International

Iraq: IS Expands in Iraq's Largest Oil Refinery

Apr 30, 2015 | Xinhua News Agency

The Islamic State (IS) militant group on Thursday captured more ground in the vast oil refinery of Baiji in Iraq's Salahudin province, while battles with…

Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Buys Submarine-Launched Land Attack Missiles to Deter China

Apr 30, 2015 | Greg Torode, Reuters

Vietnam is arming its expanding submarine fleet with land attack missiles that could be capable of reaching Chinese coastal cities, a choice of weapon likely…

Myanmar: Blood Teak: How Myanmar's Natural Resources Fuel Ethnic Conflicts

Apr 30, 2015 | Jay Benson, The Diplomat

On March 30, the government of Myanmar and an umbrella group of 16 ethnic minority groups agreed to a draft agreement for a “nationwide ceasefire”…

Liberia: Liberia's Postwar Constitution Review - a Tale of Mistrust and Uncertainty

Apr 30, 2015 | Richard Akum and Mainlehwon Vonhm, African Arguments

When under review, a constitution (the supreme law of the land) reveals issues of collective angst within the land. In Liberia, the process to review…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Regional Gov’t to Raise Oil Exports to Turkey

Apr 29, 2015 | Andalou Agency

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq will increase its oil exports to Turkey and deliver up to 625,000 barrels per day starting from…

China/Philippines/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Fires Back at South China Sea Claimants with Reclamation Accusations

Apr 29, 2015 | Reuters

After facing weeks of criticism about its reclamation work on disputed islands in the South China Sea, China on Wednesday turned the tables on Vietnam,…

Ghana/Cote d’Ivoire: Tribunal Tells Ghana to Suspend Oil Drilling

Apr 28, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, Global News Network

An international tribunal on Saturday ordered Ghana not to carry out any new oil drilling activities in waters disputed with Ivory Coast, pending a final…

Iraq: ISIS Executes Oil Workers in Mosul

Apr 28, 2015 | Middle East Monitor

ISIS fighters have executed ten oil workers in the city of Mosul, a Kurdish information official reported on Monday. According to Said Momzini, the ten…

Colombia: A Lesson in Booms and Busts for Latin America’s Newest Oil Power

Apr 28, 2015 | Andrea Jaramillo and Andrew Willis, Bloomberg

In a remote corner of Bogota’s sprawling airport complex, just a few miles before the city gives way to wind-swept savanna, a gleaming-white hangar stands…

Colombia: Officials Urge End to Herbicide’s Use on Coca

Apr 28, 2015 | William Neuman, New York Times

Colombia’s Health Ministry has recommended halting the spraying of an herbicide widely used in an American-funded campaign to eradicate crops of coca, the plant used…

Africa: African Diamond Producers Refuse to Support Beneficiation With Mining Revenue

Apr 27, 2015 | Ronen Shnidman, Rapaport

Africa’s major diamond producing nations expressed unwillingness to compromise government revenue from rough diamond sales to support local manufacturers in the current weak market. "We…

Mali: Drought, Expanding Deserts and 'Food for Jihad' Drive Mali's Conflict

Apr 27, 2015 | Chris Arsenault, Reuters

Life has never been easy in Moussa Majga's corner of northern Mali, a desert region of leafless trees, mud huts and roaming gunmen. For years,…

Liberia: 'Pay Our Land Rental Fees'

Apr 27, 2015 | The NEWS

The National Union of Community Forest Development Committees (NUCFDC) is calling on the Liberian Government to disburse its share of the Land Rental Fees. The…

Nepal: Nepal Villages Cut Off by Earthquake Wait for Aid as Death Toll Passes 4,000

Apr 27, 2015 | Thomas Fuller and Ellen Barry, New York Times

Five hours by car from Katmandu, then by foot for several miles past the spot where the road is blocked by boulders and mud, people…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Falling Prices, Rising Threats Cool Interest in Kurdish Oil

Apr 26, 2015 | Bram Janssen and Paul Schemm, Associated Press

The hall for the Irbil Oil and Gas Exhibition this week was crowded with company displays, executives and investors. But conspicuously absent were international oil…

