News
Afghanistan: Opium Bounces Back, Enriching Taliban and Afghan Officials
Mar 4, 2016
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Hanne Couderé, IRIN
Poppy season is in full swing in the western province of Helmand, which last year yielded almost half of Afghanistan’s entire opium harvest, according to…
Myanmar: Jade Traders Call for Open Market as Sales Reach New Lows
Mar 4, 2016
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Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
Plummeting demand from China has spurred jade traders to demand the right to sell internationally. Traders say the economic slowdown in Myanmar’s giant neighbour, and…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Taliban War: Opium Fuels Conflict as Farmers Pray for a Prosperous Harvest
Mar 4, 2016
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Michael Kaplin, International Business Times
Despite billions of dollars in U.S. investment to eradicate opium cultivation, Afghanistan produces the bulk of the world’s opiate supply, and much of that money…
Iraq: Iraq to Pay $2 bln in Arrears to Foreign Companies-Deputy Oil Minister
Mar 4, 2016
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Aref Mohammed, Reuters
Iraq will pay foreign oil companies about $2 billion in remaining arrears for 2015 this April and expects to reach an agreement over contracts by…
South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Production Pollution Threatens Thousands: Rights Group
Mar 4, 2016
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Agence France-Presse
Dangerous heavy metals used in oil production in war-torn South Sudan have leaked into drinking water sources used by 180,000 people with life-threatening health risks,…
A Healthy Environment Must be a Human Right – Especially in Armed Conflict
Mar 3, 2016
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Doug Weir
The question of whether a healthy environment is a human right has been occupying the minds of legal experts and governments since the 1980s. In…
The Drought that Preceded Syria's Civil War Was Likely the Worst in 900 Years
Mar 3, 2016
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Elaisha Stokes
Syria's civil war has left 250,000 people dead, according to the latest UN count, and millions more are either displaced within the country's borders or…
Kurdistan/Iraq: Kurds Tighten Grip on North Iraq Oil Fields with Kirkuk Deal
Mar 3, 2016
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Khalid Al Ansary and Bruce Stanley, Bloomberg
Iraq’s self-governing Kurds are cementing control over oil produced in the north of the country by agreeing to sell crude pumped in the contested province…
Sri Lanka: Little Hope for Displaced Sri Lankans to Have Land Returned
Mar 3, 2016
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Niranjani Roland and Asanka Fernando, Union of Catholic Asian News
Land grabbing went into overdrive after Sri Lanka's 25-year-long civil war ended in 2009. Following the conflict, large tracts of land inhabited by Tamil communities…
Egypt/Ethiopia: Water Wars Intensify Between Egypt, Ethiopia
Mar 3, 2016
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Walaa Hussein, Al-Monitor
Egyptians are worried about uncertainties surrounding Ethiopia's schedule for storing Nile water behind the walls of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The latest satellite photos show Ethiopia is preparing…
South Sudan: Group: Wildlife Poaching on the Rise in South Sudan
Mar 3, 2016
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Rodney Muhumuza and Charlton Doki, Associated Press
South Sudan's wildlife and other natural resources are being threatened by an alarming expansion of illegal exploitation and trafficking, a conservation group said Thursday. The…
Climate and Conflict: El Niño’s Ability to Magnify Tensions Between Companies and Communities
Mar 2, 2016
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Josh Fisher
The Pacific island of Papua New Guinea has a long history of conflict and grievances among local communities and extractive industries like mining and oil…
South China Sea Dispute
Mar 2, 2016
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Florencio Fianza
One of the most important issues that President Aquino is leaving to the next President is the problem in the South China Sea. Contrary to…
A Mysterious Pipeline Closure Is Bankrupting Iraqi Kurds
Mar 2, 2016
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Keith Johnson
The export pipeline connecting Kurdish oil fields to Turkey has been offline for two weeks, costing Erbil at least $200 million.
Iraqi Kurds’ dreams of energy-financed…
Is the Illegal Trade in Congolese Minerals Financing Terror?
