International
Liberia: Unlawful Killings: ECOWAS Court Urged to Compel Liberia Govt. to Pay 500 Families $200m
Feb 23, 2017
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Nigerian Tribune
A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Concerned Youth of Ganta for Reconstruction and Development, and a Liberian citizen have sued the Republic of Liberia at the ECOWAS…
Myanmar: Motion Raised to Allow Lands Owned by Non-Nationals in Rakhine to Be Seized and Given to Citizens
Feb 23, 2017
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Mizzima
Rakhine State Legislative Assembly legislator Aung Win from Myaybon constituency (2) said that he would raise a motion at the Rakhine State assembly to take…
Myanmar: Water-Bird Population Falling Rapidly: Fauna & Flora
Feb 22, 2017
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Hsan Htoo Aung, Eleven
The water-bird population native to the Ayeyawady River has been reduced by between 60-90 per cent over the past 14 years, with bird catching and…
Afghanistan: How Neglect and Remoteness Bred Insurgency and a Poppy Boom: The Story of Badghis
Feb 22, 2017
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Jelena Bjelica, Afghanistan Analysts Network
An unprecedented increase in opium poppy cultivation has been documented in Badghis for 2016, a remote western province that is largely underreported – even more…
Myanmar: Myanmar Makes Record Seizures of Illegal Timber
Feb 22, 2017
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Malay Mail
Myanmar seized a record amount of illegal timber this financial year as part of a government clampdown to protect the country’s rapidly disappearing forests, a…
Myanmar: Myanmar Villagers Demand Land Compensation from Copper Mine Operator
Feb 21, 2017
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Radio Free Asia
About 100 residents from the town of Letpadaung protested on Tuesday against the Chinese company that operates a controversial copper mine in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing…
South Sudan: Famine in South Sudan as Oil Revenues Remain Elusive
Feb 21, 2017
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Damir Kaletovic, Oil Price
The South Sudanese government and three humanitarian agencies have declared a famine in some parts of the country as the newly independent nation struggle to…
Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Risks Losing Oil-Rich Abyei
Feb 21, 2017
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Fred Oluoch, East African
South Sudan risks losing the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei with internal strife taking most of its attention as Khartoum moves to entrench its administration…
Myanmar: EU-Standard Forestry Agreement to Be Set up
Feb 20, 2017
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Si Thu Lwin, Myanmar Times
Forestry staff, relevant government personnel, environmental conservation groups and timber entrepreneurs met in Mandalay on February 15 for a workshop to discuss the processes involved…
Uganda: Uganda Launches Gold Refinery, amid Fears of Dirty Minerals
Feb 20, 2017
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Associated Press
A gold refinery primarily owned by a Belgian investor was launched in Uganda Monday amid concerns about the source of its minerals. The African Gold…
Climate Change: Patricia Espinosa: “The Climate Change Story Is a Security Story” - Address at Munich Security Conference
Feb 18, 2017
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UN
At the annual Munich Security Conference, the UN’s top climate change official UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa gave an opening address at a discussion on…
South Sudan: South Sudan Deploys More Troops in Oil Fields to Boost Production
Feb 17, 2017
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Sudan Tribune
South Sudan has deployed more troops in preparation for the resumption oil production in areas where activities were halted as a result of the December…
Iraq: Iraq Plans to Acquire 'Large Fleet' of Oil Tankers
Feb 17, 2017
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Maher Chmaytelli and Adrian Croft, Reuters
Iraq plans to acquire a "large fleet" of oil tankers to transport the OPEC nation's crude to global markets, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in…
Conflict Minerals: Church Leaders Hope Trump Does Not Repeal Conflict-Minerals Provisions
Feb 17, 2017
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Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service
Church leaders and organizations in Africa, Europe and the United States said it would be disastrous if U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order…
Afghanistan: Scientists in Afghanistan Set New Program to Raise Wheat Harvests
Feb 17, 2017
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Rajiv Sharma and Zaki Afshar, CIMMYT
