News
Iraq: U.S. Top Court Rejects Iraq Bid to Revive 'Oil-for-Food' Lawsuit
Jun 15, 2015
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Lawrence Hurley, Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort by Iraq to revive a lawsuit against dozens of companies for allegedly conspiring with former leader…
DRC: Brandeis Addresses Use of ‘Conflict Minerals’ in Electronics
Jun 15, 2015
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Bill Schaller
Underscoring its longstanding commitment to social justice, Brandeis University has approved a policy that addresses the use of conflict minerals in the university’s most commonly…
Liberia: EU-Liberia Meet over Forest Management Agreement
Jun 15, 2015
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The New Dawn
EU Ambassador Tina Intelmann says good forest governance and law enforcement are critical to the success of efforts to halt deforestation and forest degradation. Speaking…
Oil, Arms, and Corruption: A Poisonous Nexus?
Jun 14, 2015
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Sam Perlo-Freeman
While world military spending has fallen slightly in recent years, some regions, notably Africa and the Middle East, have seen continuing rapid increases. When SIPRI…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam, Chinese Boats Clash Near Disputed South China Sea Isles
Jun 14, 2015
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John Boudreau, Bloomberg
Vietnamese fishing craft clashed with Chinese boats near the disputed Paracel Islands last week, underscoring simmering tensions between the two communist countries even as their…
Switzerland: Project Officer
Jun 13, 2015
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UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Safe and reliable access to energy for cooking, lighting, and power is a basic need for everyone. While we use energy every day; to make…
Judging the Civilian and Environmental Risks of Cyber Warfare
Jun 12, 2015
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Doug Weir
How much of a threat do cyber attacks on industrial infrastructure pose to civilians and the environment? More to the point, how do we judge…
Liberia: Liberian Forest Occupied by 200 Ivorians: Security Source
Jun 12, 2015
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Agence France-Presse
More than 200 heavily-armed Ivorian farmers have seized a forest in Liberia, scattering terrified inhabitants in an incursion described in parliament as a "national threat",…
Timor-Leste: East Timor Drops Australia Spying Case at United Nations Court
Jun 12, 2015
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ABC News
East Timor has officially dropped its case against Australia before the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ), after the Government returned sensitive documents relating to…
South Sudan: Why George Clooney is Supporting Coffee Farming in South Sudan
Jun 12, 2015
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Aryn Baker, Time
When it comes to celebrities and their causes, there is perhaps no more indelible pairing than George Clooney and the nation of South Sudan. After…
Middle East Conflicts Jeopardize Water for Millions
Jun 11, 2015
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Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Water is both a weapon and a casualty of violence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
Middle East Conflicts Jeopardize Water for Millions
Jun 11, 2015
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Codi Yeager-Kozacek
Millions of people across the Middle East face drought, scarce drinking water supplies, and poor sanitation due to civil wars and conflict. Meanwhile, resource constraints…
Pakistan: Funds Collected through Illicit Means Being Used for Terror, Criminal Activities: Rangers
Jun 11, 2015
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The Express Tribune
Billions of rupees gathered through illicit means including extortion, land grabbing, illegal hydrants, smuggling are funneled by political parties, influential men, religious organisations, militants and…
Liberia: US$120m Investment for Sinoe
Jun 11, 2015
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The New Dawn
The people of Sinoe County, southeast Liberia are expected to benefit from a US$120 million mining investment by Hamburg International, a foreign company.Briefing reporters Tuesday,…
Syria: ISIS Militants Blow Up Gas Pipeline to Syrian Capital
Jun 11, 2015
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Eben Blake, International Business Times
Islamic State group jihadists blew up a natural gas pipeline that runs from eastern Syria to the suburbs of Damascus late Wednesday night, according to Agence…
Conflict, Forced Migration and Property Claims
Jun 10, 2015
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Sandra Joireman and Jon Unruh
Amidst widespread fighting in Iraq and Syria, millions of distressed civilians have fled their homes. In Yemen as well, war has led to mass displacement…
Is Wildlife Trafficking a National Security Threat?
