International
Israel/Palestine/Gaza: Gaza Sewage Crisis, Festering in Conflict, Poisons Coast
May 3, 2016
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Fares Akram and Daniella Cheslow, Associated Press
Each day, millions of gallons of raw sewage pour into the Gaza Strip’s Mediterranean beachfront, spewing out of a metal pipe and turning miles of…
Afghanistan: Islamic State Eradicating Afghan Poppy Crops
May 2, 2016
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Zia-U-Rahman Hasrat and Noor Zahid, Voice of America
The United States and the West have long targeted Afghan opium and heroin production. Now the industry has a new enemy: Islamic State (IS). Afghan…
Thailand: Under the Pump
May 1, 2016
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Paritta Wangkiat, Bangkok Post
Farmers are crippled by debt and drought, but debate over water management and the government's focus on monoculture means a solution is far from cut…
Iraq: Iraq Oil Exports Near Record Even as Protests Threaten Paralysis
May 1, 2016
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Khalid Al Ansary and Anthony Dipaola, Bloomberg
Iraq’s oil exports approached a record high in April, adding barrels to a worldwide supply glut even as protests against public corruption threatened to paralyze…
Libya: Tanker with Disputed Libyan Oil Returns to Country for Unloading
May 1, 2016
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Laura Hurst, Hatem Mohareb, and Anthony Dipaola
A tanker with oil from eastern Libya returned with its cargo to the North African country after the United Nations blacklisted the shipment, amid an…
Conflict Minerals: Fairphone: One Smartphone Company's Search for Conflict-Free Gold
Apr 29, 2016
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Claudia Cahalane, Guardian
Fairphone was among the first to use certified conflict-free tin and tantalum from DRC when it launched its first phone in 2013. It is close…
Myanmar: Myanmar Bans Lucrative Logging in Bid to Preserve Forests
Apr 28, 2016
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Timothy Mclaughlin and Aung Hla Tun, Reuters
Myanmar has banned lucrative logging operations as the newly-elected government of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi steps up a battle on deforestation, an environment…
Islamic State: Islamic State Turns to Selling Fish, Cars to Offset Oil Losses: Report
Apr 28, 2016
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Stephen Kalin, Reuters
Islamic State earns millions of dollars a month running car dealerships and fish farms in Iraq, making up for lower oil income after its battlefield…
Myanmar: Mining Companies Found to Be Polluting in Sagaing
Apr 27, 2016
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Moe Myint, The Irrawaddy
Seven coal mining firms in Kalaywa, Sagaing Division, are operating without any regard for the environmental impact of their projects, according to a report released…
Myanmar: Parliamentary Committee: 6,000 Land Confiscation Complaints Yet to Be Addressed
Apr 27, 2016
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Tin Htet Paing, The Irrawaddy
Some 6,000 outstanding complaints of farmland seizure from the previous parliamentary body are slated to be investigated by the current legislative body, the Upper House’s…
Sudan/South Sudan: Oil Plunge Casts Doubt on South Sudan Plan to End Civil War
Apr 27, 2016
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William Davison, Bloomberg
South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar returned to the capital of the world’s newest nation to rejoin the government and end a two-year civil war. An…
Liberia: World Bank/GoL Sign US36.7 Million Forestry Deal
Apr 27, 2016
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Joe Abban, New Dawn
The World Bank and the Government of Liberia Wednesday signed a US$36.7 million grant from the Government of Norway to support the country’s efforts to…
Iraq: Aerial Bombardment Kills ISIS Oil Minister in Mosul
Apr 26, 2016
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AhlulBayt News Agency
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan announced on Monday, that the so-called ISIS Oil Minister was killed in an aerial bombardment targeted his vehicle in central…
Myanmar: El Niño Dry Spell Wreaks Havoc in Myanmar
Apr 25, 2016
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Indo-Asian News Service
At least 10 regions of Myanmar are facing severe water shortagesdue to searing summer temperatures brought on by El Nino, leading to dried up wells,…
DRC: Elephant Poachers Kill Rangers, Wound Swedish Park Manager in Congo
Apr 25, 2016
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Reuters
Elephant poachers killed three rangers in Democratic Republic of Congo's Garamba wildlife park and wounded two other people including the Swedish park manager, environmental officials…
Myanmar: Shan Timber Tops Seizure List
Apr 25, 2016
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Eleven Myanmar
Almost 46,200 tonnes of illegal timber was seized during the last financial year, according to Myanmar's forestry department.
