International


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Sank Fishing Boat in the Disputed Region: Vietnam

Jul 12, 2016 | The Hindu

Vietnam has accused the Chinese coastguard of sinking a fishing boat near a disputed island chain, authorities said on Tuesday. Two Vietnamese boats were chased…


China/South China Sea: The Tribunal Renders its Award

Jul 12, 2016 | Permanent Court of Arbitration

A unanimous Award has been issued today by the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea…


Afghanistan: An Unlikely Fight to Protect Nature in War-Torn Afghanistan

Jul 12, 2016 | Jenny Peng and Tamsin Walker, Deutsche Welle

War doesn't only destroy human lives, but also land and ecologies - and therefore livelihoods. Afghanistan is a case in point. Enter a woman with…


Myanmar: Re-launched Committee to Manage Water Resources

Jul 11, 2016 | Aye Sapay Phyu, Myanmar Times

U Htun Lwin Oo, director general of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems, said the National Water Resources Committee abolished by…


Myanmar: Palm Oil Drive under Review in Tanintharyi

Jul 11, 2016 | Aye Nyein Win, Myanmar Times

A failing scheme to expand oil palm plantations in Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi Region is under review, as the government hopes to concentrate on increasing yield…


Liberia: Liberia’s Forest in Danger- International Conservationists Alarm

Jul 11, 2016 | Front Page Africa

Several international conservationist have alarmed over a proposed plan by the Forestry development Authority (FDA) to develop a regulation to allow for forest destruction or…


Sierra Leone: Agriculture is the Future of the Artisanal Diamond Miner – Chairman Kono Diamond Dealers

Jul 11, 2016 | Awoko

Agriculture is the hope of the artisanal miners as diamonds are dwindling. It is now time to discuss with the people about diversification and on…


China/South China Sea: In a Chinese Port Town, South China Sea Dispute is Personal

Jul 11, 2016 | Anthony Kuhn, NPR

The atmosphere in Tanmen has become more tense since an international tribunal in the Hague announced that it would release a ruling on July 12…


Africa: The Nile Project: Resolving Conflict into Harmony

Jul 8, 2016 | Deutsche Welle

The Nile flows through 11 African nations and serves as key source of freshwater - but sharing this resource is politically tricky. A unique project…


Iraq: Email to Clinton: U.S. Pressured Iraq to Increase Oil Production “to Pay the Greatest Dividends”

Jul 8, 2016 | Ben Norton, Salon

A 2011 email to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shows how the U.S. pressured Iraq’s new allied government to increase oil production in order “to…


China/South China Sea: Will China Respect International Court’s South China Sea Decision?

Jul 8, 2016 | Michael D. Mosettig, PBS

From Beijing to Washington and all across Asia, eyes will be on an obscure tribunal in the Hague this coming Tuesday. The panel’s words could…


China/United States/South China Sea: China Warns U.S. on Sovereignty ahead of South China Sea Ruling

Jul 7, 2016 | Reuters

The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State…


Myanmar: Farmers Fight to Mortgage Their Farmland

Jul 7, 2016 | Htin Linn Aung, Myanmar Times

Farmers and agricultural industry bodies are demanding that farmland is accepted as collateral for bank loans, but implementing such a system is fraught with problems.…


Iraq/United Kingdom/United States: US and Britain Wrangled over Iraq's Oil in Aftermath of War, Chilcot Shows

Jul 7, 2016 | Terry Macalister, Guardian

The US and British governments fought bitterly over control of Iraq’s oil following the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Chilcot papers show. Tony Blair seemed…


Iraq/Islamic State: Satellite Photos Show Islamic State Installing Hundreds of Makeshift Oil Refineries to Offset Losses from Airstrikes

Jul 7, 2016 | Joby Warrick, Washington Post

With its refineries mostly destroyed and its tanker fleet under constant attack, the Islamic State is increasingly turning to low-tech alternatives for processing oil, a…


