International
Afghanistan: Harvesting Opium in Afghanistan’s Poppy Fields
Apr 12, 2016
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Quinn Kelley, Baltimore Sun
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan dropped 19 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year, according to figures from the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics…
Iraq: Iraq Boosts Oil Production to Record Before Output Cap Talks
Apr 10, 2016
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Anthony Dipaola, Bloomberg
Iraq increased crude output to a record level in March, ahead of a meeting in Qatar of OPEC members and other producers on freezing production…
Libya/Islamic States: ISIS 'Sends Large Number of Experienced Terrorists to Northern Libya to Carry out Major Attack on Oil Wells'
Apr 10, 2016
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Tom Wyke, Daily Mail and Reuters
ISIS have deployed a large group of fighters at several strategic oil fields with fears that the jihadi group is planning a deadly attack on…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdistan’s Rise as an Independent Energy Player
Apr 10, 2016
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Omar Mawji, Geopolitical Monitor
Iraqi Kurdistan and the governing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is in the midst of a major shift toward autonomy in the northeastern enclave of Iraq.…
China/South China Sea: China's Army Planning Trip for Chinese Public to Visit Paracels
Apr 9, 2016
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Teo Cheng Wee, Straits Times
China's military is organising its first public trip to the Paracels, in the country's latest push for civilian engagement in the disputed islands. The People's…
Iraq: Inside the World's Most Dangerous Dam
Apr 8, 2016
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Arwa Damon and Hamdi Alkhshali, CNN
Only one of the two bottom outlet gates is functioning, angrily spitting out water in a foamy white churn as birds fly above the spray.…
Kosovo: Panel: UN Should Compensate Kosovo Roma over Lead Poisoning
Apr 8, 2016
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Associated Press
A U.N. human rights tribunal in Kosovo said Friday the world body should apologize and compensate the Roma community for the health impact of being…
South Sudan: South Sudan Army Downplays Severity of Discontent with General Thomas Cirilo
Apr 8, 2016
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Sudan Tribune
South Sudanese army (SPLA) has downplayed severity of anger of its deputy chief of general staff for logistics, General Thomas Cirilo Swaka, over land grabbing…
Colombia: Photos: Colombia’s “Lost City of Marijuana”
Apr 8, 2016
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Anne Campoy, Quartz
Colombia’s 50-year civil war devastated this region. Fighting between the Colombian army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) displaced 8,800 people in the…
Western Sahara: Human Rights Group Says Port Vancouver Plays Role in Import of Controversial Conflict Mineral from Western Sahara
Apr 8, 2016
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Charmaine de Silva, iNews 880
An international human rights organization says Vancouver plays a key role in the import of a controversial conflict mineral from Western Sahara. “We have fewer…
Colombia: After Peace, Colombia Will Still Struggle
Apr 7, 2016
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Stratfor
Colombia is at a historic juncture. After 52 years of fighting, the country is on the verge of a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed…
Kosovo: Roma Poisoned at U.N. Camps in Kosovo May Get Apology and Compensation
Apr 7, 2016
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Rick Gladstone, New York Times
Hundreds of Roma families in Kosovo, who were forced to live for more than a decade in squalid United Nations camps built on toxic wasteland…
Iraq: Huge Oil Tanker Traffic Jam Builds at Iraq's Basra Port
Apr 6, 2016
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Keith Wallis, Reuters
A traffic jam of nearly 30 large oil tankers has built up outside the Iraqi port of Basra due to loading delays, with some waiting…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Talks for Iraqi KRG’s Export of Oil via Iran Underway
Apr 6, 2016
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Tasnim News Agency
An official with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said negotiations are underway between Iran and Kurdistan for a potential agreement whereby the semi-autonomous region would…
Russia/Sudan/Darfur: Russia Blocks UN Report on Darfur Militia Mining
Apr 6, 2016
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Reuters
Russia is blocking the release of a confidential UN report showing that pro-government militias in Sudan’s Darfur region rake in $54 million per year in…
South Sudan: Food Gap Widens in Conflict-Stricken South Sudan – UN Assessment
Apr 5, 2016
