International
Myanmar: Jade Trade Bedevils Burma’s Transparency Aspirations
Feb 16, 2015
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Seamus Martov, The Irrawaddy
While Burma pushes ahead with plans to become a full-fledged member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard promoting openness in the…
Conflict Diamonds: HSBC and Shimon Yelinek: Arms, Drugs, Diamonds and Terrorism
Feb 16, 2015
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Aliaume Leroy, McGill International Review
Shimon Yelinek is an Israeli businessman based in Panama. Behind this facade however, he is one of the most notorious criminals you may find among…
Iraq: Iraq Has Lost Billions from Gas Flaring
Feb 15, 2015
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Saadallah Al Fathi, gulfnews.com
In June 2012, the IEA estimated that the implied value of the gas flared in southern Iraq to 2020 would be $70 to $100 billion…
Liberia: Taylor-Era Wartime Timber Company Penalized, Accused of PUP Breach
Feb 15, 2015
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Front Page Africa
The Danish timber giant Dalhoff Larsen and Horneman (DLH), a company accused of buying conflict timber during Liberia’s civil war, has been stripped of its…
Myanmar: EITI Board Members Rap Govt over Mine Death
Feb 13, 2015
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Thomas Kean, Myanmar Times
Civil society members of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s International Board have slammed the government over the death of a protester at the Letpadaung copper…
Timor-Leste: As Xanana Gusmao Departs, Timor Must Prepare for When the Oil Runs Dry
Feb 13, 2015
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Tom Allard, Sydney Morning Herald
In the annals of East Timor's extraordinary emergence as a nation state after 500 years of foreign domination, no figure has loomed as large as…
Liberia: NOCAL ‘Lawyer’ Whistleblower in 25K Oil Saga Dead
Feb 13, 2015
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Mae Azango and Al Varney Rogers, Front Page Africa
Monrovia - Cllr. Michael Allison, the former consultant to the National Oil Company of Liberia who reportedly blew the whistle that had led to an…
Iraq: Iraq's Oil Exports Dip by 14 Percent in January
Feb 12, 2015
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Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press
Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Thursday that crude exports averaged 2.535 million barrels a day in January, a decrease of nearly 14 percent from the…
South Sudan: Conflict a Cause of Hunger in South Sudan
Feb 12, 2015
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Norwegian Refugee Council
“The critical food situation is worsening for the 2.5 million people at risk in South Sudan. There is an urgent need for a solution on…
Liberia: Danish Timber Giant Kicked Out of Forest Stewardship Council Certification Scheme for Trading Illegal Timber
Feb 12, 2015
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Global Witness
Danish timber giant Dalhoff Larsen and Horneman (DLH) has been expelled from the world’s leading timber certifier, the Forest Stewardship Council, following evidence presented by…
Afghanistan: Watchdog: DOD Ignored Troop Health Risks, Continued to Burn Trash in Afghanistan
Feb 12, 2015
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Heath Druzin, Stars and Stripes
The U.S. military knowingly put troops’ health at risk and wasted tens of millions of dollars on shoddy contracts while operating dangerous open-air burn pits…
Conflict Minerals: Apple Takes Initiative in Verifying Smelters for Approaching Conflict Minerals Reporting Deadline
Feb 11, 2015
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3BL Media
The world's second largest technology company, Apple, has acknowledged that the best way to ensure a conflict free supply chain is by having a process…
South Sudan: S. Sudan’s Oil Production Showing Signs of Recovery: Minister
Feb 11, 2015
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Hellenic Shipping News
South Sudan’s oil ministry said production is starting to recover for the first time since conflict erupted more than a year ago, severely disrupting exploration.
