International
Iraq: Fireballs and Booby Traps: On the Front Lines with the Oil Workers Battling ISIS
Feb 12, 2017
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Peter Holley, Washington Post
Fifty miles north in Mosul, beleaguered Islamic State fighters have lost control of half of their last major stronghold as Iraqi security forces advance. But…
Myanmar: Hpakant Jade Mine Landslide Kills 9
Feb 12, 2017
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Agence France-Presse
A landslide in Kachin State’s jade mining region has killed 9 people, a local official said Saturday, the latest fatal incident to strike the shadowy…
Myanmar: Chain Saw Injuries in Myanmar Tied to Illegal Logging
Feb 12, 2017
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Poppy McPherson, Mongabay
For locals here in the heart of Myanmar’s logging country, the commercial timber trade – though prohibited – is a major source of employment. Bald…
Iraq: Iraq Puts out Major Oil Well Fire in Qayyara
Feb 9, 2017
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Xinhua
The Iraqi Oil Ministry on Thursday said firefighters have put out fire at an oil well near the town of Qayyara, which Iraqi forces freed…
Africa: Land Grabbing in Africa 'Is Fueling Conflicts'
Feb 9, 2017
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Emmanuelle Landais, Deutsche Welle
The study by Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), a global network advocating for the land and forest rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, compares…
Conflict Minerals: White House Plans Directive Targeting 'Conflict Minerals' Rule: Sources
Feb 8, 2017
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Sarah N. Lynch and Emily Stephenson, Reuters
President Donald Trump is planning to issue a directive targeting a controversial Dodd-Frank rule that requires companies to disclose whether their products contain "conflict minerals"…
Conflict Minerals: Proposed Trump Executive Order Would Allow US Firms to Sell 'Conflict Minerals'
Feb 8, 2017
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Ed Pilkington, Guardian
The Trump administration has prepared a new executive order that would extinguish regulatory controls designed to prevent US companies profiting from and encouraging the spread…
South Sudan: South Sudan Beefs up Security at Oil Fields to Raise Output
Feb 8, 2017
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Okech Franics, Bloomberg.
South Sudan said it boosted security at oil installations and will get electricity from neighboring Sudan to resume output at two fields in efforts to…
Iraq: President Trump Still Thinks That America Should Have Taken Iraq’s Oil
Feb 7, 2017
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Matthew Rozsa, Salon
For the second time in less than a month, President Donald Trump has talked about how America should have taken Iraq’s oil — a war…
Iraq: Fighting the Flames of ISIL in Iraq
Feb 7, 2017
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Claire Thomas, Al Jazeera
Six months after ISIL fighters torched oil wells in Qayyarah, Iraqi fire crews are still battling the flames. Like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster, a…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Avalanches Death Toll Passes 135
Feb 6, 2017
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Agence France-Presse
Rescuers are battling to reach survivors of avalanches in Afghanistan’s remote, mountainous north, as the death toll exceeds 100 and fears grow for dozens of…
Iraq: The Truth behind Oil Theft in Iraq's Basra
Feb 5, 2017
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Salam Zidane, Al-Monitor
Iraqi members of parliament have recently addressed the Oil Ministry with allegations related to the daily theft of Basra oil due to the malfunctioning of…
India: No Water Wars Here: How 2 Villages on Kerala-Karnataka Border Share Water Every Year
Feb 3, 2017
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Aishhwariya Subramanian, Better India
Although news is generally dominated by disputes that sprout between different states in India over sharing of water from the country’s rivers, there is a quiet oasis…
Iraq: Emergency Fertilizer Distributions Help Conflict-Affected Iraqi Farmers Increase Wheat Production
Feb 2, 2017
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UN FAO
More than 2 000 farmers affected by conflict in Iraq have received 750 tonnes of fertilizer from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United…
Conflict Minerals: Massachusetts to Sign Legislation Fighting Deadly 'Conflict Minerals' in the DRC
Feb 2, 2017
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Elsa Buchanan, International Business Times
Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker is expected to sign a statewide legislation to fight against deadly "conflict minerals" in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this…
Afghanistan: EU Project to Monitor Afghan Agri System Signed
