International
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…
Myanmar: Mandalay Govt to Confiscate Unused Farmland
Jan 25, 2017
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Eleven
The Mandalay Region government announced Tuesday that it will confiscate unused farmland from its current owners. The announcement stated the government plans to confiscate 40,895…
Iraq: PM Abadi Says Iraq's Oil is for Iraqis, in Reaction to Trump
Jan 24, 2017
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Reuters
Iraq's oil is the property of Iraqis, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday, in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump who argued that the…
Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pakistan Aims for Water Treaty with Afghanistan
Jan 23, 2017
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Maqbool Malikm, The Nation
Pakistan is about to start talks with Afghanistan to secure a bilateral treaty for the use of water related to Kabul River. The move apparently…
Iraq: The Minister of Oil Declares the Accomplishment of the Draft of the Oil and Gas Law
Jan 23, 2017
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Rebuilding Iraq
Mr. Jabbar A. Allibi, the Minister of Oil, declared for the accomplishment of the laws of the national petroleum company and the national gas company…
Liberia: Chinese Firm to Make $2.6bn Investment in Liberian Iron Ore Mining
Jan 23, 2017
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Tech Featured
China Union intends to spend US$2.6bn to bring the Bong iron ore deposit to production within two years, and will also recondition the capital’s port…
Afghanistan/Iran: Afghan Authorities Accuse Iran of Using Taliban to Undercut Water Projects
Jan 23, 2017
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Noor Zahid, Voice of America
Afghan governors in southern and western provinces charged on Monday that Iran is using an increasingly close relationship with the Afghan Taliban to target power…
India: MPs’ Panel Asks WB to Arbitrate on Indus Waters Treaty
Jan 21, 2017
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Israr Khan, The News
In the face of the India’s threat to Indus Water Treaty 1960, Pakistani parliamentarians in a special combine standing committee on foreign affairs and water…
Iraq: Trump on Iraq: ‘We Should Have Kept the oil’
Jan 21, 2017
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Danny McDonald, Boston Globe
On the day after he was sworn in as the 45th president in American history, Donald Trump stepped in foreign policy controversy, saying the US…
Myanmar: Freed Myanmar Farmers Renew Fight against Army over Land
Jan 20, 2017
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Wa Lone, Reuters
Farmers locked in a land dispute with Myanmar's armed forces pledged to renew their fight after being released from jail on Friday, in a case…
Iraq: Iraqi Sheep, Locals, Environment Suffer Islamic State Oil Fires
Jan 19, 2017
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Girish Guptam, Reuters
Shepherds herd blackened flocks through the Iraqi desert. Locals cough and wheeze under vast clouds of smoke, and NASA images show oil threatening to encroach…
Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Police Halt Anti-China Protest over Islands
Jan 19, 2017
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Reuters
Police in Vietnam's capital stopped an anti-China protest within minutes on Thursday at a ceremony to commemorate a clash between the two countries in the…
Myanmar: The Salween Peace Park: A Radical, Grassroots Alternative to Development in Karen State
Jan 18, 2017
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KIC
A path has opened for environmental conservationists and rights advocates to strengthen their fight against gold mining and other socially and environmentally destructive projects in…
Iraq: Iraq's Marsh Arabs Test the Waters as Wetlands Ruined by Saddam Are Reborn
Jan 18, 2017
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Peter Schwartzstein, Guardian
Authorities in Baghdad are rebuilding lost communities. They are keen to resettle properly at least some of the roughly 250,000 Marsh Arabs who have trickled…
Myanmar: Yangon Chief Minister Hopes to Resolve Land Issues in 3 years
Jan 18, 2017
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Eleven
The parliamentary commission for assessing legal affairs and special cases suggested better land management policy at a parliamentary session last month. It stated that speculation…
Syria: Damascus Goes Dry as Syria’s Grim Water Wars Intensify
Jan 16, 2017
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Sami Moubayed, Middle East Online
Days before Christmas, Damascus went dry due to an aerial attack on the Ain al-Fijah spring 18km north-west of the Syrian capital, which feeds the…
Afghanistan: Bearing Fruit: Japan and UNDP Boost Output for Northern Farmers
Jan 16, 2017
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UNDP
Some provinces in Afghanistan are famous for their fruit. In Kandahar, it’s the pomegranates; in Parwan, the grapes. Now Takhar is earning its own place…
Israel/Palestine: Water Deal Reached between Israel and Palestinians
Jan 15, 2017
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Elior Levy, Yedioth Internet
Israel's Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories (COGAT) signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority's Minister of Civil Affairs on Sunday to renew the…
Sudan: US Set to Revoke Some Oil-Related Sanctions against Sudan
Jan 13, 2017
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Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com
Outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Friday that would lift certain trade and oil-related sanctions against Sudan in six months’ time,…
Conflict Minerals: Massachusetts to Examine Conflict Minerals Procurement Policies
Jan 12, 2017
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Chemical Watch
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed into law a resolve to examine the state's procurement policies with regard to so-called conflict minerals.