International

Myanmar: $5.7Bn in Timber Smuggled Out of Burma, Illegal Logging Rampant: Report

Mar 26, 2014 | Paul Vrieze and Htet Naing Zaw, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Between 2000 and 2013, Burma’s rich forests were decimated through authorized logging as well as a massive illegal timber trade that saw 22.8…

Myanmar: Burma's Logging Export Ban Aims to Protect Shrinking Forests

Mar 26, 2014 | Gabrielle Paluch, Voice of America

RANGOON — Burma’s more than $6 billion trade in illegal timber has continued despite attempts to limit logging, according to a new report released by…

Myanmar: Loss of Forests Accelerates as Myanmar Opens for Business

Mar 26, 2014 | Amantha Perera, Thomson Reuters Foundation

YANGON, Myanmar (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – It is still home to some of the most pristine forests in Southeast Asia. But forest experts warn that…

Myanmar: Energy giants win Myanmar blocks

Mar 26, 2014 | SAPA-AFP

Yangon - Myanmar named energy giants Chevron, Shell and Total among the winners Wednesday of a landmark auction of offshore oil and gas exploration rights,…

Iraq: ‘Environmental Poisoning’ of Iraq Is Claimed

Mar 26, 2014 | Jada F. Smith, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — An advocacy group representing American military veterans and Iraqi civilians arrived here on Wednesday armed with a message for the United States government:…

Africa: Insecure Land Tenure Holds Back Post-Conflict African Societies, Say Experts

Mar 26, 2014 | Kayode Ogunbunmi, Thomson Reuters Foundation

WASHINGTON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A lack of clear-cut and secure land rights means people from post-conflict African countries are prevented from getting the most…

Myanmar: Myanmar’s Six Billion Dollar Timber Corruption Black Hole

Mar 25, 2014 | Environmental Investigation Agency

LONDON: New analysis of the Myanmar Government’s forestry and trade data points to a multi-billion dollar illegal logging and exports black hole – indicating widespread…

Myanmar: Myanmar’s Growing—and Dangerous—Jade Trade

Mar 25, 2014 | Christina Larson, Business Week

In the final three quarters of 2013, export earnings from Myanmar’s jade trade reached $920 million—up more than a third from a year earlier—according to…

Israel/Gaza: The Next Round in Gaza

Mar 25, 2014 | International Crisis Group

The ceasefire between Israel and Gaza has eroded during the past several months and recently threatened to come to an abrupt end. The day after…

Moldova: Russian Military Holds Exercises in Breakaway Moldova Region: Agency

Mar 25, 2014 | Vladimir Soldatkin and Steve Gutterman, Reuters

Russia's military staged training exercises on Tuesday in Transdniestria, a breakaway sliver of Moldova that is a focus of tension following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's…

Myanmar: Myanmar Marchers Seek Cancellation of Chinese-backed Dam Project

Mar 24, 2014 | South China Morning Post

Dozens of protesters began a 2,400-kilometre march yesterday to northern Myanmar, calling for the cancellation of a Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam project over environmental concerns.

The US$3.6…

Crimea: Kabul Recognizes Crimean Annexation; India Arrests Alleged Terrorists; Pakistani Peace Committees to Meet This Week

Mar 24, 2014 | Bailey Cahall and Ana Swanson, Foreign Policy

In a snub to its Western backers, Afghanistan joined Syria and Venezuela this weekend to become one of the few countries to publicly support Russia's…

Africa: U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa: Oil and Commandoes

Mar 24, 2014 | Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov.com

When the U.S. military raided a renegade Libyan tanker on March 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, the mission was successful by all accounts. About 30…

Ukraine: Ukraine and the Crisis of International Law

Mar 24, 2014 | Jeffrey D. Sachs, Today's Zaman

Russia's actions in Ukraine constitute a serious and dangerous violation of international law.In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear weapons it had inherited…

Water Management In Post Conflict Countries Critical To Peacebuilding And Economic Recovery New Study

Mar 21, 2014 | UNEP

According to the study, some 1.8 billion people are expected to face absolute water scarcity in the next decade.

Myanmar: A Referendum in Rakhine State?