Mar 2, 2016
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Sebastian Gatimu
Many resource-rich states across the globe have used revenues from mining to finance their development. In Africa, however, a lack of sufficiently robust or effectively…
El Niño, Peace and the Green
Mar 2, 2016
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Santiago Villaveces Izquierdo
El abrasante niño en apogeo, los campos secos y los cerros bogotanos ya ardidos son muestras de la necesidad de una estrategia solida de crecimiento…
Climate Change: Bin Laden Called for Americans to Rise up over Climate Change
Mar 2, 2016
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Jonathan Landay, Reuters
Osama bin Laden wrote a letter calling on the American people to help President Barack Obama fight "catastrophic" climate change and "save humanity", in the…
India's Water Wars
Mar 1, 2016
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Aman Sethi
NEW DELHI — Army trucks rumbled along dusty village roads, soldiers opened fire, crowds panicked and eventually the Indian Army took control of Munak canal,…
Myanmar/Thailand: For Thai Buyers, Uncut Myanmar Gems Lose Their Shine
Mar 1, 2016
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Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
Thailand's demand for uncut Myanmar gems has fallen as jewellers increasingly source from other countries across the globe, experts said last week at a major…
Kono Bleeds in Silence (Part I)
Feb 29, 2016
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Felix D. Fofoh
Part I of this article in the previous edition looked at the discovery of diamonds in Kono District, the colonial control of the minerals and…
Iraq: Iraq's Mosul Dam Faces 'Risk of Catastrophic Failure,' U.S. says
Feb 29, 2016
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Dana Ford, CNN
Iraq's Mosul Dam is facing a "serious and unprecedented risk of catastrophic failure with little warning," the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned on Sunday. At…
Afgahnistan: Saffron Production in Afghanistan to Exceed over 4,000 kg This Year
Feb 29, 2016
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Khaama Press
The production of saffron in Afghanistan is expected to surpass 4,000 kg this year with the officials expressing optimisms that the production boost could help…
Liberia: Gunfire Near Monrovia
Feb 29, 2016
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The New Dawn Liberia
A shootout over a land dispute on the Bright Farm, located on the outskirt of Monrovia left one person critically injured over the weekend as…
Iraq: Iraq Second Behind US in Global Oil Supply in 2015
Feb 29, 2016
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Phil Allan, Energy Voice
Iraq was the second-leading contributor to the growth in global oil supply in 2015, behind only the United States. Crude oil production in Iraq, including…
Angola: Angola Hopes to Turn Steel into Gold as Oil Hammers Economy
Feb 28, 2016
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Dawn Kissi, CNBC
Angola is about to provide a test case of whether diversification can help boost an economy that relies heavily on oil production The brutal global…
The Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE) Expert System
Feb 27, 2016
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American University
How do we understand conflict and environment case studies? Often, there is an informal process of searching similar cases for points of comparison and contrast.…
Sri Lanka: Project Coordinator
Feb 27, 2016
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UNDP
The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority under the Ministry of Power and Energy in collaboration with UNDP will implement the ‘Appropriate Mitigation Actions in the…
Sierra Leone: National Consultant to Contribute to the Development of a GEF LDCF Project on Climate Change Adaptation and Coastal Zone Management in Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone Nationalities Only)
Feb 27, 2016
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UNDP
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) recently approved the Project Identification Form (PIF) that was presented by UNDP on behalf of the Environment Protection Agency on…
Turkey/Kurdistan/Iraq: Turkey Starts Repairs on Iraqi Kurdish Oil Pipeline as Violence Flares
Feb 27, 2016
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Humeyra Pamuk and Seyhmus Cakan, Reuters
Turkey has begun work to repair a pipeline taking crude oil from northern Iraq to the Mediterranean through its restive southeast and aims to restore…
How Bad Will El Niño Be? Worse Than You May Think
Feb 26, 2016
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Prof. Marc Levy
Much of the discussion about the fear that the current El Niño will turn out to be even worse than the devastating 1997-1998 El Niño…