International
Iraq/Kurdistan: Division among Iraq's Shabak Minority Reveals Kurdish-Arab Land Rivalry
Aug 16, 2016
|
Saad Salloum, Al-Monitor
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Aug. 10 the end of the first and second phases of the Mosul liberation operations. Since the third and last phase will…
Iraq/Kurdistan: In Kurdistan, Beekeepers Sweeten Lives as Business Flourishes
Aug 15, 2016
|
Rawa Abdulla, Rudaw
Although the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources does not have specific data about the number of bees, beekeepers and their…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Oil Minister Sees End to Kurd Dispute as War Hurts Output
Aug 15, 2016
|
Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg
Jabbar al-Luaibi, the former head of Iraq’s biggest crude producer who was appointed oil minister on Monday, said that he sees ways to resolve the…
Syria: SDF Burn Properties Records in Manbij
Aug 15, 2016
|
Baladi
Private sources confirmed to Baladi News that Syria’s Democratic Forces (SDF) burned the property records division in the court of Manbij (3rd Story) after capturing…
Still Sick 25 Years after the Gulf War, a Vet Seeks Answers — and the Minneapolis VA May Have Them
Aug 14, 2016
|
Jeremy Olson, Star Tribune
Today, researchers at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center are leading a wave of studies to solve the mystery of Gulf War Illness, a cluster of…
India: Global Warming Making Siachen Riskier for Soldiers
Aug 14, 2016
|
Press Trust of India
Climate change is making the life of the soldiers posted in the world's highest and arduous battlefield - Siachen Glacier - not just tough but…
Cambodia: Villagers Protest Ruling Party Senator’s ‘Land Grabs’
Aug 13, 2016
|
Hul Reaksmey, Voice of America
More than 100 villagers from Kampong Speu province on Friday submitted a petition to the Ministry of Land Management calling on the government to resolve…
Iraq/Kurdistan/Islamic State: Islamic State Oil Commander Dead
Aug 12, 2016
|
Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International
A commander in charge of oil for the Islamic State was killed in operations led by multilateral forces near the Syrian border, the Kurdish government…
Conflict Minerals: Many Companies Still Struggling with Conflict Mineral Reporting
Aug 12, 2016
|
Kaitlyn McAvoy, Spend Matter
Nearly two-thirds of the companies that filed conflict mineral reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this year did not disclose the country of…
Myanmar: New Commission to Decide Fate of Myitsone Dam in Kachin State
Aug 12, 2016
|
Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy
President Htin Kyaw on Friday formed a new commission to evaluate all proposed hydropower projects on the Irrawaddy River prior to their going ahead. The…
Myanmar: Floods Shift to South - Flood Kills Six, Affects More Than 420,000 People Nationwide
Aug 12, 2016
|
Government of Myanmar
Nationwide flooding, which began in mid-July and so far killed six people, has also affected more than 420,000 people in 98,000 households, according to the…
Climate Security: War on Climate Terror (II): Fleeing Disasters, Escaping Drought, Migrating
Aug 11, 2016
|
Baher Kamal, Inter Press Service
“No one can deny the terrible similarities between those running from the threat of guns and those fleeing creeping desertification, water shortages, floods and hurricanes.”…
Myanmar: The Key to Jumpstarting Myanmar’s Economy: Electricity
Aug 11, 2016
|
Peter Loftus, Diplomat
It’s no secret that the National League for Democracy (NLD) faces myriad challenges in improving Myanmar’s socioeconomic situation. In fact, its biggest challenge might be…
Iraq: Iraq, Oil Companies Agree to Restart Investment, Boost Output
Aug 11, 2016
|
Ahmed Rasheed and Aref Mohammed, Reuters
Iraq has reached agreement with BP, Shell and Lukoil to restart stalled investment in oil fields the firms are developing, allowing projects that were halted…
Myanmar: Waters, but Not Worries, Recede in Flooded Mandalay Villages
Aug 10, 2016
|
Phyo Wai Kyaw and Hlaing Kyaw Soe, Myanmar Times
High waters along the Ayeyarwady River in Mandalay Region’s Amarapura and Tada-U townships have begun to recede, but victims of flooding in the area say…
Vietnam/South China Sea: Exclusive: Vietnam Moves New Rocket Launchers into Disputed South China Sea - Sources
Aug 10, 2016
|
Greg Torode, Reuters
Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China's runways and…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Sea Dispute Fallout Stokes Tensions between China and Vietnam
Aug 10, 2016
|
Michael Peel, Financial Times
Tensions are rising between Vietnam and China over an escalating regional sea territory dispute that has sparked allegations of missile deployments by Hanoi and cyber…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Says Northern Oil Well Engulfed in Fire [Video]
Aug 10, 2016
|
Reuters
Officials from the state-run North Oil Company say a well controlled by Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk has exploded.
