International
Afghanistan: Poor Kabul-Islamabad Ties Affect Afghan Fruit Exports
Jan 2, 2017
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Agence France-Presse
Frosty relations between Kabul and Islamabad have put a brake on Afghanistan’s ambitious plans to boost fruit exports, according to analysts. Pomegranates and grapes have…
Afghanistan: Afghans Struggle to Supplant Poppies with Fruit Crops
Jan 1, 2017
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Agence France-Presse
Frosty relations between Kabul and Islamabad have put a brake on Afghanistan's ambitious plans to boost fruit exports, seen as vital to providing farmers an…
Vietnam: Reliving Agent Orange: What If Casualties Don’t End on the Battlefield, but Extend to Future Generations?
Dec 31, 2016
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Mike Hixenbaugh, Virginian-Pilot and Charles Ornstein, ProPublica
There are many ways to measure the cost of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War: in bombs (7 million tons), in dollars ($760 billion in…
Afghanistan: Farmers without Markets: Afghanistan's Struggle toward an Agricultural Economy
Dec 30, 2016
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Mohammad Abed Shirzai, Diplomat
Afghan farmers struggle to gain access to regional markets as insecurity, poor market conditions, lack of technical support from the government, farmers’ displacement, and cheap…
Iraq/Kurdistan: International Oil Companies Pull out of Kurdistan
Dec 30, 2016
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Dilshad Abdullah, Al-Monitor
Exxon Mobil has pulled out of three of the six exploration blocks it operated in the Kurdistan Region. The American oil giant withdrew from Betwata,…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish MP Demands Investigations on Selling Oilfields
Dec 30, 2016
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Rebuilding Iraq
Kurdish Union Party MP Shwan Dawoodi called for opening an "expanded investigation" on Wikileaks reports on selling Kurdish oilfields to Turkey. Wikileaks published secret information…
Colombia: About 40% of Colombia’s Land is Degraded
Dec 29, 2016
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María Andrea Márquez, LatinAmerican Post
According to the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development 40% of the country’s land suffers some king of degradation. The factors affecting the land…
Colombia: Rebels and Soldiers Who Don’t Qualify for Colombia’s Amnesty Could Pay Their Debt to Society by Clearing Land Mines
Dec 29, 2016
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Gideon Lichfield, Quartz
Colombia’s congress today passed an amnesty law for FARC rebels and Colombian soldiers who committed crimes during the country’s half-century-long civil war. It’s the first,…
Conflict Minerals: Massachusetts Considers Reviewing Purchasing Policies Related to Congo 'Conflict Minerals'
Dec 29, 2016
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Shira Shoenberg, MassLive
A bill sitting on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk would require the administration to review the state's procurement policies and issue a report on policies related…
Iraq/Kuwait: Kuwait Agrees Long-Delayed Iraq Gas Import Deal
Dec 29, 2016
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Anthony McAuley, The National
Kuwait has agreed to start a long-delayed gas import deal with Iraq, the two countries announced during a visit of Iraq’s oil minister that was…
Egypt/Ethiopia: Ethiopia Says Dialogue with Egypt the Only Way to Resolve Conflict over Nile Dam
Dec 26, 2016
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Middle East Monitor
Ethiopia’s foreign minister said on Sunday that dialogue is the only way to resolve any problem that may arise with Egypt over the Renaissance Dam…
Myanmar: Court Verdicts Show Suu Kyi's Uphill Battle on Myanmar Land Disputes
Dec 23, 2016
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Wa Lone and Simon Lewis, Reuters
The court in Taunggyi on Thursday sentenced 72 farmers to a month in prison each and fined others, making a quick solution unlikely in the…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil Wells Set on Fire by ISIS Are Still Burning Four Months after the Terror Group Torched Them... and the Soot has Turned Mosul’s Sheep Black
Dec 23, 2016
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Gareth Davies, Daily Mail
ISIS set fire to oil wells before the Qayyarah area was recaptured by Iraqi forces in August, and these have burned for months, turning sheep…
Conflict Minerals: State Department Signals Interest in How Tech Companies Address Abuses in Cobalt Supply Chain
Dec 23, 2016
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Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post
The U.S. government is taking an increased interest in how American technology companies plan to address human rights abuses in Congo’s cobalt mines, according to a…
India/Pakistan: Are India and Pakistan Set for Water Wars?
