News

Climate Change: Inter-Ethnic Conflict Linked to Climate Change

Jul 25, 2016 | Megan Darby, Climate Home

There is a growing awareness among security analysts that global warming can have a destabilising effect. For example, studies suggest a prolonged drought hit crop yields…

Climate Change: The GOP is Leading an Effort to Block the Military from Planning for Climate Change

Jul 24, 2016 | Adam Wernick, PRI

In June, House Republicans attached an amendment to the defense authorization bill that stopped the Defense Department from spending money to plan for climate change. The…

Myanmar: China Gets the Wrong Answer

Jul 23, 2016 | Strategy Page

There is general agreement that there should be a major effort to expand the 2015 NCA (nationwide ceasefire agreement) to include all rebel groups operating…

Returning to Everyday Life

Jul 23, 2016 | Gregor Maaß and Mario Pilz

The success of Colombia’s peace talks will depend substantially on how the state chooses to address the needs of the 8 million people who were…

Asia: East Asia’s State-Led Search for Energy Security

Jul 23, 2016 | Michael Hart, Diplomat

After two decades of rapid industrialization and unprecedented population growth, the demand for energy in East Asia is soaring. This has resulted in the emergence…

Sorting Through Water Wars Rhetoric

Jul 22, 2016 | Geoffrey Dabelko

The eye catching headlines are familiar.  “Water Wars” are imminent or already underway in the latest drought or dam-building hotspot. Such “wars” often extend to…

Asia: Human Rights Body Calls for ASEAN Land Reforms

Jul 22, 2016 | Ron Corben, Voice of America

An international human rights umbrella says the Southeast Asian region faces the threat of growing conflicts over land between investors and local people unless legal…

Afghanistan: Afghanistan Renews Push for Wheat Crops Amid Ongoing Anti-Poppy Drive

Jul 22, 2016 | Latin American Herald Tribune

In renewed efforts to wean farmers off growing poppies, the Afghan government has over the past decade pushed for agriculturalists to grow wheat, of which…

Climate Change: Kerry: Climate Change as Dangerous as Terrorism

Jul 22, 2016 | Matthew Lee, Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that climate change is as dangerous as, if not more, than the threats posed by the Islamic…

Philppines/South China Sea: Despite Legal Victory in South China Sea, Philippines' Oil Remains in Troubled Waters

Jul 22, 2016 | Enrico Dela Cruz, Reuters

The Philippines, eager to resume development of vital oil and gas reserves off its coast, will likely need to reach an accord with a Chinese…

Myanmar: Golden Promises Turn Sour in Indawgyi

Jul 22, 2016 | RJ Vogt, Myanmar Times

It is home to myriad rare creatures and even, legend says, a dragon. Pilgrims believe that gold in the surrounding hills is one of nine…

China/South China Sea: China's Secret Weapon in the South China Sea: Cyber Attacks

Jul 22, 2016 | Anni Piiparinen, Diplomat

Despite China’s great power aspirations, its cyber warriors threw a fit after losing a legal battle to the Philippines in The Hague. Within hours of…

Food Security: Obama Signs Global Food Security Act to End Hunger

Jul 21, 2016 | Fernanda Crescente, USA TODAY

A bipartisan bill promoting global food security, resilience and nutrition could make hunger history, President Obama said Wednesday during the White House Summit on Global Development. The Global Food…

How a New Source of Water is Helping Reduce Conflict in the Middle East

Jul 20, 2016 | Rowan Jacobsen

Just a few years ago, in the depths of its worst drought in at least 900 years, Israel was running out of water. Now it…

A Decades-Old Idea for the South China Sea Resurfaces: Make a Contested Area a Marine Park, Instead

Jul 20, 2016 | Steve Mollman

One of the sea’s main areas of contention is the Spratly archipelago, an area the size of Tunisia featuring emerged rocks, tiny islands, and hundreds…

EU’s Conflict Minerals Framework a 'Missed Opportunity'

Jul 20, 2016 | Leigh Stringer

Trade body and NGOs criticise plan for excluding end products

Afghanistan: Pistachios, Afghans' Green Gold, Coveted by Taliban

Jul 20, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Afghanistan takes pride in its world-class pistachios, but with looters harvesting the nuts well before maturity fears are growing that the Taliban and local strongmen…

Conflict Minerals: U.S. Companies Providing More Details in Latest Conflict Minerals Filings with SEC, but Supply Chain Transparency Challenges Remain

Jul 20, 2016 | Source Intelligence

More U.S. companies are providing greater details about their efforts to determine if their products contain conflict minerals under federal rules designed to help end…

Afghanistan/Pakistan: Pakistan Worried as Afghanistan Plans to Build Dams on Kabul River

Jul 20, 2016 | Khaama Press

The Pakistani officials are worried amid reports that the Afghan government is planning to build water dams on Kabul River. The country’s Ministry of Water…

Syria/Kurdistan: US-Backed Kurdish Forces Benefiting from Oil in Syria

Jul 20, 2016 | Sirwan Kajjo, Voice of America

When Kurdish-led forces took control of Shaddadi in northeastern Syria in February, they not only pushed back Islamic State militants who had been there for…

South Sudan: CNPC Evacuates Oil Personnel from South Sudan

Jul 19, 2016 | Erwin Cifuentes, OilPrice.com

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) evacuated 191 of its employees in South Sudan amid worries over an escalation in the armed conflict between the…

Liberia: FDA Rubbishes SDI Claims of Planned Forest Destruction

Jul 19, 2016 | Edwin M. Fayia III, Daily Observer

The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) has taken serious exception to claims made by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) in an open letter from Goldman Prize…

Cambodia: Wetlands Threatened by Coastal Land Grabs

Jul 19, 2016 | Phak Seangly, Phnom Penh Post

The Council of Ministers has urged the Ministry of Land Management to crack down on coastal land grabbing in response to a report that found…

This Drone Can Detect and Detonate Land Mines

Jul 19, 2016 | James Vincent, The Verge

MKD's designers claim that this method is up to 20 times faster than traditional de-mining techniques, and up to 200 times cheaper. The team, led…

Hague Ruling Presents Vietnam with Opportunities and Dilemmas

Jul 18, 2016 | Le Hong Hiep

The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling on the Philippines’ case against China is a historic milestone in the evolution of the South China Sea dispute.…

Colombia’s Former Guerrillas Need New Jobs. Why Not in Conservation?

Jul 18, 2016 | Clare Fieseler

The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, declared a ceasefire after 50 years of fighting. Almost 7,000 FARC guerrilla-style…

Illegal Mining in Colombia is a Modern Day Gold Heist

Jul 18, 2016 | Kal Kotecha

It seems like an odd kind of crime, especially considering the sheer scale it’s operating on. Illegal gold mining has become a serious problem in…

Colombia: Coca's Comeback Forces Colombia to Rethink Drug War

Jul 18, 2016 | Joshua Goodman, Associated Press

After six straight years of declining or steady production, the amount of land under coca cultivation in Colombia began rising in 2014 and jumped 42…

Pak-Afghan Hydro Diplomacy

Jul 17, 2016 | Syed Muhammad Abubakar

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have never been great. They have been subjected to various complexities over the past few decades — the issues in…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Detains Anti-China Activists over South China Sea Dispute

Jul 17, 2016 | Deutsche Welle

Vietnam has detained dozens of activists at a rally protesting China's refusal to abide by an international tribunal's ruling. Vietnam and China have been locked…