International
China/Japan: Pacific Rim Deal Could Reduce Chance of Unintended Conflict in Contested Seas
Apr 23, 2014
|
Austin Ramzy and Chris Buckley, The New York Times
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A naval code of conduct approved by more than 20 nations around the Pacific, including China, Japan and the United States, could…
Myanmar: Independent Mon News Agency: Ethnic Karen Communities in Southern Burma Encounter the Impacts of Mining
Apr 22, 2014
|
U.S. Campaign for Burma
Karen people living in Ka Htaung Nee villages, in Mitar sub-township, Tavoy district, located in the Tenasserim Region are experiencing increased air and water pollution…
Myanmar: Farmers Face Fresh Eviction Demands from Tatmadaw
Apr 22, 2014
|
Min Min, Mizzima
A water convolvulus field on the corner of Wai Zayan Tar Road and Gandamar St, Mayangone Township, Yangon was the site of a press conference…
Egypt/Sudan: Sudan Blames Egypt for Blocking International Loans for Ethiopia’s Hydro-Dam
Apr 21, 2014
|
Awramba Times
Egypt is threatening Sudan’s safety by blocking international loans for Ethiopia’s hydro-dam, said Sudan’s top official of Eastern Blue Nile State Hussein Ahmad. According to…
Myanmar: Amid Construction Boom, Burma Starts to Build Disaster Resilience
Apr 21, 2014
|
Amantha Perera, Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Irrawaddy
RANGOON — Sule Pagoda Road in downtown Rangoon is famous for its role in Burma’s turbulent recent history. With its golden pagoda rising at one…
China/Japan: Japan Begins Work on Surveillance Unit near Disputed Islands – Report
Apr 20, 2014
|
GMA Network
TOKYO - Japan broke ground Saturday on a coastal surveillance unit near a string of islands at the center of a bitter territorial dispute with…
India: India’s Worsening Water Crisis
Apr 19, 2014
|
Ram Mashru, The Diplomat
In northern India, groundwater supplies are being depleted faster than natural processes can replenish them. According to The World Bank, India is the largest user…
Haiti: U.N. Struggles to Stem Haiti Cholera Epidemic
Apr 19, 2014
|
Randal C. Archibald and Somini Sengupta, The New York Times
CHAPOTEAU, Haiti — For three years, the United Nations has refused to address whether its peacekeepers brought a deadly strain of cholera to Haiti, insisting…
Ukraine: Ukraine Seeks Renewable-Energy Boost to Counter Russia
Apr 18, 2014
|
Brian Wingfield, Bloomberg
Ukrainian officials say they’ve found a way to protect the nation from Russia: Go green.
Ukraine is seeking U.S. investment in its biomass, wind and solar…
Brazil: Brazil Is the World’s Most Dangerous Country to Be an Environmentalist
Apr 17, 2014
|
Christina Larson, Bloomberg Businessweek
Taking a stand to protect the environment in a developing country can be a matter of life and death. According to a new report by…
Africa: Beyond Greed or Grievance - Understanding Conflict in Resource-Rich States
Apr 17, 2014
|
Christoph Vogel and Joschka Havenith, AllAfrica
Diamonds and rubber in Sierra Leone, oil in Angola and Sudan, tantalum and gold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, copper in Zambia -…
United States: Appeals Court Strikes Down Conflict Minerals Disclosure Rule
Apr 14, 2014
|
Jeremy P. Jacobs
Federal appellate judges today struck down a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that required companies to disclose whether minerals in their products were mined in…
South Sudan: E. Equatoria Governor Says Natural Resources At Risk From Foreign Forces
Apr 14, 2014
|
Sudan Tribune
April 13, 2014 (KAMPALA) – The governor of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state, Louis Lobong Lojore, has urged South Sudanese citizens in the country and…
China: Hagel Spars With Chinese Over Islands and Security
Apr 8, 2014
|
Helene Cooper, The New York Times
BEIJING — The United States and China clashed over Japan on Tuesday as the Chinese defense minister asserted that Beijing had “indisputable sovereignty” over a…
Egypt: Presidential Hopeful Mansour 'Will Declare War on Ethiopia,' Ban Alcohol, Social Media
Apr 8, 2014
|
Ahram Online
