International

South Sudan: South Sudan Looks to Livestock to Break Oil Dependence

Oct 23, 2014 | Michael Atit, Voice of America

As South Sudan tries to break its economic dependence on oil, it is looking to another resource it has in abundance: livestock.

The world's newest nation…

Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone: Ebola Outbreak Prompts Food Scarcity and Threat of Social Conflict

Oct 23, 2014 | Clar Ni Chonghaile, The Guardian

Farmers in Liberia are too frightened to work together in their fields, fertilisers and seeds are stuck on the other side of closed borders, markets…

Liberia: GOL, Norwegian Gov't Sign U.S.$150 Million Agreement

Oct 23, 2014 | Victor C. Hanson Jr, AllAfrica

The Government of Liberia and the Kingdom of Norway have signed US$150 million agreement to improve forest governance, strengthen law enforcement, and support efforts aimed…

Iraq/Syria: U.S. Strikes Cut Into ISIS Oil Revenues, Treasury Official Says

Oct 23, 2014 | Julie Hirschfeld David, New York Times

The American military campaign against the Islamic State has begun to cut into the Sunni militant group’s substantial oil revenues, the top counterterrorism official at…

Haiti: Hearing in Haitians’ Cholera Case

Oct 23, 2014 | Rick Gladstone, New York Times

A federal judge in Manhattan heard arguments on Thursday in the first court proceeding over Haitian cholera victims’ lawsuit against the United Nations. They contend…

Conflict Minerals: Catholic Bishops Press EU on Conflict Minerals

Oct 22, 2014 | Sue Reisinger, Corporate Counsel

Some 70 Roman Catholic bishops from around the world and a global Catholic development agency are urging the EU to make proposed rules for so-called…

Conflict Minerals: Group of Investors Urge European Union to Adopt Stronger Conflict Minerals Legislation

Oct 22, 2014 | Providence Journal

BRUSSELS and SAN FRANCISCO -- Yesterday, global sustainable and responsible investors and investment organisations representing more than EUR855 billion in assets under management sent a…

Iraq/Kurdistan: US Not to Intervene in Baghdad, Erbil Dispute Over Tanker of Kurdish Oil: Official

Oct 22, 2014 | Platts

The Obama administration will not intervene in a legal dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over a tanker of Kurdish oil that has been circling off…

Philippines/South China Sea: Philippines pushes arbitration in China sea row

Oct 22, 2014 | Oliver Teves, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president said Wednesday that the international arbitration Manila has initiated to challenge China's territorial claims in the South China Sea…

China/South China Sea: China Installs Buoys in Pacific Ocean, Report Says

Oct 22, 2014 | AFP

Beijing (AFP) - China has installed 17 sets of submerged buoys in "key marine areas" of the western Pacific Ocean, state media said, a move…

Conflict Minerals: IT and the Trade in Conflict Minerals

Oct 21, 2014 | Maija Palmer, Financial Times

The next time your mobile phone buzzes in your pocket, think tungsten. The hard, steel-grey mineral is crucial to the component that makes phones vibrate.…

Mindanao/Philippines: Massive Land Grabbing Reported in SouthCot Town

Oct 21, 2014 | Minda News

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Officials of Tantangan town in South Cotabato have raised alarm over the alleged massive land grabbing activities in two of its…

Liberia: Ebola Epidemic Delays Auction

Oct 21, 2014 | Africa Energy Intelligence

Liberia has pulled out all the stops to make its licensing round a success. But Monrovia is touting new blocks in a highly complicated health…

Africa: 15 African Nations That Are The Most Land-Grabbed By Foreign Interests

Oct 21, 2014 | Atlanta Black Star

Land grabbing is defined as the practice of buying or leasing large pieces of land in developing countries by domestic and international companies, governments worldwide…

South Sudan/Sudan: China Reviewing Oil Relationships with Sudan, South Sudan, Researcher Says