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UN
Civil strife and unfavourable rains have further reduced crop production in South Sudan, contributing to a cereal deficit of 381,000 metric tons – 53 per…
Afghanistan: Chicago Veterans Aim to Cultivate Peace in Afghanistan through Farming
Apr 5, 2016
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Jay Shefsky, Chicago Tonight
Ninety percent of the world's opium originates in Afghanistan. In Chicago, three war veterans are hoping to give farmers there a viable alternative to growing…
Namibia: 4 Injured in Land Grab Clashes at Walvis Bay
Apr 4, 2016
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Adam Hartman, The Namibian
Four people were injured and five others arrested on Saturday when the police clashed with hundreds of residents grabbing land on the outskirts of Walvis…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Seizes Chinese Vessel in South China Sea
Apr 4, 2016
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Oliver Holmes, Guardian
Vietnam has seized a Chinese ship and detained its captain and two sailors, accusing the crew of illegally intruding on its waters, state media said…
Afghanistan: Loan Agreement Worth $6 Million Signed for the Afghan Farmers, Agri Sector
Apr 4, 2016
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Khaama Press
The Afghan farmers and agricultural producers will receive loans following the signing of an agreement worth $6 million between the Afghan government and microfinance institutions.…
DRC: Congo’s Civil War Has Practically Wiped out the World’s Largest Gorilla
Apr 4, 2016
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Maddie Stone, Gizmodo
The largest great apes on Earth have suffered a “catastrophic” population collapse over the past twenty years, according to a report published today by the…
Water Cycle Instability is Here to Stay Posing Major Political and Economic Risks: UN Experts
Apr 4, 2016
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United Nations University
The current instability and unpredictability of the world water cycle is here to stay, making society's adaptation to new risks a vital necessity when formulating…
Sierra Leone: Panama Papers: Flaws in Sierra Leone’s Diamond Trade
Apr 4, 2016
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Khadija Sharife and Silas Gbandia, African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Dodgy dealings within the Steinmetz Group seems to indicate undervaluing of diamonds, which is costing Sierra Leone tax payments. Sierra Leone is one of Africa’s leading…
DRC: Panama Papers: The DRC’s Gold Standard
Apr 4, 2016
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Khadija Sharife, African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Despite international laws stipulating disclosure of the origins of gold, a tranche of leaked documents points to unsavoury behaviour by tax havens trading in commodities.…
Myanmar: In Burma’s Wildest Corner, Jade, Drugs and Rebels will Test the New Government
Apr 4, 2016
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Annie Gowen, Washington Post
Burma’s northernmost state is home to 1.2 million people and some of the country’s most intractable problems — including a rapacious jade mining culture, opium cultivation,…
Conflict Minerals: Key Messages from Panel Debate on EU Conflict Minerals Regulation
Apr 4, 2016
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Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité
Key messages from the panel debate organised by CIDSE, Justice & Peace Belgium, EurAc, Misereor and Brot für die Welt. that took place in Brussels…
Iraq: Iraq's PM Orders Probe into Oil Corruption Allegations
Apr 2, 2016
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Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press
Iraq's prime minister on Saturday ordered an investigation into corruption allegations against senior oil officials following an expose into bribe-taking published in international media outlets.…
Myanmar: Flood Misery Lingers for Many
Apr 2, 2016
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Oliver Slow, Frontier
More than seven months after severe flooding throughout much of Myanmar, many poor communities in rural areas are still facing major food security problems, say…
Zimbabwe: Will Zimbabwe President Mugabe Compensate Farm Owners after Decades of Land Grabs?
Apr 1, 2016
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Elsa Buchanan, International Business Times
After decades of anti-Western rhetoric, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is showing signs of mellowing. Faced with economic wobbles in his drought-stricken nation, the 92-year-old has…
Liberia: Mandingo and Mano Vow to End Land Disputes through Dialogue
Mar 31, 2016
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Arrington Ballah, The Bush Chicken
A group of leaders from the Mandingo and Mano tribes recently held a town hall meeting to resolve a series of land issues involving members…