International


Nile River: Sudan: Bashir Affirms Support for Ethiopia Dam Project

Apr 30, 2014 | Tesfa-Alem Tekle, AllAfrica

Bahirdar — Sudanese president Omer Hassan al Bashir has pledged that his country will extend the necessary support for Ethiopia's massive hydro-power plant project which…


Myanmar: Villagers in Southern Burma Protest Against Chinese-Backed Oil Refinery

Apr 29, 2014 | Yen Snaing, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — About 500 ethnic Dawei villagers from Tenasserim Division’s Laung Lone Township staged a protest on Tuesday against the construction of a huge oil…


Myanmar: MP Proposes Faster Process for Resolving Land Dispute Cases

Apr 28, 2014 | Hein Ko Soe, Mizzima

MP and member of the Farmland Investigation Commission is calling for changes in handling land disputes which he says will make the process faster and…


Myanmar: Plans for Coal-Fired Power Plant Face Opposition in Mon State

Apr 28, 2014 | Yen Snaing, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Plans to build the first coal-fired power plant in Mon State have come under fire by local residents, who say they worry about…


China/Japan: Japan Says China Ships Entered Disputed Waters

Apr 27, 2014 | Press TV

Japan says two Chinese ships have sailed into disputed waters off the East China Sea, two days after US President Barack Obama declared his support…


World: Official Urges Greater Action To Combat Sexual Violence

Apr 26, 2014 | The Daily Times of Nigeria

UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura has said in spite of unprecedented political momentum to fight rape in war zones.

It says…


China/Japan: Pacific Rim Deal Could Reduce Chance of Unintended Conflict in Contested Seas

Apr 23, 2014 | Austin Ramzy and Chris Buckley, The New York Times

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A naval code of conduct approved by more than 20 nations around the Pacific, including China, Japan and the United States, could…


Myanmar: Independent Mon News Agency: Ethnic Karen Communities in Southern Burma Encounter the Impacts of Mining

Apr 22, 2014 | U.S. Campaign for Burma

Karen people living in Ka Htaung Nee villages, in Mitar sub-township, Tavoy district, located in the Tenasserim Region are experiencing increased air and water pollution…


Myanmar: Farmers Face Fresh Eviction Demands from Tatmadaw

Apr 22, 2014 | Min Min, Mizzima

A water convolvulus field on the corner of Wai Zayan Tar Road and Gandamar St, Mayangone Township, Yangon was the site of a press conference…


Egypt/Sudan: Sudan Blames Egypt for Blocking International Loans for Ethiopia’s Hydro-Dam

Apr 21, 2014 | Awramba Times

Egypt is threatening Sudan’s safety by blocking international loans for Ethiopia’s hydro-dam, said Sudan’s top official of Eastern Blue Nile State Hussein Ahmad. According to…


Myanmar: Amid Construction Boom, Burma Starts to Build Disaster Resilience

Apr 21, 2014 | Amantha Perera, Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Sule Pagoda Road in downtown Rangoon is famous for its role in Burma’s turbulent recent history. With its golden pagoda rising at one…


China/Japan: Japan Begins Work on Surveillance Unit near Disputed Islands – Report

Apr 20, 2014 | GMA Network

TOKYO - Japan broke ground Saturday on a coastal surveillance unit near a string of islands at the center of a bitter territorial dispute with…


India: India’s Worsening Water Crisis

Apr 19, 2014 | Ram Mashru, The Diplomat

In northern India, groundwater supplies are being depleted faster than natural processes can replenish them. According to The World Bank, India is the largest user…


Haiti: U.N. Struggles to Stem Haiti Cholera Epidemic

Apr 19, 2014 | Randal C. Archibald and Somini Sengupta, The New York Times

CHAPOTEAU, Haiti — For three years, the United Nations has refused to address whether its peacekeepers brought a deadly strain of cholera to Haiti, insisting…


Ukraine: Ukraine Seeks Renewable-Energy Boost to Counter Russia

Apr 18, 2014 | Brian Wingfield, Bloomberg

Ukrainian officials say they’ve found a way to protect the nation from Russia: Go green.