Dec 22, 2016
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Navin Singh Khadka, BBC
India is stepping up efforts to maximise its water use from the western rivers of the Indus basin, senior officials have told the BBC. Experts…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Kirkuk Province Ready to Cut Oil Output amid OPEC Deal
Dec 22, 2016
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Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg
Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk province, under the protection of the nation’s Kurds since 2014, said it’s willing to reduce crude production if required to meet the…
Myanmar: Gov’t Continues to Pay Land Compensation for Letpadaungtaung Project
Dec 22, 2016
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Soe Min Htike, Eleven
The government will pay compensation for land grabbing at the Letpadauntaung project and will also persuade recipients to accept compensation, says Ohn Win, Union Minister…
Afghanistan: Saffron Cultivation Hits Record High in Afghanistan
Dec 22, 2016
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TOLO News
The increase in saffron production is a result of continued technical, financial and training support provided by MAIL to Afghan farmers, according to the Minister…
Iraq: Iraq Gets $1.5 bln Loan to Cope with Low Oil Price, ISIS
Dec 21, 2016
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Reuters
The World Bank has approved a new loan of $1.485 billion to help Iraq lessen the impact of low oil prices on its economy and…
Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Reach Deal on Oil Financial Arrangements
Dec 21, 2016
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South Sudan News Agency
Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to extend oil financial arrangements after days of tough negotiations. The new agreement is extended for three years and…
Myanmar: New Government ‘Powerless’ to Overhaul Rampant Land Grabbing in Northern Myanmar
Dec 19, 2016
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Jack Board, Channel News Asia
In rural northern Myanmar, land is everything. Yet in Kachin, there is little balance between the meagre and the mighty. Over decades of civil conflict…
Liberia: First Forest Atlas for Liberia Launched
Dec 19, 2016
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J. Burgess Carter, Daily Observer
The international resource organization, World Resource Institute and the Forestry Development Authority recently launched the first Forest Atlas for Liberia to promote sustainable forest management…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Women Farmers Demonstrate Agriculture Can Recover after War
Dec 19, 2016
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Sarina Locke, ABC News
An aid project in Afghanistan helps enterprising women to multiply grain seeds for cropping, share vegetable seeds and breed better goats. So far the work…
Myanmar: Murder in Myanmar
Dec 19, 2016
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Beth Walker, Third Pole
A Burmese journalist was found dead on December 13 while investigating illegal logging and wood smuggling near Monywa, in the Sagaing region of Northwest Myanmar,…
India/Pakistan: No End in Sight in Water Row between India and Pakistan
Dec 18, 2016
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Aamir Latif, Anadolu Agency
A simmering water dispute between India and Pakistan seems to be turning towards another boiling point as both sides continue to stick to their guns…
DRC: As President Joseph Kabila Digs in, Tensions Rise in Congo
Dec 17, 2016
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Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times
Recent troves of documents shared with The New York Times — whose authenticity has been verified by current and former Congolese officials — reveal a…
Afghanistan: China Gets an All-Clear from the Taliban to Mine for Copper in Afghanistan
Dec 16, 2016
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Mariam Amini, CNBC
The Taliban say they're giving China the green light to restart a $3 billion mining project, but Afghanistan's legal government says the militant group is…
China/South China Sea: China Seizes U.S. Underwater Drone in South China Sea
Dec 16, 2016
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Phil Stewart, CNBC
A Chinese warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by a U.S. oceanographic vessel in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest and…
Myanmar: When Selling is More Lucrative Than Protecting: Myanma Timber Enterprise and the Deforestation Crisis
Dec 16, 2016
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Samuel Schlaefli, Myanmar Times
For years, Myanmar’s state-owned timber giant has been subject to accusations of corruption and shadowy closed-door dealings. Environmental advocacy groups have long blamed Myanma Timber…
Afghanistan: Taliban Says Ok for China to Develop Huge Afghan Copper Mine
Dec 16, 2016
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Andrew Topf, Mining.com
A promise by the Taliban to safeguard the world's second largest untapped copper deposit is being downplayed by the sitting government of Afghanistan. In a statement…