Climate, Conflict, and Commodities: The Calculus Of Peace on a Changing Planet

Jul 7, 2016 | Steve Zwick, Ecosystem Marketplace

More than half of all peace agreements fail within five years, often because they ignore the role of natural resources in driving conflict. Carbon finance…


Myanmar: Township Tells Farmers Not to Protest over Land

Jul 6, 2016 | Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Times

A group of farmers in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu township are hoping for negotiations with the Southeast Asia Gas Pipeline (SEAGP) company, after being told by…


Iraq: Iraq Inquiry Shows Oil Was a Consideration for U.K. before War

Jul 6, 2016 | Javier Blas, Bloomberg

The U.K. government held talks with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc to ensure British energy companies were "well-placed to pick up contracts in…


Afghanistan: Rare Bactrian Deer Survives Years of Turmoil in Afghanistan

Jul 6, 2016 | Janet Lathrop, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Forty years of unrest in Afghanistan left wildlife ecologists uncertain whether one of the region’s rare sub-species of red deer, the Bactrian deer (Cervus elaphus…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan Complain about Land Seizure

Jul 6, 2016 | Omar al-Jaffal, Al-Monitor

Christian citizens in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq issued complaints in court June 15 that Kurdish residents are attacking and seizing their villages in the…


Myanmar: Government to Ban Timber Harvest in Pegu Yoma Mountain Range

Jul 5, 2016 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

In the Pegu Range, home to some of Burma’s major forests, the harvest of timber will undergo a 10-year hiatus starting in the 2017-2018 fiscal…


Myanmar: Myanmar's Mandalay to Implement 7-year Water Treatment Plan

Jul 4, 2016 | Xinhua

Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay will implement a waste water treatment plan which will start this fiscal year and take seven years to complete,…


Cambodia/Myanmar/South China Sea: Cambodia, Myanmar Back Negotiations over South China Sea by All Parties Concerned

Jul 4, 2016 | Xinhua

Cambodia and Myanmar fully supported all parties concerned to negotiate with each other peacefully to resolve their disputes over South China Sea, Cambodian Prime Minister…


Myanmar: Myanmar Turns to Timber Exports to Save Forests

Jul 4, 2016 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

Long a timber-producing and exporting country, Myanmar will start importing wood to protect its forests while allowing local timber companies to continue operating, the government…


Africa: Food Income Does Not Link Climate Change and Armed Conflict

Jul 4, 2016 | Environmental Research Web

Fluctuations in income from food production in sub-Saharan Africa over the last half-century have had only a small, non-significant effect on the risk of conflict.…


Myanmar: Flood Destroys Three Unfinished Dams in Kalay

Jul 4, 2016 | Eleven Myanmar

Three dams under construction in Kalay, Sagaing Divsion, were destroyed yesterday morning when the Nayrisara River rose to about 30ft, witnesses said. Reports said motorbikes,…


Myanmar: Jade Sales Drop Significantly at Govt Emporium

Jul 4, 2016 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

Sales of raw jade at the government-run biannual Gems Emporium in Naypyidaw have been markedly lower than in previous years. Organizers have pointed to slowing…


Afghanistan: Illegal Mining for Chinese Market Fuels Taliban in Afghanistan

Jul 4, 2016 | Stephen Carter, ChinaDialogue

For 6,500 years Afghanistan has been famous for the brilliant blue lapis lazuli, coveted by everybody from the Egyptian pharaohs to the common jewellers of…


Liberia: Justice, FDA Sign MOU to Strengthen Forestry Compliance

Jul 3, 2016 | Alaskai Moore Johnson, Daily Observer

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure cooperation in their partnership to enhance forestry compliance and enforcement has been signed by the Ministry of Justice…


Myanmar: Government Committee to Settle All Land Grab Cases in Six Months

Jul 1, 2016 | Htet Naing Zaw, The Irrawaddy

The Central Committee on Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands will settle all land grabbing cases in Burma within “six months,” said Naypyidaw Council Chairman Myo…