Environmental Peacebuilding Association

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The Americas: Hagel to Attend Ministers’ Conference on South America Trip

Oct 8, 2014 | Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr., US Department of Defense

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will attend the 11th Conference of the Defense Ministers of the Americas during a six-day, three-country trip to Latin…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Islamic State Battles Kurds Over Border Town To Maintain Oil Trade

Oct 8, 2014 | Claude Salhani, Oil Price

Islamic State militants have been fighting for the past week for control of a key town straddling the Syrian-Turkish border. A victory by IS in…

China/South China Sea: China Unhappy Over India-US Reference to South China Sea

Oct 8, 2014 | Ananth Krishnan, India Today

China on Wednesday warned India and the United States against interfering in the South China Sea dispute. Both countries had during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's…

Iraq: Iraq GDP to Shrink as Violence Rages

Oct 8, 2014 | Gulf News Daily

DUBAI: The economy of Iraq will contract this year due to fighting ravaging the country, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday, slashing its earlier…

Conflict Minerals: Tulane Releases Study on First-Year Conflict Minerals Filings

Oct 8, 2014 | Stephen M. Quinlivan, JD Supra

The Payson Center for International Development of Tulane University Law School released a study analyzing the results of a June 2014 survey of issuers who…

Lawsuit Against U.N. on the Spread of Cholera Epidemic in Haiti Advances

Oct 8, 2014 | Damien Cave, New York Times

A federal judge in New York has agreed to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed against the United Nations by advocates for Haitian victims…

India/Pakistan/Kashmir: Indian and Pakistani Troops Clash Again on Kashmir Line

Oct 8, 2014 | Hari Kumar, New York Times

NEW DELHI — Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy gunfire overnight Tuesday, after days of fighting that has left at least 17 civilians dead and…

Why Military Veterans Are Uniquely Primed for Climate Action

Oct 7, 2014 | Environmental Defense Fund

Most veterans’ climate action advocacy is not motivated only by traditional environmental issues, but also by lives lost during fuel transports amid increasing global conflicts.

My…

Cambodia: Cambodia’s Ruling Elite May Face ICC Probe over Land Grab

Oct 7, 2014 | Luke Hunt, The Diplomat

Lawyers have filed a criminal complaint against Cambodia’s “ruling elite” at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, alleging that crimes against humanity had…

Food Security: Food Policy Report Examines Role of Food Security in Building Resilience to Conflict

Oct 7, 2014 | International Food Policy Research Institute

A new IFPRI 2020 food policy report on “How to Build Resilience to Conflict: The Role of Food Security” is now available. The report, prepared…

Liberia: 'Radical' Threats - Quardu Gboni Citizens Want Concession Revisited

Oct 7, 2014 | Henry Karmo, AllAfrica

Monrovia — A group of Liberians under the banner "Quardu Gboni District Citizen Association" based in Liberia and the Diaspora are strongly opposing a recent…

Liberia: Speaker Tight-Lipped On $25,000 Controversial Check Payment

Oct 7, 2014 | Obediah Johnson, AllAfrica

Monrovia — House Speaker Alex Tyler remains tightlipped on the controversial payment of US$25,000 by the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) as consultancy fees…

Iraq: Islamic State Jihadists Are Using Water as a Weapon in Iraq

Oct 7, 2014 | Erin Cunningham, Washington Post

BAGHDAD — The Islamic State militants who have rampaged across northern Iraq are increasingly using water as a weapon, cutting off supplies to villages that…

IRR Soldier Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Oct 7, 2014 | Kevin Lilley, Army Times

An Individual Ready Reserve sergeant has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in a place where such an honor would seem…

Liberia: Lofans Say LCC Concession Agreement Has Motive Ulterior

Oct 7, 2014 | Sallu K. Swaray, AllAfrica

The Quardu Gboni Citizens Association in Lofa County has petitioned the Legislature against what it refers to as "a bogus" concession agreement between the Liberian…

Iraq/Syria: Turkey Cracks Down on Oil Smuggling with ISIS in Mind

Oct 6, 2014 | Associated Press

HACIPASA, Turkey - Sevda, a 22-year-old waitress in a brown apron, recounts how she made a small fortune running smuggled diesel from a village on…

Water Wars: A New Reality for Business and Governments

Oct 6, 2014 | Oliver Balch, The Guardian

During his reign from 2,450-2,400BC, King of Lagash set about building boundary canals around his territory. The result was a gradual reduction in the water…

Liberia: Oil Companies Monitor Outbreak; Exxon Mobil Delays Liberia Drilling

Oct 6, 2014 | Sarah Scully, Houston Chronicle

Several oil companies say they're continuing normal operations in West African nations battling to contain or prevent Ebola outbreaks, days after Exxon Mobil Corp. said…

Myanmar: ‘Burma Will Become a Responsible Timber-Trading Country’

Oct 5, 2014 | Aye Nai, Democratic Voice of Burma

A workshop on exporting Burmese timber and other forest products to Western countries was held on 30 September at the Myanmar Timber Merchants Association office.…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Protesters Force Gazprom Neft to Quit Halabja Block

Oct 5, 2014 | Osamah Golpy, Rudaw

HOREN, Iraq - Russian oil company Gazprom Neft has been forced to halt operations in the Halabja block following demonstrations by locals demanding all oil…

South Sudan: Malnutrition Rates Still High Despite Food Security Improvements

Oct 4, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

Juba — Tens of thousands of children under the age of five remain at risk of malnutrition-related death in South Sudan, despite temporary improvements in…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Pomegranates, Not Oil, the Star of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Rebirth

Oct 4, 2014 | Hugh Naylor, The National

HALABJA, IRAQ - For Shakhawan Mohammed the future of Iraqi Kurdistan lies not in oil but in pomegranates.Mr Mohammed cultivates a dozen varieties of the…

Myanmar: Millions of Tonnes of Teak and Hardwood Exported

Oct 4, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

The Thein Sein government has permitted the export of 5.7 million tonnes of teak and hardwood over the past four years.The timber was exported with…

The U.S. Needs a Plan to Deal With Mideast Oil-Sharing Conflicts

Oct 3, 2014 | Wall Street Journal

Modern warfare has often involved targeting of fuel-supply lines, so the U.S. military’s recent decision to target the oil-supply chain of Islamic State is not…

Liberia: Hailing the Passage of the Land Law

Oct 3, 2014 | The Inquirer Editorial Board, allAfrica

Yesterday it was reported that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has signed into law the 'Act Against Criminal Conveyance of Land'. The Act was signed on August…

From Liberia to America, We Must Stop Illegal Logging

Oct 3, 2014 | Roll Call

Around the world, illegal logging threatens communities and drives deforestation. Every second, an area of forest the size of a football field disappears due to…

Africa: UN Hunger Report: Despite Positive Trends at Global Level, Food Security Continues to be a Big Concern Across Near East and North Africa Countries

Oct 3, 2014 | Zawya

The number of undernourished in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) has more than doubled since 1990 standing now at about 33 million peoples,…