International
Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi Moves to Clean up Myanmar's Murky Jade Trade
Aug 9, 2016
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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…
Myanmar: ‘An Optimistic Place to Start’: Myanmar Enacts National Logging Ban
Aug 3, 2016
|
Morgan Erickson-Davis, Mongabay
Rumors that have been building for months have come to fruition, with Myanmar announcing a national logging ban effective immediately. Although temporary, conservationists are lauding…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Signed over 80 Mining Contracts with Private Firms
Aug 3, 2016
|
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…
Myanmar: Saving the Mangroves
Aug 2, 2016
|
Hein Ko Soe, Frontier
If another powerful cyclone were to pummel the Ayeyarwady Delta it could have a more devastating impact than Nargis in 2008, one of the worst…
China/South China Sea: Beijing Vows to Prosecute 'Trespassers'
Aug 2, 2016
|
James Griffiths, CNN
China has sent a clear warning to foreigners who enter contested areas of the South China Sea -- stay away or you'll be prosecuted. The…
Afghanistan: In Afghanistan, Extreme Geography Attracts Extreme Sports
Aug 2, 2016
|
Associated Press
Panjshir is considered one of the safest regions of Afghanistan. The roads are closed to outsiders, who must register with security forces and explain the…
Asia: Group Warns of Rising ASEAN Land Grab Conflicts
Aug 1, 2016
|
Voice of America
An international human rights organization says Southeast Asia is facing increasing conflicts and violence over land grab activity. A “land grab” relates to taking land…
South Sudan: Worse Fighting Could Halt South Sudan Oil Output, Monitor Says
Aug 1, 2016
|
Okech Francis, Bloomberg
Clashes between South Sudanese forces that re-erupted last month could escalate into larger battles and completely cut the African nation’s already diminished oil output, the…
Myanmar: UNESCO-IHE Fellowship: Strengthening Myanmar’s Water Security
Aug 1, 2016
|
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Despite regular disasters, including cyclones and frequent episodes of serious flooding that have resulted in huge losses of life and property, water security and water…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdish Forces Retake Oil Field after Islamic State Attack
Jul 31, 2016
|
Kadhim Ajrash, Khalid Al Ansary, and Sam Wilkin, Bloomberg
Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq regained control of an oil field near Kirkuk, after Islamic State militants overran the facility, setting fire to two storage…
Food Security: Security Council Updated on Conflicts Causing Severe Hunger
Jul 31, 2016
|
Jaya Ramachandran, InDepthNews
The UN Security Council is faced with a critical if not an unprecedented situation: it has been warned that "protracted conflicts affecting 17 countries" have…
Kenya: In Kenya, Scarcity and Drought are Driving Two Tribes to Go to War
Jul 30, 2016
|
Bill Corcoran, Irish Times
The air of tranquillity that dominates Lake Turkana’s desolate northwestern shoreline and surrounding rural landscape belies the severity of the tribal conflict gripping this part…