International
Myanmar: Kyaukphyu Farmers Propose Compensation Rates for Land Lost to SEZ
Jun 19, 2017
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Moe Myint, Irrawaddy
Farmers from four village tracts in southern Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township have demanded that the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) committee compensate seized paddy field…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Abadi: Holding Independence Referendum in Kurdistan Region is ‘Illegal’
Jun 18, 2017
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NRT
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said holding an independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region is “illegal” and that such a referendum requires a specified law…
South Sudan: South Sudan's Displaced See Little Chance of Peace
Jun 18, 2017
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David Lewis, Reuters
When South Sudan's civil war erupted in 2013, Nyayath Uluak was caught in crossfire in the northern town of Malakal and a bullet tore her…
Myanmar: Chin Oppose Ecotourism project
Jun 18, 2017
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Thet Htain Win, Eleven
Residents of Kanpatlat in Chin State are signing a petition to object to the Mone River Company, which is applying to take 1,700 acres from residents for an ecotourism project.…
Iran/Turkey: Ebtekar Calls for Water Diplomacy with Turkey
Jun 18, 2017
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Financial Tribune
Massoumeh Ebtekar, the head of the Department of Environment, has called on the Foreign Ministry to help convince Turkey to abandon its obsession with dam…
Afghanistan/Iran: Iran, Afghanistan Start Talks in Five Strategic Fields
Jun 17, 2017
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Mehdi Sepahvand, Trend
A large delegation of Afghan officials is visiting Tehran today to start a previously arranged series of talks in five strategic fields, Mehr news agency…
Colombia: Why Colombia’s Economic Growth Slowed in 1Q17
Jun 16, 2017
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Mary Sadler, Market Realist
The third-largest economy in Latin America (ILF), Colombia (GXG) is growing at a slower pace in 2017 amid its external and domestic shocks. The Colombian…
Myanmar: MTE to Resume Timber Extraction from Taninthayi Mountains
Jun 16, 2017
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Zaw Moe Oo, Eleven
Myanma Timber Enterprise will resume its activities to extract 17,000 tonnes of timber from Taninthayi mountain range. The timber will be taken from a protected…
Myanmar: Deadly Dengue Fever on the Rise
Jun 16, 2017
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May Thet Hnin, Global New Light of Myanmar
The number of cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) has dramatically increased over the last five months due to climate change, increased breeding rates of…
South Sudan: South Sudan Ministry of Petroleum Launches Open Tender for Petroleum Audit
Jun 16, 2017
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Globe Newswire
South Sudan’s government will commission an audit of national oil production and petroleum industry activities, the Ministry of Petroleum announced today. The Ministry invites companies…
Food Security: UN Agencies Appeal for Support to Stop Acute Food Crises Driven by Conflict and Drought
Jun 15, 2017
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Stefan Jungcurt, International Institute for Sustainable Development
UN agencies have released updated reporting on acute and imminent famine and set forth additional measures addressing food security and hunger in countries facing crises…
Liberia: MOA, Partners Begin Agriculture Land Use and Suitability Mapping
Jun 15, 2017
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Judoemue Kollie, Liberian Observer
Liberia is endowed with natural resources and is home to two-thirds of West Africa’s remaining rainforest. However, due to the lack of state-of-the art technology…
Iraq/Kurdistan: UN Won’t Play Any Role in Iraqi Kurds’ Independence Vote
Jun 15, 2017
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Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press
The United Nations said it will not be “engaged in any way or form” in the process surrounding the independence referendum in Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous…
South Sudan: South Sudan to Regulate Gold Production amid Illegal Siphoning
Jun 15, 2017
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Denis Elamu, Xinhua
South Sudan seeks to regulate the hitherto chaotic gold production from illegal miners after having signed new exploration agreements with two foreign companies to boost…
Myanmar: Irrawaddy Farmers Demand Return of Confiscated Land
Jun 14, 2017
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Salai Thant Zin, Irrawaddy
Farmers in Irrawaddy Division’s Myaungmya Township demanded the divisional government return more than 200 acres of land confiscated, and subsequently abandoned, by Myanmar’s military to…