Petroleum…
South Sudan: South Sudan Eyeing Mining to Reduce Dependency on Oil
Feb 11, 2015
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Sudan Tribune
Concerned about the current decline in prices of crude oil in the global market, South Sudan is turning to mining sector to reduce dependency on…
China/Philippines/South China Sea: China Must Abide by Sea Ruling, Philippine Justice Says
Feb 11, 2015
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Andrea Tan, Bloomberg
China must comply with any ruling on competing territorial claims with the Philippines in the South China Sea even if it refuses to participate in…
DRC: DRC Mining Industry Worried by Country’s Stop to Mining Code Talks
Feb 10, 2015
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Henry Lazenby, Mining Weekly
The mining industry operating within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is concerned about last week's decision taken by the Mines Ministry to shun further…
China/South China Sea: China Finds Sizable Natural Gas Field in South China Sea
Feb 10, 2015
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Associated Press
China said its recent gas discovery in the politically volatile South China Sea could yield 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, underlining Beijing's determination…
Broken Land, Broken Promises - Myanmar's Controversial Copper Mines
Feb 10, 2015
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Deutsche Welle
"Sometimes there is a very strong smell from the sulphuric acid factory; people cannot stay in the village at those times. Our eyes tear up…
Iraq/Kurdistan: In Payment Drought, Oil Companies Pare KRG Investment
Feb 10, 2015
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Patrick Osgood, Iraq Oil Report
Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has not paid its oil contractors since November, highlighting political and financial problems that could hamper plans to increase…
Iraq: EIA: Iraq Oil Production Growth was World’s Second Largest in 2014
Feb 9, 2015
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Oil & Gas 360
According to information released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) today, Iraq’s production growth in 2014 was the second largest in the world, trailing only…
Myanmar: Investors Eye Myanmar's Rich Potential for Rice Growing
Feb 9, 2015
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Petchanet Pratruangkrai, The Nation
Myanmar may go back to being one of the world's major rice exporters in five to 10 years, as many Thai and foreign investors are…
Myanmar: Shell to Explore in Deepwater Offshore Myanmar
Feb 9, 2015
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World Oil
The Hague, Netherlands -- Shell and its partner Mitsui Oil Exploration group (MOECO) have signed exploration and production sharing contracts with Myanma Oil and Gas…
Sierra Leone: Blood Diamonds Prominent as Multi-Billion-Dollar Swiss Leaks Scandal Hits HSBC
Feb 9, 2015
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Greg Klein, Resource Clips
HSBC’s secret Swiss bank accounts facilitated billions of dollars in money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, arms trafficking and possibly terrorism, a team of investigative journalists…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Conflicts and Oil Agreements: Baghdad and Erbil's Truly Ambivalent Relationship
Feb 8, 2015
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Al Bawaba
The Kurdish region’s oil supply is a major point of contention in Iraq as it brings up questions of wealth distribution and foreign exports. The…
Iraq: Iraqi Kurdistan Oil Firms Go Domestic Amid Dearth of Export Pay
Feb 6, 2015
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Reuters
Oil producers in Iraqi Kurdistan, including Gulf Keystone Petroleum and Genel, have started ramping up deliveries to the local market at the expense of foreign…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad Oil Deal With Kurds 'In Danger' of Falling Apart, Lawmaker Warns
Feb 6, 2015
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Assyrian International News Agency
An important agreement between Baghdad and Erbil that resolved long-standing disputes over the budget and oil exports is in danger of falling apart, the deputy…
Kurdistan: Iraq’s Autonomous Kurdistan Government Looking to Borrow Internationally
Feb 6, 2015
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Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is considering borrowing abroad “to strengthen economic infrastructure,” a Kurdish lawmaker told Rudaw.
Izat Sabir, chairman…
Liberia: Liberians Need Legal Rights to Forest, Says Report
Feb 6, 2015
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SciDev.Net
Liberia’s government must do more to award land rights to forest dwellers to protect natural resources from exploitation and encroachment of palm oil plantations, warns…
Afghanistan: Copper Mining Threatens Afghan Site of Ancient Buddhist Past
Feb 6, 2015
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Lynne O'Donnell, Associated Press
Treasures from Afghanistan's largely forgotten Buddhist past are buried beneath sandy hills surrounding the ancient Silk Road town of Mes Aynak - along with enough…
South Sudan: S. Sudan Rebels Dismiss Governor’s Claims on Oil Fields
Feb 6, 2015
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Sudan Tribune
A spokesperson for South Sudanese rebels in Unity state has described as “mere propaganda” allegations that the armed opposition forces planned to attack the oil…