Inadequate access to new disease-resistant varieties and short supplies of certified seed are holding back wheat output and contributing to rising food insecurity in Afghanistan, according…
China/India/Nepal: Water Diplomacy
Feb 16, 2017
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Pramod Arayol, Kathmandu Post
Nepal, China, and India have witnessed civilisations with diverse religions, cultures and heritages growing in harmony but with a brutal history of colonisation followed by…
South Sudan: South Sudan Seeks Unlikely Economic Salvation with Farming
Feb 16, 2017
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Okech Francis, Bloomberg
South Sudan, ravaged by three years of conflict and impending famine, said it’s seeking investors for agricultural land in a bid to offset a fall…
Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan: When Climate Change Starts Wars
Feb 16, 2017
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John Wendle, Nautilus
Throughout the spring and summer in 2016, tensions flared after ethnic Uzbek villagers and police blocked access to the reservoir and its water, which lies…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Stuck without Water in Mosul, Neighbors Find a Way
Feb 16, 2017
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David Zucchino and Ben C. Solomond, New York Times
The water taps are dry in Rashidiya. The water and sewage system collapsed in this eastern Mosul neighborhood after 100 days of street combat. On…
Myanmar: Chinese Farmers Trespass on Burmese Soil, Lawmaker Claims
Feb 16, 2017
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Htet Naing Zaw, Irrawaddy
Chinese farmers have been illegally planting crops in Man Waing Gyi, near the Burma-China border of Kachin State, according to Lower House lawmaker U Chin…
Conflict Minerals: African States Wary of Potential Repeal of 'Conflict Minerals' Rule
Feb 15, 2017
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Reuters
A possible plan by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend a rule on "conflict minerals" could help fund armed groups and contribute to a surge…
Liberia: Holding the Line – Global Witness Reveals How All of Liberia’s Large Logging Contracts Are Illegal on Multiple Counts
Feb 15, 2017
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Global News Network
Liberia’s forestry sector has a long history of corruption, crime and conflict. During the country’s 14-year war, logging contracts were handed out to cronies of…
Colombia: FARC Troops Help Boost Colombia’s Landmine Removal Effort
Feb 15, 2017
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teleSUR
As part of Colombia's transition to peace, around 1,000 former FARC rebels will help to identify and remove land mines across Colombia as the country works…
Myanmar: Rakhine Fishermen Hurt by Unlawful Fishing
Feb 15, 2017
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Aung Ramar, Eleven
Small-scale fishermen in Rakhine State blame unlawful fishing vessels for a drop in marine lives. The livelihoods of residents of Kyaukpyu, Myebon and Pauktaw townships…
Colombia: Peacetime Renaissance for Colombia’s Culinary and Agricultural Chocolate
Feb 15, 2017
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Julia Cohn, City Paper
With the proliferation of new producers and an international push for Colombian farmers to grow more cacao, chocolate could give coffee a run for its money as…
Conflict Minerals: Central African Nations Warn Trump Reform Could Lead to Conflict
Feb 15, 2017
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Pierre Bertrand
A coalition of 12 African countries has sounded the alarm that a possible plan by US President Donald Trump to suspend federal US rules on…
Myanmar: Burmese Journalist Sued, Threatened after Logging, Cattle-Rustling Reports
Feb 13, 2017
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Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma
A local journalist from Kachin State who reported on illegal logging and cattle-rustling activities in the region has received death threats and faces being sued…
Myanmar: Sagaing Minister Accuses Land Owners of Logging
Feb 13, 2017
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Phay Nyein, Eleven
Sagaing Region minister for agriculture, livestock and irrigation accused individuals and companies of acquiring vacant farmland for the sole purpose of logging. Minister Kamzar Mone…
China/South China Sea: Recent Developments Surrounding the South China Sea
Feb 12, 2017
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Hrvoje Hranjski, Associated Press
A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and…
Mozambique/Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe and Mozambique Border Conflict Escalates
Feb 12, 2017
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Bernard Chiketo, Nehanda Radio
Zimbabwe and Mozambique are both suffering rising casualties and cattle rustling during skirmishes along their border in an area plagued by conflict over scarce resources,…