News
Colombia: Colombian Coffee Output to Dip for First Time in Five Years
May 19, 2016
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Mike Verdin, Agrimoney
The remarkable rebound in Colombia's coffee production will see a, small, reversal next season, undermined by potential weather setbacks, and the knock-on effects of a…
Colombia: Can Colombia’s Displaced Go Home Again?
May 19, 2016
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Camila Osorio, New Republic
Afranio Solano moved to Bogotá in 2011 after the Urabeños threatened him. Today he is one of Colombia’s nearly six million forcibly displaced people—the second-highest…
Global Security Efforts Must be a Post-Paris Climate Imperative
May 18, 2016
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Nick Mabey and Janani Vivekanada
It often feels as if the times we live in are unprecedented. Certainly, if we look back over the last 18 months, it is not…
Middle East: Why is the Middle East Hungry? Blame Armed Conflict
May 18, 2016
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Richard Whitehead, Food Navigator
Armed conflict and revolutions have halted and in some cases reverse progress made by Middle Eastern and North African countries in reaching the UN’s development…
United States/Vietnam/South China Sea: US-Vietnam Rapprochement Fast-Tracked amid South China Sea Dispute
May 18, 2016
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Michael Hart, Geopolitical Monitor
President Obama’s upcoming visit to Vietnam could amount to far more than just a symbolic political photo opportunity. It comes amid suggestions that the U.S.…
STUDENTS - APPLY NOW! Campus Organizer, Enough Project's Conflict-Free Campus Initiative 2016-17
May 17, 2016
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Enough Project & STAND
The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative (CFCI), a joint initiative of the Enough Project and STAND, draws on the power of student leadership and activism to support peace in the Democratic…
China's Uniformed, Navy-Trained Fishing "Militia"
May 17, 2016
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Conor M. Kennedy and Andrew S. Erickson
On 6 June 2014, Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense newspaper The People's Army stated that China was maintaining between 110 and 115 vessels around China…
A View from Myanmar: Exploring System-Scale Hydropower Planning
May 17, 2016
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Jeff Opperman
Myanmar’s rivers provide a reliable source of water for navigation and irrigation, and support food production and livelihoods. In fact, Myanmar’s freshwater fisheries produce more…
DRC: Robin Wright Targets Congo's 'Conflict Minerals' Violence with New Campaign
May 17, 2016
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Ed Pilkington, Guardian
House of Cards star Robin Wright has launched a campaign with Congolese and American activists to end the pillage of Congo’s vast mineral resources and…
Partitioning Iraq: Make a Detailed Case, or Cease and Desist
May 16, 2016
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Ben Connable
Iraq is once again in political turmoil, and once again we are hearing calls to partition the country into three ethno-sectarian cantonments: Shi’a, Sunni, and Kurd. The…
Colombia: Colombia's War-Weary Farmers Head Home amid Hopes and Fears
May 16, 2016
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Anastasia Moloney, Reuters
More than five decades of conflict have forced 6.7 million Colombians to flee their homes, many of them poor farmers like Portillo, making the country…
Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: UNSC Extends Mandate of Peacekeepers in Abyei
May 16, 2016
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Agence Africaine de Presse
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission of the contested rich-oil region between Sudan and South Sudan for…
Sudan/South Sudan: Peace Heralds Oil Fortune for South Sudan - Envoy
May 16, 2016
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Taddeo Bwambale, New Vision
A little more than two years of fighting in South Sudan had threatened to destroy the country’s oil production, a critical resource the country now…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China's Fishing Ban Adds an Entanglement for Vietnam in the South China Sea
May 16, 2016
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Radio Free Asia
Beijing injected an extra irritant into its long-running dispute with its neighbors with the South China Sea as it announced its annual ban on fishing…
Afghanistan/China: Afghanistan Backs Beijing Stance on South China Sea
May 16, 2016
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Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press
China on Monday said landlocked Afghanistan has expressed support for Beijing's stance on the South China Sea dispute, the latest country from outside the region…
Iraq: Iraq Oil Surge Seen Losing Steam Just as Markets Need More
May 16, 2016
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Anthony Dipaola, Bloomberg
Iraq’s oil industry is on a roll. Production has jumped more than 40 percent since mid-2014 and exports are at near-record levels. It probably won’t…
DRC: Illicit Wildlife, Gold, Timber Trade Funds DRC Conflict
May 16, 2016
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Environment News Service
Organized crime funded by illegal trade in natural resources is fueling the 20-year-long conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, that has…
Iraq/Kurdistan: KRG Shares of International Loans to Iraq
May 15, 2016
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Lana Sardar Qader, NRT
For the past decade the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had established what ended up being a false sense of financial security. The KRG economy has…
Food Security: Countries Stress Peace is Needed to Fight Hunger
May 14, 2016
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infoZine
In a declaration adopted by the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East that ended in Rome today, country representatives stressed "the need for stability…
Mozambique: Mozambique Wrestles with Drought, Debt, Conflict
May 14, 2016
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Anita Powell, Voice of America
Two years ago, the nation of Mozambique was riding high after a peaceful presidential election, the promise of offshore natural gas wealth, and what looked…
Water Wars: Known Unknowns in the South China Sea
May 13, 2016
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Chris Mirasola
The USS William Lawrence conducted a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) within 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef on Tuesday, May 10th. Chinese-controlled Fiery…
How Climate Change is Driving Nigeria's Herdsmen Conflict
May 13, 2016
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Chidi Oguamanam
Forging national unity has been a perennial challenge to Nigeria’s evolution as a country. Since independence from Britain 56 years ago, the country continues to…
When Climate Change Exacerbates Conflict, Women Pay the Price Says Mayesha Alam
May 13, 2016
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Sean Peoples, New Security Beat
Climate change has the potential to exacerbate conflict and political instability, and women will pay a steeper price than their male counterparts when it does,…
Colombia: To Fight Deforestation, Replanting Eco-Awareness in Colombia
May 13, 2016
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Eden Krsmanovic, City Paper Bogota
A recent report released by the Convention on Biological Diversity takes a critical look at the extent of the damage to Colombia’s native forests, and…
Iraq: Exclusive: Iraq Oil Projects Face Delays as Companies Resist Spending Cuts
May 13, 2016
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Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
International oil firms have warned Iraq that projects to increase its crude output will be delayed if the government insists on drastic spending cuts this…
Iraq/Syria: How Sykes-Picot Is the Root of Syria, Iraq Sectarian Conflicts
May 13, 2016
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teleSUR
Days after taking over the second largest city in Iraq Mosul, Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said “this blessed advance will not stop…
Armed Clashes Drive Growing Displacement in Western Colombia
May 13, 2016
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Nora Sturm, UNHCR
Armed clashes between illegal groups fighting for territory in western Colombia are driving a growing number of mostly Afro-Caribbean and indigenous peoples from their homes…
Iraq: Iraq to Stop Sunflower Seed Imports as Domestic Production Rises
May 12, 2016
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Bloomberg, Khalid Al Ansary
Iraq will stop importing sunflower oil next year as domestic production is rising under a government plan to boost supplies of food staples. The government…
Iraq: ISIS Sabotage Continues to Cause Outages in Iraqi Oil Fields
May 12, 2016
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James Burgess, Oilprice.com
Two wells at the Khabaz oilfield near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, sabotaged by ISIS last week are still on fire, with production suspended and losses…
Afghanistan/Pakistan: Border Fencing Escalates Pakistan-Afghanistan Tension
May 12, 2016
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Al Jazeera
Tension at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has escalated over the fencing of a 2km area at the Torkham crossing which was stopped by the Afghan forces.…