International
Myanmar: The Key to Jumpstarting Myanmar’s Economy: Electricity
Aug 11, 2016
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Peter Loftus, Diplomat
It’s no secret that the National League for Democracy (NLD) faces myriad challenges in improving Myanmar’s socioeconomic situation. In fact, its biggest challenge might be…
Iraq: Iraq, Oil Companies Agree to Restart Investment, Boost Output
Aug 11, 2016
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Ahmed Rasheed and Aref Mohammed, Reuters
Iraq has reached agreement with BP, Shell and Lukoil to restart stalled investment in oil fields the firms are developing, allowing projects that were halted…
Myanmar: Waters, but Not Worries, Recede in Flooded Mandalay Villages
Aug 10, 2016
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Phyo Wai Kyaw and Hlaing Kyaw Soe, Myanmar Times
High waters along the Ayeyarwady River in Mandalay Region’s Amarapura and Tada-U townships have begun to recede, but victims of flooding in the area say…
Vietnam/South China Sea: Exclusive: Vietnam Moves New Rocket Launchers into Disputed South China Sea - Sources
Aug 10, 2016
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Greg Torode, Reuters
Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China's runways and…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Sea Dispute Fallout Stokes Tensions between China and Vietnam
Aug 10, 2016
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Michael Peel, Financial Times
Tensions are rising between Vietnam and China over an escalating regional sea territory dispute that has sparked allegations of missile deployments by Hanoi and cyber…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Says Northern Oil Well Engulfed in Fire [Video]
Aug 10, 2016
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Reuters
Officials from the state-run North Oil Company say a well controlled by Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk has exploded.
Myanmar: Floods Caused by Limitless Abuse of Resource Extraction: Deputy Minister
Aug 10, 2016
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Eleven Myanmar
Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr Tun Win said yesterday that the flooding and natural disaster happening in Myanmar today are the consequences…
Colombia: UN Study Charts Extent of Unregulated Gold Mining in Colombia, Links to Organized Crime
Aug 10, 2016
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UN
An estimated 60 per cent of Colombia’s alluvial gold exploitation – through mining streams or riverbeds, often dredged with heavy machinery – is not established…
Afghanistan: A Start-Up Turns to Saffron to Help Afghanistan Regrow
Aug 10, 2016
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Aili McConnon, New York Times
Bomb-blasted roads, frequent blackouts, shortages of basic equipment and an untested consumer market are hardly conditions that make for natural entrepreneurial opportunities. But three Army…
Colombia: Colombia Expands Land Restitution to War-Torn South amid Peace Efforts
Aug 9, 2016
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Anastasia Moloney, Reuters
Colombia is expanding its land restitution program into former no-go areas in the country's war-torn south aiming to return land stolen from farmers by illegal…
Myanmar: Rangers Face Violent Loggers to Save Bago’s Shrinking Forests
Aug 9, 2016
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Htet Khaung Linn, Myanmar Now
Several forest rangers and policemen were manning a sleepy checkpoint on a dirt road near Myo Kaung Village, in the foothills of the Bago Mountain…
Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi Moves to Clean up Myanmar's Murky Jade Trade
Aug 9, 2016
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Kate Hodal, Guardian
Myanmar’s new government has announced ground-breaking reforms to its $31bn (£23.7bn) jade industry in a move campaigners claim could signal “a new era of fundamental…
Iran/Kurdistan: KRG Holding Back on Signing Oil Deal with Iran
Aug 8, 2016
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Rudaw
Three months have passed since the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was expected to ink an oil agreement with Iran, but the KRG has yet to…
China/Japan/East China Sea: Japan Protests over Chinese Radar in Disputed East China Sea drilling rig
Aug 7, 2016
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Reuters
Japan has filed a protest to Beijing after the discovery that China installed radar equipment in a gas exploration platform close to disputed waters in…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Learns about Korea's Soy Industry
Aug 7, 2016
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Rachel Lee, Korea Times
Afghanistan government officials were in Korea to learn about the country's soy industry and the development process on August 7-13. Nutrition & Education International (NEI),…