Ukraine is seeking U.S. investment in its biomass, wind and solar…


Brazil: Brazil Is the World’s Most Dangerous Country to Be an Environmentalist

Apr 17, 2014 | Christina Larson, Bloomberg Businessweek

Taking a stand to protect the environment in a developing country can be a matter of life and death. According to a new report by…


Africa: Beyond Greed or Grievance - Understanding Conflict in Resource-Rich States

Apr 17, 2014 | Christoph Vogel and Joschka Havenith, AllAfrica

Diamonds and rubber in Sierra Leone, oil in Angola and Sudan, tantalum and gold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, copper in Zambia -…


United States: Appeals Court Strikes Down Conflict Minerals Disclosure Rule

Apr 14, 2014 | Jeremy P. Jacobs

Federal appellate judges today struck down a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that required companies to disclose whether minerals in their products were mined in…


South Sudan: E. Equatoria Governor Says Natural Resources At Risk From Foreign Forces

Apr 14, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

April 13, 2014 (KAMPALA) – The governor of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state, Louis Lobong Lojore, has urged South Sudanese citizens in the country and…


China: Hagel Spars With Chinese Over Islands and Security

Apr 8, 2014 | Helene Cooper, The New York Times

BEIJING — The United States and China clashed over Japan on Tuesday as the Chinese defense minister asserted that Beijing had “indisputable sovereignty” over a…


Egypt: Presidential Hopeful Mansour 'Will Declare War on Ethiopia,' Ban Alcohol, Social Media

Apr 8, 2014 | Ahram Online

Hopeful presidential candidate Mortada Mansour said he will ban Facebook and Twitter if they threaten the nation's internal security and declare war on Ethiopia should…


Myanmar: Myanmar's Tourism Boom Endangers Fragile Ecosystems

Apr 7, 2014 | John Wendle, National Geographic

The morning sun shoots rays over the tops of the steep hills surrounding Inle Lake that pierce the mist rising from the waters. Egrets and…


Pakistan: Security Forces Press Offensive Against Separatists

Apr 7, 2014 | Reuters, The New York Times

Pakistani security forces killed 30 separatist militants on Monday in an offensive in Baluchistan, a senior official said, in one of the biggest clashes in…


Ukraine: Crimea Cost Ukraine Over $10 Billion in Lost Natural Resources

Apr 7, 2014 | Reuters

Ukraine's ecology and natural resources minister estimated on Monday that Kiev had lost natural resources and related assets worth 127 billion hryvnias ($10.8 bln) when…


China/Japan: In a Test of Wills With China, U.S. Sticks Up for Japan

Apr 6, 2014 | Helene Cooper, The New York Times

TOKYO — On his first trip to China as the secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel is finding himself in the middle of a spat that…


Myanmar: Ploughing Protesters Highlight Land Grab Grievances in Myanmar

Apr 6, 2014 | Vincent MacIsaac, South China Morning Post

Myanmar's swift economic development has been marked by the rise of a new class of political dissidents: the ploughing protesters.

They are farmers and activists angry…


China/Japan: U.S. Response to Crimea Worries Japan’s Leaders

Apr 5, 2014 | Helene Cooper and Martin Fackler, The New York Times

TOKYO — When President Bill Clinton signed a 1994 agreement promising to “respect” the territorial integrity of Ukraine if it gave up its nuclear weapons,…


Myanmar: Rare Myanmar Ecosystems Protected Only on Paper

Apr 5, 2014 | Denis D. Gray, Associated Press

Off a remote, glimmering beach backed by a lush tropical forest, Julia Tedesco skims the crystalline waters with mask and fins, looking for coral and…


Myanmar: Karen State Govt Refuses Villagers’ Resettlement in Rebel Area

Apr 4, 2014 | Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy

The Karen State government has refused to allow a group of villagers, evicted from their homes by the Burmese military in February, to move to…


Myanmar: NLD Leader Offers to Intervene in Land Ownership Dispute

Apr 4, 2014 | Su Myat Wai and Kay Zue, Mizzima

National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has offered to help nearly 300 families from Yangon’s Mayangone Township who say they are…