Myanmar: Floods Caused by Limitless Abuse of Resource Extraction: Deputy Minister
Aug 10, 2016
|
Eleven Myanmar
Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Dr Tun Win said yesterday that the flooding and natural disaster happening in Myanmar today are the consequences…
Colombia: UN Study Charts Extent of Unregulated Gold Mining in Colombia, Links to Organized Crime
Aug 10, 2016
|
UN
An estimated 60 per cent of Colombia’s alluvial gold exploitation – through mining streams or riverbeds, often dredged with heavy machinery – is not established…
Afghanistan: A Start-Up Turns to Saffron to Help Afghanistan Regrow
Aug 10, 2016
|
Aili McConnon, New York Times
Bomb-blasted roads, frequent blackouts, shortages of basic equipment and an untested consumer market are hardly conditions that make for natural entrepreneurial opportunities. But three Army…
Colombia: Colombia Expands Land Restitution to War-Torn South amid Peace Efforts
Aug 9, 2016
|
Anastasia Moloney, Reuters
Colombia is expanding its land restitution program into former no-go areas in the country's war-torn south aiming to return land stolen from farmers by illegal…
Myanmar: Rangers Face Violent Loggers to Save Bago’s Shrinking Forests
Aug 9, 2016
|
Htet Khaung Linn, Myanmar Now
Several forest rangers and policemen were manning a sleepy checkpoint on a dirt road near Myo Kaung Village, in the foothills of the Bago Mountain…
Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi Moves to Clean up Myanmar's Murky Jade Trade
Aug 9, 2016
|
Kate Hodal, Guardian
Myanmar’s new government has announced ground-breaking reforms to its $31bn (£23.7bn) jade industry in a move campaigners claim could signal “a new era of fundamental…
Iran/Kurdistan: KRG Holding Back on Signing Oil Deal with Iran
Aug 8, 2016
|
Rudaw
Three months have passed since the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was expected to ink an oil agreement with Iran, but the KRG has yet to…
China/Japan/East China Sea: Japan Protests over Chinese Radar in Disputed East China Sea drilling rig
Aug 7, 2016
|
Reuters
Japan has filed a protest to Beijing after the discovery that China installed radar equipment in a gas exploration platform close to disputed waters in…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Learns about Korea's Soy Industry
Aug 7, 2016
|
Rachel Lee, Korea Times
Afghanistan government officials were in Korea to learn about the country's soy industry and the development process on August 7-13. Nutrition & Education International (NEI),…
Afghanistan/Iran: Iran, Afghanistan Exchange Views on Water, Security, Border Control
Aug 6, 2016
|
Tehran Times
Talks on a wide range of mutual concerns, particularly water shortage, terrorism, border control, and drug smuggling were the main themes of a session between…
Cambodia: Dozens March Against Sugar Company ‘Land Grabs’
Aug 5, 2016
|
Kann Vicheika, Voice of America
About 70 villagers from Koh Kong province delivered petitions to the government and European Union on Thursday to lodge complaints about alleged land grabbing by…
Afgahnistan/Pakistan: Afghan Elders Demand Feasible Repatriation Plan
Aug 5, 2016
|
The News
Elders and representatives of Afghan refugees in Pakistan on Thursday appealed for extension in their legal documents for stay in Pakistan till proper arrangements in…