International
China/South China Sea: In a Chinese Port Town, South China Sea Dispute is Personal
Jul 11, 2016
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Anthony Kuhn, NPR
The atmosphere in Tanmen has become more tense since an international tribunal in the Hague announced that it would release a ruling on July 12…
Africa: The Nile Project: Resolving Conflict into Harmony
Jul 8, 2016
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Deutsche Welle
The Nile flows through 11 African nations and serves as key source of freshwater - but sharing this resource is politically tricky. A unique project…
Iraq: Email to Clinton: U.S. Pressured Iraq to Increase Oil Production “to Pay the Greatest Dividends”
Jul 8, 2016
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Ben Norton, Salon
A 2011 email to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shows how the U.S. pressured Iraq’s new allied government to increase oil production in order “to…
China/South China Sea: Will China Respect International Court’s South China Sea Decision?
Jul 8, 2016
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Michael D. Mosettig, PBS
From Beijing to Washington and all across Asia, eyes will be on an obscure tribunal in the Hague this coming Tuesday. The panel’s words could…
China/United States/South China Sea: China Warns U.S. on Sovereignty ahead of South China Sea Ruling
Jul 7, 2016
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Reuters
The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State…
Myanmar: Farmers Fight to Mortgage Their Farmland
Jul 7, 2016
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Htin Linn Aung, Myanmar Times
Farmers and agricultural industry bodies are demanding that farmland is accepted as collateral for bank loans, but implementing such a system is fraught with problems.…
Iraq/United Kingdom/United States: US and Britain Wrangled over Iraq's Oil in Aftermath of War, Chilcot Shows
Jul 7, 2016
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Terry Macalister, Guardian
The US and British governments fought bitterly over control of Iraq’s oil following the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Chilcot papers show. Tony Blair seemed…
Iraq/Islamic State: Satellite Photos Show Islamic State Installing Hundreds of Makeshift Oil Refineries to Offset Losses from Airstrikes
Jul 7, 2016
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Joby Warrick, Washington Post
With its refineries mostly destroyed and its tanker fleet under constant attack, the Islamic State is increasingly turning to low-tech alternatives for processing oil, a…
Climate, Conflict, and Commodities: The Calculus Of Peace on a Changing Planet
Jul 7, 2016
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Steve Zwick, Ecosystem Marketplace
More than half of all peace agreements fail within five years, often because they ignore the role of natural resources in driving conflict. Carbon finance…
Myanmar: Township Tells Farmers Not to Protest over Land
Jul 6, 2016
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Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Times
A group of farmers in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu township are hoping for negotiations with the Southeast Asia Gas Pipeline (SEAGP) company, after being told by…
Iraq: Iraq Inquiry Shows Oil Was a Consideration for U.K. before War
Jul 6, 2016
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Javier Blas, Bloomberg
The U.K. government held talks with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc to ensure British energy companies were "well-placed to pick up contracts in…
Afghanistan: Rare Bactrian Deer Survives Years of Turmoil in Afghanistan
Jul 6, 2016
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Janet Lathrop, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Forty years of unrest in Afghanistan left wildlife ecologists uncertain whether one of the region’s rare sub-species of red deer, the Bactrian deer (Cervus elaphus…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan Complain about Land Seizure
Jul 6, 2016
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Omar al-Jaffal, Al-Monitor
Christian citizens in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq issued complaints in court June 15 that Kurdish residents are attacking and seizing their villages in the…
Myanmar: Government to Ban Timber Harvest in Pegu Yoma Mountain Range
Jul 5, 2016
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Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy
In the Pegu Range, home to some of Burma’s major forests, the harvest of timber will undergo a 10-year hiatus starting in the 2017-2018 fiscal…
Myanmar: Myanmar's Mandalay to Implement 7-year Water Treatment Plan
Jul 4, 2016
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Xinhua
Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay will implement a waste water treatment plan which will start this fiscal year and take seven years to complete,…
