International
Afghanistan: USAID Hosts Women’s Agricultural Credit Shura in Mazar-E-Sharif to Improve Livelihoods for Afghan Women
Aug 17, 2017
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USAID
When it comes to accessing credit for women farmers and women-owned agriculture-related businesses, challenges have often forced these operations to close because of a lack…
DRC: Democratic Republic of Congo Grappling with Heavily Networked Armed Groups Funded by Gold Smuggling, Security Council Hears, as Expert Body Mourns Slain Members
Aug 17, 2017
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UN Security Council
Tremendous challenges were facing the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the dynamics of the conflict ever-changing, an illicit trade in artisanal gold funding increasingly fragmented…
Conflict Minerals: Companies Remain Committed to US Conflict Minerals Reporting
Aug 17, 2017
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Chemical Watch
Companies remain committed to conflict minerals due diligence, despite promises of relaxed enforcement of US reporting requirements, a recent study has found. The report, by…
FAO Welcomes UN Security Council Recognition of Conflict-Famine Link
Aug 17, 2017
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomes the UN Security Council's recognition of conflict as a major cause of famine, and the call to…
Afghanistan: Ticket to Rot for Fruit Stranded without Flights in Afghanistan
Aug 16, 2017
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Sayed Sarwar and Hamid Shalizi, Reuters
Afghanistan's plans to fly shipments from southern fruit growers to India have gone awry, leaving tons of grapes and melons to rot as officials scramble…
South Sudan/Sudan: Khartoum Negotiating Teams Say Abyei is Sudanese Territory
Aug 16, 2017
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Sudan Tribune
Sudanese delegation for the talks on the Abyei area Monday said they will focus on the need for a peaceful coexistence between the communities there,…
Myanmar: Tatmadaw to Continue Clearing out Illegal Mines in Tanai and Hpakant
Aug 16, 2017
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Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times
The Tatmadaw needs to continue military operations in Tanai and Hpakant in Kachin State to bring peace, order and stability in the area and put…
Afghanistan: Improved Irrigation Canal to Benefit over 7,500 People in Taloqan
Aug 16, 2017
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Middel East North Africa Financial Network
Afghan authorities and the Afghan-German Cooperation signed a contract for the reparation and rehabilitation of the Gurg irrigation canal in Taloqan, Takhar's provincial capital on…
Myanmar: Serenity Amid Conflict at Myanmar’s Indawgyi Lake
Aug 16, 2017
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Hugh Scobie, Adelaide Review
Myanmar is a part of the world where poverty and wealth become very confusing — it suffers from the ‘resource curse’; abundant natural resources but…
Afghanistan: Indian Company Wins Tender to Construct CASA-1000 Power Project
Aug 15, 2017
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Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews
Officials from the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) on Tuesday said construction of the 1000 Electricity Transmission and Trade Project for Central Asia and…
Myanmar: Sales at Myanmar’s Jade Expo Lower Than Last Year
Aug 15, 2017
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Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Mining.com
Results from the 2017 Jade and Gems Emporium are 3 per cent lower than last year’s in terms of the amount of cash the event…
Colombia: Searching for an Alternative to Coca
Aug 14, 2017
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Camilo Mejia and Steven Cohen, BBC
In the remote region of Putumayo in southern Colombia, the economy depends almost entirely on one thing: coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine. Colombia's government…
Afghanistan: MAIL to Help Saffron Farmers with 500 Tons of Bulbs
Aug 14, 2017
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TOLOnews
According to MAIL officials, they will distribute 500 tons of saffron bulbs to farmers who will harvest up to eight tons of saffron this year.…
Afghanistan: Agriculture Safe Option to Strengthen Afghan Economy: FAO
Aug 14, 2017
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Pajhwok Afghan News
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says investment in Afghanistan’s agriculture ‘is the better and low risk option for strengthening the country’s economy…
DRC: Food Insecurity Soars in Conflict-Ridden Democratic Republic of Congo
Aug 14, 2017
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
Amid rising violence and displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 7.7 million people face acute hunger - a 30 percent increase over the…