South Sudan: Sudd Institute Reports Cover-Up of South Sudan Oil Spills

Apr 26, 2015 | Radio Tamazuj

An independent South Sudanese research organization has found that none of the environmental transparency provisions of the Petroleum Act 2012 are being enforced, in particular…

South Sudan: South Sudan Capital Hit by Drinking Water Shortages

Apr 26, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

Residents in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, say there is no clean drinking water in the city which serves as the seat of the government,…

Palestine: How Israel’s War Has Left Gaza Dry

Apr 25, 2015 | Kate Shuttleworth, The National

A tanker pulls up on a dirt road outside a two-level house where five families live. Three men jump out and unwind a plastic hose…

Iraq: Low Oil Prices Limit Iraq’s Output Growth

Apr 23, 2015 | Andy Tully, OilPrice.com

Iraq, still reeling from the US invasion and now fighting ISIS, has been trying to increase its oil output, but two energy giants, Britain’s BP…

Liberia: A Closer Look at Alternative Land Dispute Resolution (ALDR) Systems

Apr 23, 2015 | Liberian Observer

As inscribed in the Act establishing the Land Commission, one of the duties and functions is to promote "prompt and fair resolution of conflicts over…

Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals Remain Unchecked by Most U.S. Manufacturers

Apr 22, 2015 | Stephen E. Stapczynski, Bloomberg

Metals that are sold to help fund armed groups in Africa could be making their way into the U.S manufacturing industry unchecked, a Global Witness…

DRC: Responsible Gold Also Means Supporting Livelihoods of Artisanal Miners

Apr 22, 2015 | Tyler Gillard and Roel Nieuwenkamp, The Huffington Post

Last year, Congolese civil society leader Eric Kajemba helped broker a deal between the army, local authorities, three powerful Congolese families and a Canadian mining…

Water: OSU Geoscientist Wins $250,000 Award for Global Water Negotiations

Apr 22, 2015 | The Oregonian

An Oregon State University geoscientist who specializes in resolving complex international water conflicts will receive a $250,000 Heinz Award for Public Policy. Professor Aaron Wolf…

Liberia: Logging Company Dumps Defendants in PUP Six Million Case

Apr 21, 2015 | Abednego Davis, Liberian Observer

Drama unfolded yesterday in the ongoing trial of four dismissed managers of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and a senior surveyor of the Ministry of…

Sudan: Sudan Gold-Mine Collapse Leaves Six People Dead, Dozens Missing

Apr 21, 2015 | Bassem Abo Alabass Mohammed, Bloomberg

A gold-mine collapse in Sudan’s western region of Darfur killed six people and may have left more than 30 others trapped underground, a community leader…

China: Pressure Mounts on China for Water Security

Apr 20, 2015 | The Asian Age

Way back in 1999, before he became China’s Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao warned that water scarcity posed one of the greatest threats to the “survival…

Liberia: Banks Raising $400m for Palm Oil Expansion 'Must Examine High Risks'

Apr 20, 2015 | Oliver Tickell, The Ecologist

Banks preparing to launch a $400m bond issue for a global palm oil giant with a history of legal violations and broken standards have been…

Iraq: BP Says Taking More Oil from Iraq as Payment

Apr 20, 2015 | Reuters

BP (BP.L) has been lifting more crude oil cargoes in the past couple of months as payment for its work in southern Iraq, and is…

Sudan/South Sudan: As Gold Fuels Darfur Conflict, Activists Push for More Sudan Sanctions

Apr 19, 2015 | Johnny Magdaleno, Al Jazeera

Taj el-Bisary, an independent researcher for aid groups, visits the Darfur region in western Sudan, where he was born, at least three times a year.…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil Refinery at Baiji Secured, but Iraq Fighting Still Rages at Ramadi

Apr 19, 2015 | Mitchell Prothero, McClatchy DC

Iraqi security forces backed by heavy air support from the American-led coalition have secured Iraq’s largest oil refinery from a determined Islamic State offensive. But…