International
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,…
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…