satellite Images Show Convoy of Trucks Transporting Syrian Oil to Iraq and Turkey [Photos]
Dec 18, 2018
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Al Masdar News
The Russian Ministry of Defense published two images on Monday that showed Syrian oil being transported to the neighboring countries of Iraq and Turkey. As…
Afghanistan: Nearly Six Thousand Afghan Farming Families Severely Affected by Drought Targeted for Emergency Assistance
Dec 17, 2018
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
With the approval of the Government of Afghanistan, the Republic of Korea and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have joined…
Colombia: A Colombian Roadmap for Climate Change
Dec 17, 2018
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Edward Davey, City Paper Bogotá
Colombia is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change – witness the devastation caused by recent floods, as well as the setbacks…
Afghanistan: Disarmament: With Drones, Researchers Take up the Fight against Land Mines
Dec 17, 2018
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News Article Insiders
Together with his colleague, Timothy de Smet, he decided to try the principle in a field in a State Park in Binghamton tested. The use…
Myanmar: Armed Ethnic KNU Criticises Land Law Amendment
Dec 17, 2018
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Chan Thar, Myanmar Times
The armed ethnic Karen National Union (KNU) on Sunday called for the abolition of the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law because it contravenes…
Afghanistan/Pakistan: Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Looming Water Conflict
Dec 15, 2018
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Waleed Majidyar, Diplomat
From the Mayan Empire to modern-day Syria and Yemen, water insecurity has been a predominant cause of social distress, conflict, and crisis. Studies show that…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Announces EoI for 2 GW Solar Tender
Dec 14, 2018
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Becky Beetz, pv magazine
In a bid to reduce dependence on energy imports, improve energy access for the around 70% of the Afghani population still lacking it, and to…
Timor-Leste: E. Timor President Vetoes Using Petroleum Fund to Buy Sunrise Gas Project
Dec 14, 2018
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Nelson Da Cruz, Reuters
East Timor’s president has vetoed a government bid to increase access to its petroleum fund for investment in energy projects, potentially delaying a $650 million…
South Sudan: South Sudan’s Neighbours Help Launder the Loot from Its Civil War
Dec 13, 2018
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Economist
Since South Sudan’s independence in 2011 its leaders have pillaged the country. Nearly $7bn has gone missing since 2012, reckons Kenya’s Institute of Economic Affairs,…
Colombia: Fragile Wetlands Face Major Threat from Climate Change in Colombia
Dec 13, 2018
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Michelle Begue, China Global Television Network
Colombia is home to a unique ecosystem which is a treasure in the northern Andes. These wetlands provide 70 percent of the country’s water supply.…
Iraq: Amnesty: Iraq Should Use Oil Revenue to Fund Reconstruction of War-Torn Areas
Dec 13, 2018
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Kurdistan 24
The Iraqi government would be wise to use an expected budget surplus to begin the reconstruction of rural areas affected by the Islamic State (IS)…
Iraq: Iraq’s Charred Olive Groves - Another Ruinous Legacy of Islamic State
Dec 13, 2018
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Tom Westcott, Middle East Eye
Before the Islamic State (IS) group seized control of the rural town in mid-2014, its olive-loving locals had not imported the fruit for decades, relying…
Climate Chnage: US Blocks Climate Security Discussion at NATO Level - EU Military Staff Member
Dec 13, 2018
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Faizan Hashmi, UrduPoint
Due to the skeptical position of the US administration on climate change, a discussion on climate security has been regrettably blocked at the NATO level,…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Faces Severe Water Shortage: Osmani
Dec 13, 2018
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Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews
Former minister of water and energy Ali Ahmad Osmani on Thursday said Afghanistan faces a severe water shortage in the northern water zone and in…
Afghanistan: Red Gold: Afghanistan Saffron Production Grows
Dec 12, 2018
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Phys.org
Authorities struggling to wean farmers off the highly profitable opium poppy trade are hoping to use saffron as an attractive alternative. And the results are…
Conflict Minerals: Responsible Minerals Initiative Releases Blockchain Guidelines to Drive Alignment in Mineral Supply Chain Due Diligence
Dec 12, 2018
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Responsible Business Alliance
The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), a coalition of leading companies dedicated to improving the security and human rights conditions in their mineral supply chains, today…
Timor-Leste: President of Timor-Leste Vetoes Changes to the Oil Operations Law
Dec 12, 2018
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Macauhub
The President of Timor-Leste (East Timor) has vetoed a set of amendments to the oil operations law focused on financing the purchase of two holdings…
Myanmar: Renewed Calls to Stop Dam Construction in Shan
Dec 11, 2018
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Naw Betty Han, Washington Post
Shan communities and local members of parliaments have renewed their opposition to two dams being built in Namtu and Nam Teng rivers in Shan State…
South Sudan: South Sudan's Oil Suitors Still Skeptical over Security
Dec 11, 2018
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Ian Lewis, Petroleum Economist
An agreement under which South African state-controlled companies could invest as much as $1bn in South Sudanese energy projects, including a refinery, is welcome news…
Syria: Syrian Civilians Seize Oil Wells from Rebel Group
Dec 11, 2018
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Irina Slav, OilPrice
A large group of Syrian civilians took control over several oil wells in eastern Syria after clashes with rebel group Syrian Democratic Forces, Iranian Fars…
Liberia: Five Counties ‘Red Zones’ for Land Conflicts in Liberia
Dec 11, 2018
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Alvin Worzi, Observer
The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has said Liberia continues to experience huge land conflicts in Montserrado, Margibi, Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties as these…
Myanmar: Log Exports to Be Permitted to Lure Timber Plantations
Dec 11, 2018
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Thiha Ko Ko, Myanmar Times
The Forest Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation has been planning to permit the export of logs harvested from private timber…
Governments Reflect on Key Elements of Peacebuilding, Sustaining Peace
Dec 11, 2018
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Catherine Benson Wahlén, International Institute for Sustainable Development
The UN Security Council discussed peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the context of post-conflict reconstruction, security and stability, in a debate on 5 December 2018.…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Hopeful about Replacing Opium Crops with Saffron
Dec 11, 2018
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Mohammad Sadiq Rashtinai and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara
At a sprawling government agricultural research farm in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, workers are now picking tiny purple flowers. Officials in the region…
Liberia: “Data Is a Serious Problem for Agriculture Sector”
Dec 10, 2018
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David A. Yates, Observer
Agriculture Minister Dr. Mogana Flomo says the lack of agriculture data remains a serious challenge to the sector, “because data collection is a serious problem…