International


Pakistan: Climate Stresses Push Kashmir's Poor Into Militancy, Pakistan Experts Warn

Jan 27, 2015 | Roshan Din Shad, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Financial hardship after a failed apple crop forced Aqeel Ahmed to give up his studies aged 20 and join a militant group fighting Indian rule…


South Sudan: South Sudan Finds Hope in Honey

Jan 26, 2015 | Barbara Lewis, Reuters

A harvest of honey from the equatorial forests of South Sudan will help its struggling poor and, through the pollination of bees, improve the nation's…


Liberia: JFK Sitting On 'Time Bomb' - EPA Alarms

Jan 26, 2015 | Emmanuel Weedee-Conway, Heritage

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has alarmed that the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Medical Center is sitting on a 'time bomb' and could be wiped…


Food Security: ‘Vicious Circles Linking Violence and Hunger’ Must End – UN Agriculture Chief

Jan 26, 2015 | United Nations FAO

Agriculture and food security must be treated as essential components of peacebuilding and conflict resolution, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization…


Iraq: Oil Could Solve the Iraqi-Egyptian Debt Dispute

Jan 26, 2015 | Zachary Toliver, Marcellus.com

Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi made a visit to Egypt which ended in a series of new agreements between the two nations,…


Cote d’Ivoire/Liberia: West African Oil Reserves Revised Upward

Jan 26, 2015 | Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International

Junior explorer African Petroleum Corp. said Monday it revised its reserve estimate for operations off the western African coast upward by more than 50 percent.

African…


Myanmar: Timber Talks: Burma and China Discuss Logging

Jan 25, 2015 | Echo Hui, Democratic Voice of Burma

At a conference held in Naypyidaw last week, senior Burmese and Chinese government officials agreed to establish a bilateral system to recognise “legal” timber in…


Pakistan: Rebels Tied to Blackout Across Most of Pakistan

Jan 25, 2015 | Salman Masood, New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Towns and cities across Pakistan plunged into darkness early Sunday when what officials said was an attack by militants on a transmission…


South Sudan: S. Sudan Rebels Deny Destroying Oil Facilities

Jan 24, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s armed opposition office in Uganda has dismissed as “rubbish” allegations by Juba that rebel forces set fire to oil facilities in Unity state…


Somaliland: Current Administration Is Deliberately Encouraging Land Grabbing

Jan 24, 2015 | Somaliland Press

The justice and welfare party (UCID) Presidential hopeful Hon Jamal Ali Hussein has warned the ruling elite "KULMIYE" not to enrich themselves at the expense…


China/Malaysia/Vietnam/South China Sea: Oil On Troubled Waters

Jan 24, 2015 | Economist

Two Chinese oil companies show contrasting approaches in their attempts to operate in the South China Sea where, to the discomfort of its smaller neighbours,…


Liberia: 'Concessions Never Address Land Issues'

Jan 23, 2015 | Alloycious David, The NEWS

Maryland County Senator J. Gbleh-Bo Brown has disclosed that the 50 years concession agreements between the Liberian Government and Cavalla Rubber Corporation and the Maryland…


Iraq: Falling Oil Prices May Hurt Fight Against IS: Iraq

Jan 23, 2015 | Business Spectator

Falling global energy prices are imperiling the Iraqi government's efforts to fight Islamic State militants, drawing fresh appeals from Baghdad for financial assistance. 

Iraqi Prime Minister…


China/Philippines/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Joins Philippines in War of Words Against China Island Building

Jan 23, 2015 | An Dien, Thanh Nien News

Vietnam has joined the Philippines in condemning China’s attempts to build islands in the East Sea in what analysts say could be yet another futile…


Myanmar: Jade Mining to Continue Despite Conflict, Ministry Says

Jan 23, 2015 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Jade mining operations in northern Burma’s Kachin State will not be officially halted due to ongoing conflict in the area, according to a…


Iraq: Citing Plunge in Oil Prices, Iraq Seeks Arms on Credit to Fight ISIS

Jan 22, 2015 | Michael R. Gordon, New York Times

LONDON — Battered by a sharp decline in oil prices, Iraq is asking Western allies to provide weapons on credit for its fight against the…


Food Security: Where Food Crises and Global Conflict Could Collide

Jan 22, 2015 | Carolyn Heneghan, Food Dive

World War III is unimaginable for many, but some experts believe that not only is this degree of global conflict imminent, but it may be…


Sierra Leone: RESOLVE Announces the ReGrow West Africa Partnership and Peace Diamonds with First $1 Million Donor Pledge

Jan 22, 2015 | Globe News Wire

Today at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Stephen D'Esposito, President and CEO of RESOLVE, and Chair of the World Economic Forum Council…


Conflict Minerals: Making a Call: Why the Fairphone is Better Than Its Rival Smartphones

Jan 22, 2015 | Susanna Butter, London Evening Standard

With a large screen and a silver back, the Fairphone does not look markedly different to any other mobile but it is better than its…


Lebanon: Not Just a Pipe Dream

Jan 22, 2015 | Jeremy Arbid, Executive

Even though Lebanon’s first offshore licensing round is on hold indefinitely, each passing month highlights the necessity for transparency and accountability in managing the country’s…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: What Do Weak Oil Prices Mean for the South China Sea?

Jan 21, 2015 | David Tweed, Bloomberg

When it comes to territorial tensions in the South China Sea, it’s more about what goes through it than what lies beneath it.

Oil last week…


Ukraine: Pro-Russia Separatists Accused Of Land Grabbing

Jan 21, 2015 | RTT News

The U.S. has accused pro-Russian separatists of land grabbing in eastern Ukraine, even as foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany called for an…


South Sudan: South Sudan Government Says Rebels Torched Oil Facility

Jan 21, 2015 | Charlton Doki, Voice of America

JUBA—The South Sudan government on Wednesday accused rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar of attacking an oil facility in Unity state and setting…


Iraq: Iraq Says Oil Output Must Rise to Compensate for Price Drop

Jan 21, 2015 | James Herron and Maher Chmaytelli, Bloomberg

Iraq, the nation adding more new oil to global markets than any other supplier in OPEC, said it needs to boost production and exports of…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: South China Sea Spats: A Territorial Fight, Not About the Oil

Jan 21, 2015 | Malay Mail Online

 When it comes to territorial tensions in the South China Sea, it’s more about what goes through it than what lies beneath it.Oil last week…


Myanmar: Gas Projects in Doubt as Bangkok Frets about Over-Reliance on Burma

Jan 21, 2015 | William Boot, The Irrawaddy

Thai investment in Burmese natural gas development might be curtailed because the army generals running Thailand are worried about dependence on supplies from its neighbor,…


Kosovo: 700 Miners Refuse to Resurface in Ownership Row

Jan 21, 2015 | World Bulletin

Hundreds of miners in northern Kosovo have refused to resurface, demanding that the Kosovo government takes over their near-bankrupt mine in Mitrovica within 24 hours.

About 700 miners were still…


South Sudan: South Sudan Finance Minister Says Food Output Can Offset Oil

Jan 20, 2015 | Francis Okech, Bloomberg

South Sudan should boost agricultural output and reduce its reliance on imports to salvage an economy hit by conflict and a plunge in global oil…


Liberia: Land Commission Tenure Extended

Jan 20, 2015 | The New Dawn

The Land Commission was established by an Act of the Legislature on August 9, 2009, and charged with the mandate to propose, advocate and coordinate…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Official: KRG to Receive Full Share of Budget for First Time

Jan 20, 2015 | Aso Fishagi, Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Despite falling oil prices that have severely hit Iraqi revenues, the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will receive its full 17…