Jun 10, 2015
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Cameron Lagrone and Josh Busby
Trafficking of illegal wildlife goods is quickly becoming one of the most lucrative illicit businesses in the world. With growing demand in Asia, an industry…
Liberia: How Bribery, Interests Killed Liberia’s Rice Farm Project
Jun 10, 2015
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Samwar S. Fallah, Front Page Africa
Liberians across the divide are still wondering why a US$30 million mechanized rice production project which was dubbed a rescue for a country heavily reliant…
Colombia: Crudo Derramado por las Farc en Putumayo Afectó 9 Humedales (Oil Spilled by the FARC in Putumayo in September Affected Wetlands)
Jun 10, 2015
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El Tiempo
Si el costo ambiental inmediato del derrame de 3.120 barriles de crudo en el Putumayo en la madrugada del lunes por presión de las Farc…
Iraq: Wheat-Importing Iraq Plans to Be Net Grain Exporter by 2017
Jun 10, 2015
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Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg
Iraq, a wheat-importing nation where flat bread is a staple, plans to become a net exporter of the grain within two years, government officials said.…
Liberia: Following Allotment of Huge Salaries to Executives, NOCAL Concedes Bankruptcy, Calls for Merger?
Jun 10, 2015
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Cholo Brooks, GNN Liberia
The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) is said to be on the verge of collapse due to the departure of millions of dollars oil…
Tajikistan: Second President Says about Threat of Water Wars in Central Asia
Jun 10, 2015
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Azerbaijan Business Center
More and more leaders of Central Asian states support the forecast of Islam Karimov, President of Uzbekistan, on a threat of wars due to water…
China/Japan/East China Sea: Don’t Blame the Oil Rigs for Unrest in East China Sea
Jun 10, 2015
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Emily Meierding, Time
A year ago last month, China moved its oil drilling rig, the HD-981, into waters around the Paracel Islands. China’s exploratory drilling provoked a confrontation…
Myanmar: Myitkyina District Court Charges Chinese Timber Smugglers under Public Property Protection Act
Jun 10, 2015
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Eleven Myanmar
The court in Myitkyina District, Kachin State, charged 85 Chinese timber smugglers under the Public Property Protection Act. The law carries a sentence of at…
DRC: 'We Will Win Peace' - On 'Conflict Minerals', Humanitarian Advocacy and Congo
Jun 10, 2015
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African Arguments
In 2010, the United States Congress passed the expansive sounding ‘Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’. Its section 1502 contained a requirement which…
Ukraine Seeks New Russia Gas Deal as Military Tensions Rise
Jun 9, 2015
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Elena Mazneva
Ukraine needs to negotiate a new natural-gas deal with Russia just as the conflict between the two countries risks escalating again.
A gas-price agreement with Russian…
Adaptation, Resistance, or Subversion: How Will Water Politics Be Affected by Climate Change?
Jun 9, 2015
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Anders Jägerskog, Anton Earle, & Ashok Swain
One of the primary ways climate change is expected to affect international relations is through water. There are more than 270 bodies of water that cross over…
Israel/Jordan/Palestine: SIWI Advances Water Cooperation in the Lower Jordan River Valley
Jun 9, 2015
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Stockholm International Water Institute
In their opening remarks, EcoPeace Middle East Directors from Jordan, Palestine and Israel highlighted how the current ecological and economic demise of the valley is…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Warns Oil Output at Risk of Collapse on Lack of Funds
Jun 9, 2015
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Firat Kayakiran and Grant Smith, Bloomberg
Oil producers in Iraqi Kurdistan will have to close operations if they don’t receive agreed export payments, according to the regional authorities.
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi, Kurdish Officials Clash over Oil Shipments, Payments
Jun 9, 2015
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Reuters
Iraq paid the autonomous Kurdistan region only around half its monthly share of the national budget in May as part of other spending cuts, the…