International


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…


Climate Security: Harper Faces Tough Talk on Climate Change, Security Threats at G7 Summit

Jun 7, 2015 | Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press

The G7 leaders started their annual meeting Sunday during which Prime Minister Stephen Harper was expected to face discussions on a topic he has been…


Iraq: Iraq’s Oil Industry Needs to Reassert its Claims

Jun 7, 2015 | Saadallah Al Fathi, Gulf News

The seminar held by the Iraqi Forum of Intellectuals and Academics - and which I talked about last week - had a good presentation about…


Liberia: Charges against Oil Company 'Bribery' Indictees Dropped

Jun 7, 2015 | Front Page Africa

Knowing that corruption was prevalent among public officials in government and the negative impact it has made on the lives of ordinary Liberians over the…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Kurdistan Reports Record Oil Exports

Jun 6, 2015 | Press TV

The KRG has announced that nearly 18 million barrels of oil were exported in May. That’s about 578,000 barrels of oil per day. The rare…


South Sudan: South Sudan Fighting Escalates in Oil States Before Peace Talks

Jun 6, 2015 | Okech Francis, Bloomberg

Fighting between rebels and government forces in South Sudan’s oil-producing states intensified, the army said before the two sides meet on Monday for peace talks.…


Conflict Minerals: Businesses Trying to Comply with 'Conflict Minerals' Law

Jun 5, 2015 | Carrie Wells, Baltimore Sun

The argument goes that using a smartphone made from materials mined in war-torn Africa is no better than buying so-called blood diamonds. Rebel groups in…


Cote d'Ivoire/Liberia: Land Conflict Still Brewing at Liberia/Ivorian Border: Fear Mounts

Jun 5, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, GNN Liberia

Continued land disputes between Liberia and Ivory Coast are still ongoing as Liberians in some towns in Grand Gedeh County say Ivorians are encroaching on…


Liberia: ‘FDA Management Ambushed’

Jun 5, 2015 | The New Dawn Liberia

The indicted former Managing Director of Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority or FDA, Mr. Moses Wogbeh, has told court proceeding that he and his co-indictees were…


Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste Presses Ahead with Challenge to Timor Sea Oil and Gas Treaty

Jun 5, 2015 | Daniel Hurst, The Guardian

Timor-Leste is set to resume a formal challenge against an oil and gas treaty that became mired in controversy following claims Australia bugged the cabinet…