Hopeful presidential candidate Mortada Mansour said he will ban Facebook and Twitter if they threaten the nation's internal security and declare war on Ethiopia should…
Myanmar: Myanmar's Tourism Boom Endangers Fragile Ecosystems
Apr 7, 2014
|
John Wendle, National Geographic
The morning sun shoots rays over the tops of the steep hills surrounding Inle Lake that pierce the mist rising from the waters. Egrets and…
Pakistan: Security Forces Press Offensive Against Separatists
Apr 7, 2014
|
Reuters, The New York Times
Pakistani security forces killed 30 separatist militants on Monday in an offensive in Baluchistan, a senior official said, in one of the biggest clashes in…
Ukraine: Crimea Cost Ukraine Over $10 Billion in Lost Natural Resources
Apr 7, 2014
|
Reuters
Ukraine's ecology and natural resources minister estimated on Monday that Kiev had lost natural resources and related assets worth 127 billion hryvnias ($10.8 bln) when…
China/Japan: In a Test of Wills With China, U.S. Sticks Up for Japan
Apr 6, 2014
|
Helene Cooper, The New York Times
TOKYO — On his first trip to China as the secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel is finding himself in the middle of a spat that…
Myanmar: Ploughing Protesters Highlight Land Grab Grievances in Myanmar
Apr 6, 2014
|
Vincent MacIsaac, South China Morning Post
Myanmar's swift economic development has been marked by the rise of a new class of political dissidents: the ploughing protesters.
They are farmers and activists angry…
China/Japan: U.S. Response to Crimea Worries Japan’s Leaders
Apr 5, 2014
|
Helene Cooper and Martin Fackler, The New York Times
TOKYO — When President Bill Clinton signed a 1994 agreement promising to “respect” the territorial integrity of Ukraine if it gave up its nuclear weapons,…
Myanmar: Rare Myanmar Ecosystems Protected Only on Paper
Apr 5, 2014
|
Denis D. Gray, Associated Press
Off a remote, glimmering beach backed by a lush tropical forest, Julia Tedesco skims the crystalline waters with mask and fins, looking for coral and…
Myanmar: Karen State Govt Refuses Villagers’ Resettlement in Rebel Area
Apr 4, 2014
|
Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy
The Karen State government has refused to allow a group of villagers, evicted from their homes by the Burmese military in February, to move to…
Myanmar: NLD Leader Offers to Intervene in Land Ownership Dispute
Apr 4, 2014
|
Su Myat Wai and Kay Zue, Mizzima
National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has offered to help nearly 300 families from Yangon’s Mayangone Township who say they are…
South Sudan: At Quiet Rebel Base, Plotting an Assault on South Sudan’s Oil Fields
Apr 3, 2014
|
Jacey Fortin, The New York Times
NASIR, South Sudan — There are only four bullets in the rifle that Liep Wiyual plans to use against government troops on the front lines…
World: Climate Change Will 'Lead to Battles for Food', says Head of World Bank
Apr 3, 2014
|
Larry Elliott, The Guardian
Battles over water and food will erupt within the next five to 10 years as a result of climate change, the president of the World…
Sierra Leone: Mining spurs Sierra Leone to 20 pct GDP Growth in 2013 - IMF
Apr 3, 2014
|
Umaru Fofana, Reuters
The rapid expansion of Sierra Leone’s nascent iron ore mining industry fuelled economic growth of 20 percent last year, according to IMF data, but prices…
Myanmar: Will Burma’s Timber Ban Curb or Entrench Corruption?
Apr 2, 2014
|
Feliz Solomon, Democratic Voice of Burma
A ban on all raw timber exports from Burma came into effect on Tuesday, in an attempt to rein in one of the country’s highly…
Myanmar: Displaced Villagers in Transit to DKBA Territory Held by Karen State Officials
Apr 2, 2014
|
Naw Noreen, Democratic Voice of Burma
More than 200 villagers displaced from Rangoon’s Hlegu Township in February are stuck in limbo at the border between Karen and Mon states as of Wednesday afternoon.
After…
Myanmar: Meeting About Salween Dams Troubles Shan Communities
Apr 2, 2014
|
Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy
Communities in northern Shan State have grown worried over two large hydropower dams planned on the Salween River and its tributary, after government officials and…