Feb 1, 2017
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Pajhwok
The signing ceremony of a European Union (EU)-funded project, aimed at assisting the Afghan government to assess agriculture production systems and to strengthen institutional capacity,…
Myanmar: 571 Tonnes of Illegal Timber Seized in Three Separate Raids at Yangon Port
Feb 1, 2017
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Kyi Kyi Sway, Myanmar Times
The Yangon Forest Department has seized 571 tonnes of illegally logged timber and nabbed the managing directors of two companies, department director U Thein Toe…
Conflict Minerals: Acting SEC Chair Seeks to Scale back 'Conflict Minerals' Rule
Feb 1, 2017
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Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters
The top Republican at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday took the first step toward scaling back the controversial "conflict minerals" rule, which…
Conflict Minerals: For Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction Disclosures, the End Appears Nigh
Feb 1, 2017
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Kristyn Hyland, Bureau of National Affairs
Acting Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Michael Piwowar took the first steps toward scaling back the conflict mineral disclosure rule Jan. 31, directing the SEC…
Afghanistan: Militant Groups in Afghanistan Get Rich off Mineral Smuggling
Feb 1, 2017
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Noor Zahid, Voice of America
The smuggling of Afghan minerals supplies millions of dollars to armed groups, insurgents and strongmen in the country, an Afghan anti-corruption watchdog reported Wednesday. The…
Iraq: Iraq's Wetland Paradise under Threat
Feb 1, 2017
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Emilienne Malfatto, Deutsche Welle
Climate change, poor usage and distribution of water in Iraq, and above all dams upriver, have dramatically reduced the volume of water flowing into the wetlands. The…
South Sudan: Juba Now Extends Oil Extraction Contracts
Feb 1, 2017
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Kennedy Senelwa, East African
South Sudan has extended the crude oil exploration and production licences given to Asian multinationals by five years to increase output. The Petroleum Ministry has…
Colombia: Land Claimant Assassinated, Presumably by Forces Wanting to Keep War Trophies
Jan 30, 2017
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Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports
Deadly attacks against displaced war victims trying to have their land returned cost yet another life on Sunday in an ongoing wave of violence against community leaders in…
Afghanistan: Badakhshan Mining Revenue Goes to Illegal Gunmen
Jan 30, 2017
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Gul Mohammad Tanha, Pajhwok
Illegal gunmen and insurgents have been digging up gold and lapis lazuli mines in northeastern Badakhshan province, local officials said on Monday. Mohammad Akbar Anwari,…
South Sudan: South Sudan Plans to Double Oil Production
Jan 29, 2017
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Sudan Tribune
South Sudan aims to double its oil production to 290,000 barrels per day in fiscal year 2017/2018, up from current output of around 130,000 barrels…
Afghanistan: Taliban, Collecting Bills for Afghan Utilities, Tap New Revenue Sources
Jan 28, 2017
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Mujib Mashal and Najim Rahim, New York Times
The Afghan government faces a peculiar problem in at least two major provinces: It provides precious electricity, some of it imported at costly rates from…
Timor-Leste: Under the Radar: East Timor’s $40 Billion Oil Conundrum
Jan 28, 2017
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Global Risk Insights
With the host of maritime disputes in the Pacific, it is encouraging to see efforts at reconciliation and compromise, as Australia and East Timor have…
Conflict Minerals: European Parliamentary Committee Backs Conflict Minerals Regulation
Jan 27, 2017
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Tammy Lovell, Chemical Watch
European parliamentary committee backs conflict minerals Regulation. The European Parliament's international trade committee (Inta) has backed an agreement to adopt an EU Regulation on conflict…
Myanmar: Kachin Park Handed Back to Original Owners
Jan 26, 2017
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Eleven
Some parts of the Kareinnaw recreation gardens, one of the most prominent parks in Myitkyina, has been transferred to the family of the original owner,…
Myanmar: Dozens Facing Trespass Charge for Cutting Bamboo in Delta
Jan 26, 2017
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Mratt Kyaw Thu, Frontier
Thirty-seven farmers in Ayeyarwady Region are facing the possibility of prison time after the son of a retired military officer accused them of cutting bamboo…