Oct 21, 2014 | Nick Snow, Oil & Gas Journal

The Chinese government and China National Petroleum Corp. are reviewing their relationships with Sudan and South Sudan following years of growth that changed both sides,…

Uganda: Uganda Says Oil Revenue Possible Alternative to Chinese Cash for Railway

Oct 21, 2014 | Karin Strohecker, Reuters

LONDON - Uganda could rely on income from future oil exports to finance an $8 billion railway if funding talks with China fail to bear…

Myanmar: Norwegian Support for Hydropower: Peacebuilding Through Best Practice

Oct 21, 2014 | Ashley South, Democratic Voice of Burma

Last week I accompanied a group from the Norwegian embassy in Rangoon, and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), to the Karen National…

Myanmar: Record Haul in Jade Sales to Burmese Traders

Oct 21, 2014 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Jade sales at a major gems emporium for local traders in Burma hit a record high this week, a spokesperson for the Myanma…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Rushes to Expand Refineries

Oct 20, 2014 | Patrick Osgood, Iraq Oil Report

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is racing to expand the capacity of its oil refineries – a critical step toward addressing weaknesses in the…

Liberia: Cheaper Electricity in Sight

Oct 20, 2014 | Liberian Observer

The Conex Crude Storage Terminal (CST) project in collaboration with the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company ("LPRC") is expected to be completed in December this year,…

Iraq/Syria: Senior MP: Purchase of Iraq's Oil from ISIL Harms Turkey's Ties with Producers

Oct 20, 2014 | FARS News Agency

"The Turkish government's purchase of Iraq's crude from the ISIL at a rate one-third of the market prices will harm its relations with the oil…

Iraq/Syria: Islamist Terror Group Earns $800 Million a Year From Oil Sales

Oct 20, 2014 | Jim Polson, Bloomberg

The Islamic State is earning about $2 million a day, or $800 million a year, selling oil on the black market, according to one estimate.

The…

Al Qaeda: Al Qaeda’s Next Target: American Oil Tankers

Oct 20, 2014 | Sarah Kaufman, Vocativ

Al Qaeda discusses strategic attacks on chokepoints of oil shipments from the Middle East to the West in its first issue of “Resurgence,” an English-language propaganda magazine…

Timor-Leste: Foreign Interests Trying to Exploit My Fragile Nation, Says Timor PM Xanana Gusmao

Oct 19, 2014 | Tom Allard, The Sydney Morning Herald

Foreign interests are trying to "dominate" East Timor, exploiting the fragility of the tiny nation to deny its rightful share of the oil and gas…

Iraq: The Smugglers Who Fuel ISIS

Oct 19, 2014 | Ma'ad Fayad, Asharq Al-Awsat

Baghdad— On the road between Kirkuk and Erbil, which cuts across the fault-line between Iraq proper and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, convoys of tanker trucks…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Region Tightens Political Control of Kirkuk with Parliamentary Office

Oct 18, 2014 | Rudaw

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region appears to be tightening their political control of Kirkuk after the Kurdish Parliament opened its first local office…

Kenya: Ngilu Now Accuses Cord of Land Grabbing

Oct 18, 2014 | Felix Olic and Enos Teche, The Star

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu has lashed out at Cord for linking top government officials to the Sh8 billion Karen land-grab scandal, terming the politicians…

Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta to Spare No One in Karen Land Saga

Oct 18, 2014 | Augustine Oduor and Cyrus Ombati, Standard Digital

NAIROBI, KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday added his voice to the controversial Karen land saying anyone found responsible for fraud will not be spared.

In…

Liberia: Land Conflict Looms in Breafbasket - Lofa County

Oct 18, 2014 | Citizens of Quardu Gboni District, Front Page Africa

Monrovia – Lofa County in the north of Liberia is considered one of the counties that grows a huge quantity of food because of its…

South Sudan: Oil Leaks Cause Pollution Fears

Oct 17, 2014 | Star Africa

Oil leaks from damaged pipelines due to the protracted conflict in South Sudan have caused widespread fears of environmental pollution in the country.
George Gatloi…