International


Syria: ISIS is Using Oil as a Weapon against Syrians

Jun 18, 2015 | Jeremy Bender, Business Insider

ISIS, which controls all of the oil-producing regions in eastern Syria, has started blockading oil sales to rival Syrian rebel groups in the north of…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Regional Government Threatens 'Legal Measures' if Baghdad Does Not Cover Its Budget

Jun 18, 2015 | Middle East Monitor

The regional government in Erbil, Northern Iraq, has announced that it will take "legal measures" if the federal authorities in Baghdad do not cover its…


Liberia: As Southeastern Land Conflict Intensifies, River Gee Hunter Reported Kidnapped

Jun 17, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, Global News Network Liberia

A 35-year old man in Watuaken, River Gee went on a hunting expedition and has been missing for nearly a week. According to the report,…


Kurdistan/Iraq: KRG PM: Kurdistan Can Sell Oil without Baghdad Approval

Jun 17, 2015 | Rudaw

The Kurdistan Regional Government can directly export its oil to world markets without going through Baghdad, Kurdistan region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani claimed following a…


Liberia: House Probes US$4.6 Million Land Rental Fee

Jun 17, 2015 | Legislature of Liberia

The Honorable House of Representatives has set up a Joint Committee to investigate a US$4.6m Land Rental Fee for affected communities in which forest related…


China/South China Sea: China's Artificial Islands Will Be 'Completed within Days' in the Disputed South China Sea

Jun 16, 2015 | Lizzie Dearden, The Independent

China has said it will finish its man-made islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea within days, heightening tensions with neighbouring countries. Taiwan,…


Liberia: Who is Responsible for the Meltdown at NOCAL?

Jun 15, 2015 | Rodney D. Sieh, Front Page Africa

Several communications and confidential documents in possession of FrontPageAfrica, is outlining what many industry observers and insiders at the National Oil Company of Liberia already…


Iraq: U.S. Top Court Rejects Iraq Bid to Revive 'Oil-for-Food' Lawsuit

Jun 15, 2015 | 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 | 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 | 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…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam, Chinese Boats Clash Near Disputed South China Sea Isles

Jun 14, 2015 | 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…


Liberia: Liberian Forest Occupied by 200 Ivorians: Security Source

Jun 12, 2015 | 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 | 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 | 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…


Pakistan: Funds Collected through Illicit Means Being Used for Terror, Criminal Activities: Rangers

Jun 11, 2015 | 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 | 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 | 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…


Liberia: How Bribery, Interests Killed Liberia’s Rice Farm Project

Jun 10, 2015 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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…


Israel/Jordan/Palestine: SIWI Advances Water Cooperation in the Lower Jordan River Valley

Jun 9, 2015 | 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 | 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 | 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…


DRC: UK Oil Firm 'Paid Congolese Officer who Offered Bribe to Virunga Park Ranger'

Jun 9, 2015 | John Vidal, The Guardian

British oil company Soco International paid $42,000 (£27,000) to a Congolese military officer who allegedly tried to bribe opponents of its oil exploration in Africa’s…


Iraq: Iraq to Form Special 'Oil Army' to Fend off ISIL Threat

Jun 8, 2015 | Andrew Critchlow, The Telegraph

Iraq is mobilising a 27,000 strong army of security personnel to protect its oil and energy facilities from attacks by Islamic State insurgents. Adel Abdel…