Cambodia/Myanmar/South China Sea: Cambodia, Myanmar Back Negotiations over South China Sea by All Parties Concerned
Jul 4, 2016
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Xinhua
Cambodia and Myanmar fully supported all parties concerned to negotiate with each other peacefully to resolve their disputes over South China Sea, Cambodian Prime Minister…
Myanmar: Myanmar Turns to Timber Exports to Save Forests
Jul 4, 2016
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Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times
Long a timber-producing and exporting country, Myanmar will start importing wood to protect its forests while allowing local timber companies to continue operating, the government…
Africa: Food Income Does Not Link Climate Change and Armed Conflict
Jul 4, 2016
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Environmental Research Web
Fluctuations in income from food production in sub-Saharan Africa over the last half-century have had only a small, non-significant effect on the risk of conflict.…
Myanmar: Flood Destroys Three Unfinished Dams in Kalay
Jul 4, 2016
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Eleven Myanmar
Three dams under construction in Kalay, Sagaing Divsion, were destroyed yesterday morning when the Nayrisara River rose to about 30ft, witnesses said. Reports said motorbikes,…
Myanmar: Jade Sales Drop Significantly at Govt Emporium
Jul 4, 2016
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Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy
Sales of raw jade at the government-run biannual Gems Emporium in Naypyidaw have been markedly lower than in previous years. Organizers have pointed to slowing…
Afghanistan: Illegal Mining for Chinese Market Fuels Taliban in Afghanistan
Jul 4, 2016
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Stephen Carter, ChinaDialogue
For 6,500 years Afghanistan has been famous for the brilliant blue lapis lazuli, coveted by everybody from the Egyptian pharaohs to the common jewellers of…
Liberia: Justice, FDA Sign MOU to Strengthen Forestry Compliance
Jul 3, 2016
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Alaskai Moore Johnson, Daily Observer
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure cooperation in their partnership to enhance forestry compliance and enforcement has been signed by the Ministry of Justice…
Myanmar: Government Committee to Settle All Land Grab Cases in Six Months
Jul 1, 2016
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Htet Naing Zaw, The Irrawaddy
The Central Committee on Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands will settle all land grabbing cases in Burma within “six months,” said Naypyidaw Council Chairman Myo…
Liberia: Ex-NOCAL Official Indicted
Jul 1, 2016
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Winston W. Parley, The New Dawn
An ex-official of the now bankrupt National Oil Company of Liberia or NOCAL, Mr. Isreal Ankinsanya has been indicted for alleged money laundering, after allegedly…
South Sudan: South Sudan President Directs Oil Minister to Speed up Work on Oil Refineries
Jul 1, 2016
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Platts
South Sudan President Salva Kiir has directed oil minister Dak Duop Bichiok to speed up work on oil refineries that were damaged or faced completion…
Colombia: Almost Half of Colombia’s Protected Ecosystems in Danger of Extinction
Jul 1, 2016
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Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports
Almost half of Colombia’s protected ecosystems is in danger of extinction and have been put on a so-called “Ecosystem Red List.” The list was presented…
Thailand: Mosha, Thai Elephant Wounded by Land Mine, Gets New Prosthetic Limb
Jul 1, 2016
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RIchard C. Paddock, New York Times
Mosha was 7 months old when she stepped on a land mine near Thailand’s border with Myanmar and lost a front leg. That was a…
Vietnam/South China Sea: Anti-China Riots in Vietanam Killed at Least 16 Chinese, Injured Hundreds
Jul 1, 2016
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Samuel Biag, Ang Malaya Net
In an anti-China protests leading to riots in Vietnam, more than 20 were reportedly dead sixteen of which were described as Chinese nationals and five…
South Sudan: South Sudan to Amend Mining Act
Jul 1, 2016
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Sudan Tribune
South Sudan government has announced plans to amend the Mining Act to reduce area given to companies and relax preliminary requirements for exploration. The proposal,…
Myanmar: Activists Demand Peace in Shan State before Hydropower Projects Move Ahead
Jun 30, 2016
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Khin Wyne Phyu Phyu, Myanmar Times
As the content and outcome of discussions between State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Thai government on Myanmar dam projects during her…