Myanmar: MPs Rush to Resolve Land Grabs
Apr 25, 2016
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Eleven Myanmar
The Lower House’s Farming and Labour Affairs Committee has received around 400 complaints about farmland disputes. The main duty of the committee is to scrutinise…
Myanmar: Myanmar Lawmakers to Help Farmers, Villagers Affected by Land Grabs
Apr 25, 2016
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Radio Free Asia
Myanmar lawmakers have taken up the cause of farmers and villagers in two areas of the country where they lost land to huge government-backed projects,…
Myanmar: Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc across Five States and Sivisions
Apr 25, 2016
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Democratic Voice of Burma
Strong winds and freak hailstorms across a wide swathe of north-central Burma killed at least eight people and did extensive damage to thousands of homes…
Senegal: Climate Change Brings Conflict, Senegal Leader Warns
Apr 24, 2016
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Channel News Asia
Senegal's President Macky Sall sees a link between climate change and security, in particular when it comes to the militant threat in the Sahel. "Global…
World Heading for Catastrophe over Natural Disasters, Risk Expert Warns
Apr 24, 2016
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Sam Jones, Guardian
The world’s failure to prepare for natural disasters will have “inconceivably bad” consequences as climate change fuels a huge increase in catastrophic droughts and floods…
Iraq: Iraqi Warplanes Destroy Daesh Oil Convoy in Nineveh Province
Apr 23, 2016
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PressTV
The Iraqi Air Force has destroyed a Daesh oil convoy in the northern Nineveh province, a blow to stem the Takfiri terrorist group’s oil sales.…
Afghanistan: Government Unable to Reclaim its Usurped Land: Zahir
Apr 23, 2016
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Mohammad Halim Karimi, Pajhwok
The Environment Protection Agency on Saturday said the Afghan government has been unable to reclaim its usurped land from land mafia in different parts of…
Myanmar: What’s Behind Chevron’s Giant Myanmar Gas Sale?
Apr 22, 2016
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Rui Hao Puah, Diplomat
U.S. energy giant Chevron is offering up for sale its entire gas block stake in Myanmar, valued at an estimated $1.3 billion, Reuters reported in…
Myanmar: Blast Mining Threatens to Destroy Hpakant Villages: Locals
Apr 22, 2016
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Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint, The Irrawaddy
Two villages near the town of Hpakant in Kachin State are at risk of dangerous shifts in the terrain due to jade mining and require…
Colombia: Ineffective & Possibly Carcinogenic, but Colombia Will Go back to Attacking Coca with Glyphosate
Apr 22, 2016
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Mint Press News
Less than a year after the government halted its use over concerns that it could cause cancer, Colombia plans to resume using glyphosate, a controversial…
Colombia: Agriculture Leads Colombian Exports to the EU
Apr 21, 2016
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Radio Santa Fe
After being given data about the non-oil exports to the European Union, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Aurelio Iragorri Valencia, celebrated that the…
Liberia: Fendell Squatters: ‘Didn’t Think Gov’t Would Act
Apr 21, 2016
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Omari Jackson, Daily Observer
Squatters whose structures are being torn down in Fendell on the property of University of Liberia (UL) say they were misled by the government’s record…
Colombia: How Colombia’s Praised Land Restitution Process is Failing the Displaced
Apr 20, 2016
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Stephen Gill, Colombia Reports
Colombia’s land restitution process is failing to adequately process the return of land to victims of displacement and is now facing severe criticism from both…
Colombia: Colombian Authorities Revoke Oil Rights near Caño Cristales River
Apr 20, 2016
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Ed Buckley, The City Paper Bogota
Highly contentious plans to open up land in Colombia’s eastern plains for oil exploration are off the table. On Tuesday afternoon, the National Authority of Environmental…