Myanmar: Myanmar Elephant Killings Raise Fears of Extinction
Aug 14, 2017
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Coconuts Yangon
At least 30 elephants have been reported killed in Myanmar this year, according to a joint report by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna and Flora…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Kurds Stick to Independence Vote Despite US Request to Postpone It
Aug 12, 2017
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Maher Chmaytelli, Reuters
Iraq’s Kurds are sticking to a plan to hold an independence referendum on Sept. 25, despite a U.S. request to postpone it, a high-ranking Kurdish…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Can Generate 23,000 Megawatts of Hydroelectric Power
Aug 11, 2017
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Zarmina Mohammadi, TOLOnews
Afghanistan has the capacity of generating more than 23,000 megawatt of hydroelectric power from domestic resources, says President Ashraf Ghani’s advisor on infrastructure Humayoun Qayoumi.Under…
Myanmar: EIA Accuses MTE of Stepping back from Reform Commitments
Aug 11, 2017
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Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Times
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has hit out at the Myanma Timber Enterprise’s decision to hire service providers, and said that the risk of corruption…
Iraq: Iraq Should Boost Non-Oil Tax Revenue: IMF
Aug 11, 2017
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Mary Swire, Tax-News.com
Iraq should take advantage of the "large room" to increase non-oil tax revenue by broadening the tax base and modernizing tax and customs administration, the…
Iraq: No Country for Oil Men: Tracking Islamic State’s Oil Assets in Iraq
Aug 11, 2017
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Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat
Now the so-called Islamic State (IS) has lost Mosul as their capital in Iraq, two isolated pockets remain where the terror group has control over…
Myanmar: Drones Find Their Most Important Use Yet: Rebuilding Our Planet
Aug 10, 2017
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Phillip Tracy, Daily Dot
A group of villagers and a local nonprofit organization in Myanmar are recruiting a fleet of drones to help replant 2.7 million trees in an…
Iraq: Iraq Economic Growth Subdued by Risks from ISIL and Volatile Oil Prices, IMF Says
Aug 10, 2017
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Mahmoud Kassem, National
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Iraq's economy remained open to risks stemming from the armed conflict with ISIS and sluggish oil prices, even though medium-term…
Iraq: FAO Turns to Mobile Technology to Tempt Iraqi Farmers back to Fields
Aug 9, 2017
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RJ Whitehead, Food Navigator Asia
Mobile money transfers has been adopted as part of a cash-for-work programme aimed at rehabilitating agricultural infrastructure for the benefit of vulnerable rural families in…
Myanmar: Why Agriculture is Ailing and How Best to Revive the Sector
Aug 9, 2017
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Kang Wan Chern, Myanmar Times
Agriculture forms the backbone of the Myanmar economy. The sector contributes to almost 40 percent of the nation’s GDP, accounts for close to a third…
South Sudan: South Sudan Plans Road, Oil Pipeline Projects Near Ethiopia Border: Ambassador
Aug 9, 2017
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Xinhua
South Sudan plans to construct road projects, oil pipeline and oil refinery after government forces captured the rebel stronghold of Pagak near Ethiopia border. Speaking…
Nigeria/Somalia/South Sudan/Yemen: UN for First Time Links Conflict to Famine in 4 Countries
Aug 9, 2017
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Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press
The U.N. Security Council for the first time on Wednesday linked conflict to the threat of famine facing more than 20 million people in Yemen,…
Myanmar: Activists Warn Kayin State Villagers against Coal
Aug 8, 2017
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Saw Khar Suu Nyar, Karen Information Center
A new network of activists and civil society groups has been warning Kayin (Karen) State residents of the dangers of coal through environmental awareness trainings…
Myanmar: Gas Discovered at Block A-6 Offshore Well in Southern Rakhine
Aug 8, 2017
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Hellenic Shipping News
Test drilling began at the Pyi Thit-1 appraisal well on June 10. The well, which is located in the south of Rakhine and approximately 90…
Colombia: In Colombia, Deforestation Gangs Run Rampant
Aug 8, 2017
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Antonio José Paz Cardona, Mongabay
In Colombia, there are eight major areas of deforestation. Chief among them is the department of Guaviare, where three of the eight deforested areas are…