Afghanistan/Iran: Iran, Afghanistan Exchange Views on Water, Security, Border Control
Aug 6, 2016
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Tehran Times
Talks on a wide range of mutual concerns, particularly water shortage, terrorism, border control, and drug smuggling were the main themes of a session between…
Cambodia: Dozens March Against Sugar Company ‘Land Grabs’
Aug 5, 2016
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Kann Vicheika, Voice of America
About 70 villagers from Koh Kong province delivered petitions to the government and European Union on Thursday to lodge complaints about alleged land grabbing by…
Afgahnistan/Pakistan: Afghan Elders Demand Feasible Repatriation Plan
Aug 5, 2016
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The News
Elders and representatives of Afghan refugees in Pakistan on Thursday appealed for extension in their legal documents for stay in Pakistan till proper arrangements in…
Colombia: Colombia Conflict Victims Seek Land, Reconciliation
Aug 4, 2016
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Agence France-Presse
The Colombian government has signed a landmark disarmament deal with the biggest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It hopes to do…
Myanmar: Crude Oil, Diamond and Gold Exports to Be Legalised Next Year: Official
Aug 4, 2016
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Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
The government will lift restrictions on exporting crude oil, diamonds and gold early next year, an official told The Myanmar Times yesterday, cutting the state…
Myanmar: Govt to Survey Dams Nationwide
Aug 4, 2016
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Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times
The government is planning on reviewing the status of dams throughout the country to see if they are worth keeping. U Htun Win, deputy minister…
Africa: How Climate Change Fuels Conflict [Video]
Aug 4, 2016
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Deutsche Welle
With temperatures soaring and drought increasing, many in Africa are losing their livelihoods. They are looking for other ways to survive, in some cases by…
Myanmar: Shan State Coal Mine Cited in Fight against Resource Extraction
Aug 4, 2016
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Thu Thu Aung, Myanmar Times
Shan activists and politicians are calling for a halt to resource extraction in parts of Myanmar plagued by conflict, with one human rights group using…
Colombia: Colombia’s New, Legal Drug Barons Focus on Medical Marijuana
Aug 4, 2016
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Ezra Kaplan, New York Times
Last year, President Juan Manuel Santos spearheaded an overhaul of Colombia’s 30-year-old drug laws, which formally legalized medical marijuana for domestic use. Crucially, the new…
Myanmar: Myanmar Logging Ban a Major Step to Forest Sector Reform
Aug 4, 2016
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Environmental Investigation Agency
The new Government of Myanmar has agreed a temporary national logging ban and a 10-year logging ban in the Pegu Yoma region to give its…
Myanmar: Pyin Oo Lwin Residents Permitted to Transfer Land Ownership
Aug 3, 2016
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Si Thu Lwin, Myanmar Times
Villagers in Pyin Oo Lwin township, Mandalay Region, are benefiting from cuts in red tape that allow them to transfer ownership of land, or to…
Myanmar: Suu Kyi Tackles Military Land Grabs in Test of New Myanmar Government
Aug 3, 2016
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Aubrey Belford, Hnin Yadana Zaw, and Antoni Slodkowski, Reuters
When Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) stormed to power in elections last November, its victory was fueled in part by rural anger over…
Sudan: China Controls 75% of Oil Investment in Sudan: Minister
Aug 3, 2016
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Sudan Tribune
Sudanese petroleum minister Mohamed Zayed Awad said that Chinese companies control 75 percent of foreign investment in Sudan’s oil sector. Awad told reporters Wednesday upon…
Iraq: ISIS Torches Qayarah Oil Complex, Dumps Crude in Tigris
Aug 3, 2016
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Iraq Oil Report
Facing the imminent advance of Iraqi forces, militants from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) have looted, bulldozed and torched the Qayarah refinery, and are trying…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Signed over 80 Mining Contracts with Private Firms
Aug 3, 2016
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Khaama Press
The Afghan government has signed over 80 mining contracts with the private sector in a bid to boost the extraction of mines and prevent illegal…