Mar 20, 2014 | Zeeshan Khan, Dhaka Tribune

A full 42% of Myanmar's Rakhine State, bordering Bangladesh, is ethnically South Asian and speaks a variant of Bangla. The districts of Sittwe and Muangdaw…

China’s MCC Turns Back on US $3 billion Mes Aynak Afghanistan Mine Deal

Mar 20, 2014 | Lynne O'Donnell

Chinese state-owned mining giant MCC has been renegotiating a huge copper contract with the Afghan government to reduce its exposure to the war-torn country in…

Ukraine: Putin Reclaims Crimea for Russia and Bitterly Denounces the West

Mar 18, 2014 | Steven Lee Myers and Ellen Barry, The New York TImes

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin reclaimed Crimea as a part of Russia on Tuesday, reversing what he described as a historic injustice inflicted by…

Ukraine: If History Is a Guide, Crimeans’ Celebration May Be Short-Lived

Mar 18, 2014 | Olesya Vartanyan, The New York Times

ATOTSI, Georgia — As Crimeans danced in the streets this week, giddy at the prospect of being gathered into Russia, few were watching as closely…

Libya: SEAL Team Raids a Tanker and Thwarts a Militia’s Bid to Sell Libyan Oil

Mar 17, 2014 | David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times

CAIRO — United States Navy commandos seized a renegade tanker carrying illicit Libyan oil in the Mediterranean southeast of Cyprus on Monday, thwarting a breakaway…

Ukraine: Putin Recognizes Crimea Secession, Defying the West

Mar 17, 2014 | Steven Lee Myers and Peter Baker, The New York Times

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia signed a decree on Monday formally recognizing Crimea as a “sovereign and independent state,” laying the groundwork…

Myanmar: Act Immediately to Protect Displaced People's Rights

Mar 17, 2014 | Michel Gabaudan and Melanie Teff, Refugees International

As Myanmar continues its renewed engagement with the international community, it must begin to address the serious violations of the rights of ethnic minorities that…

Philippines: Manila Water Inks Yangon Project

Mar 17, 2014 | World News Network

Manila Water will develop the project with partner Mitsubishi Corp of Japan, part of its plan to bolster its business outside the country.

YCDC is an…

Ukraine: Crimea Votes to Secede From Ukraine as Russian Troops Keep Watch

Mar 16, 2014 | David M. Herszenhornd, The New York Times

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — With thousands of heavily armed Russian troops occupying this perennially embattled peninsula, an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted on Sunday to secede…

Nigeria: Scores Killed in Raids on Central Nigeria Villages

Mar 16, 2014 | Reuters, The New York Times

KADUNA, Nigeria — Gunmen shot, hacked and burned to death at least 100 people and razed homes in central Nigeria, a region shaken by disputes…

Ukraine: For Crimea, Secession is Only as Good as Recognition

Mar 15, 2014 | Dan Bilefsky, The New York Times

PARIS — When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with the strong support of the United States, Russia, a staunch ally of the Serbs,…

Russia Seizes Gas Plant Near Crimea Border, Ukraine Says

Mar 15, 2014 | David M. Herszenhorn, Peter Baker, and Andrew E. Kramermarch, The New York Times

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Tensions mounted on the eve of a secession referendum here in Crimea as helicopter-borne Russian forces made a provocative incursion just beyond…

Nigeria: Scores Reported Killed in Village Raids in Nigerian Land Conflict

Mar 13, 2014 | Agence France-Presse, The New York Times

KANO, Nigeria — Gunmen on motorbikes killed at least 69 people and burned down several homes in attacks on four villages related to conflicts over…

United States: Suit Filed in Haiti Cholera Epidemic

Mar 12, 2014 | Somini Sengupta, The New York Times

A class-action lawsuit claiming to represent cholera victims in Haiti and their relatives in the United States was filed against the United Nations on Tuesday…

Libya: Prime Minister Ousted in Chaos over Tanker

Mar 11, 2014 | David D. Kirkpatrick and Cliffort Kraussmarch, The New York Times

CAIRO — Libya’s transitional Parliament voted on Tuesday to remove its prime minister as his government conceded that despite days of bluster it was powerless…