Myanmar: Q-and-A on Seized Land ‘Irritates’ Hluttaw Speaker
Jun 14, 2017
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Myanmar Times
Questions and answers pertaining to confiscated land are irritating, Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker U Win Myint told the Hluttaw session yesterday. His remarks came when the…
Liberia: 23 Sent to Court in Maryland
Jun 14, 2017
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New Dawn
Police in Maryland County have arrested and forwarded to the Harper Magisterial court 23 suspects in connection with a recent violence land dispute in the…
Afghanistan: Afghan Wetlands Become UN-Protected Bird Sanctuary
Jun 13, 2017
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Sky News
Hundreds of migratory bird species that flock to an Afghan marsh on the outskirts of war-torn Kabul are to receive UN protection. Once a royal…
Myanmar: Land Compensation Issue Remains Unresolved
Jun 13, 2017
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Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times
Although a verbal promise had been made for compensation to be paid for lands which were seized from a subsidiary of a Chinese firm Wanbao…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Russia: Iraqi Kurdistan-Russia Oil Deal Could Have Major Implications for Region
Jun 12, 2017
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Al-Monitor, Mahmut Bozarslan
Iraq's central government for years has opposed the sale of Iraqi oil by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. The KRG’s biggest oil…
Myanmar: Workers Abandon Kachin Mines Due to Military Threat
Jun 12, 2017
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Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma
Hundreds of workers and their families have abandoned the gold and amber mines in Tanai, northern Kachin State, following threats from the Burmese military, which…
Iraq: Iraq Oil Ministry Companies Must Become Profitable - Minister
Jun 12, 2017
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Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
Iraq's Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi says oil ministry companies must work on becoming profitable by the end of 2017. Luaibi encourages oil ministry companies to…
Ethiopia/South Sudan: Ethiopia, South Sudan to Develop Joint Border Infrastructure Development Projects
Jun 12, 2017
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Xinhua
Ethiopia and the world's newest nation South Sudan are to develop joint infrastructure development projects that would help create regional economic interconnection. The statement was…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Christians Complain about Land-Grabbing by Kurds – USCIRF Report
Jun 11, 2017
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Lorraine Caballero, Christian Daily
Iraqi Christians who have fled to Kurdistan to escape the atrocities of the Islamic State in their hometowns have complained that ethnic Kurds are seizing…
Colombia: Colombia is Fighting Cocaine by Making Coca Farmers Choose “Poverty or Prison”
Jun 10, 2017
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Christopher Crosby, Vice
Under a canopy hiding his laboratorio from patrolling military aircraft, Ricardo shreds green coca leaves until they carpet the jungle floor like confetti. It’s an initial step in a…
South Sudan: South Sudan Seeks More Investment in Oil Sector
Jun 10, 2017
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Xinhua
South Sudan has invited more oil companies to invest in exploration, production and distribution in order to double the country's daily output, Petroleum Minister Ezekiel…
Myanmar: State Agencies Face Legal Dispute over Pak Beng Dam
Jun 9, 2017
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Pratch Rujivanarom, Eleven
Citizens from eight Thai provinces along the Mekong River are suing state agencies for ill planning the Pak Beng hydropower dam. Various provinces are suing…
Colombia: As Colombia's FARC Disarms, Rebels Enlisted to Fight Deforestation
Jun 9, 2017
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Anastasia Moloney, Reuters
Seen from the air, muddy rivers snake through rolling forested hills stretching to the horizon in Colombia's southern province of Caqueta that for decades were…
Conflict Minerals: Financial CHOICE Act Passes House — Would Repeal SEC Conflict Minerals Rule
Jun 9, 2017
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National Law Review
On June 8, 2017, the US House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act by a vote of 233 to 186. The bill was sponsored…
Conflict Minerals: US Could Fuel War in Africa by Dropping Conflict Minerals Rule Argue Senators, Rights Groups
Jun 8, 2017
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Conor Gaffey, Newsweek
The United States could fuel widespread violence and corruption in central Africa if it drops a rule requiring American companies to account for their use…