International


Iraq/Syria: Isis Crisis: An Unholy Alliance - Islamic State 'Selling Oil to President Assad's Regime'

Sep 13, 2014 | Mark Piggot, International Business Times

Terrorist group Isis (Islamic State) is so desperate to fund its military activities in Iraq and Syria that it is secretly selling oil to its…


South Sudan: Oil Worker Goes On the Run After Accusing Government of Role in Sacking

Sep 13, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

September 12, 2014 (JUBA) – A sacked oil worker says he has gone on run for his own safety after alleging the South Sudanese government…


India/Pakistan: Pakistani Troops Expand Rescue in Flood-Hit Areas

Sep 12, 2014 | Zarar Khan and Ashok Sharma, Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- The Pakistani military stepped up rescue efforts as floods wreaked havoc in more districts of the country's eastern Punjab province on Friday,…


India: Water Wars Have Begun: HC on Hijack of Water Tanks in Dwarka

Sep 12, 2014 | The Indian Express

“This is the beginning of water wars. In some years the situation will worsen,” the Delhi High Court on Thursday observed, while voicing concern over…


South Sudan: South Sudan to Split Oil Concession as Lawmakers Question Award

Sep 12, 2014 | Mading Ngor, Bloomberg

South Sudan plans to split an oil block awarded to Star Petroleum SA, a Luxembourg-registered company, as part of a review of a concession criticized…


Myanmar: Farmers Face Eviction in Mandalay

Sep 12, 2014 | Naw Noreen, Democratic Voice of Burma

Twenty-eight farmers near Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Division, are facing eviction after years of property battles, villagers say.The Burmese military allegedly seized 18 acres of…


Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan/Uzbekistan: Water Pressures in Central Asia

Sep 11, 2014 | International Crisis Group

Political rivalries, economic competition, heightened nationalism and mistrust hamper the search for a solution to the region’s growing water and energy needs. In its latest…


Russia/Ukraine: With Gas Cut Off, Ukraine Looks West

Sep 11, 2014 | Danny Hakim, The New York Times

UZHGOROD, Ukraine — Keeping Ukraine warm keeps Andriy Kobolev up at night.Mr. Kobolev, the head of Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz, is scrambling to keep…


China/Vietnam: Vietnam Accuses China of Beating Fishermen, Urge Strict Punishment

Sep 11, 2014 | The China Post

HANOI -- Vietnam has accused Chinese authorities of beating several of its fishermen and demanded severe punishment for those involved. China denied the allegation on…


Myanmar: Irrawaddy Headmaster Accused of Selling Off School Property

Sep 11, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

The headmaster and the village headman sold off a school property in Irrawaddy Division, without providing any prior notification to the staff, trustees or villagers,…


Conflict Minerals: Online Resource for Industry Takes On the Challenges, Regulations, and Best Practices behind Conflict Minerals Reporting

Sep 11, 2014 | MFR Tech

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., - To simplify the challenges, regulations, and best practices behind conflict minerals reporting, the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) created an informative new…


Iraq: ISIS Grip on Iraqi Oil Infrastructure Could Be Slipping Amid US Air Strikes, Kurdish Attacks

Sep 11, 2014 | Maria Gallucci, International Business Times

The Islamic State, or ISIS, may be losing its grip on some of Iraq’s oil infrastructure. After months of capturing oil fields, pumping stations and…


Iraq: Iraq’s North Export Infrastructure Destroyed

Sep 11, 2014 | Ben Lando, Ben Van Heuvelen, Patrick Osgood, and Rawaz Tahir, Iraq Oil Report

Key infrastructure along the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) corridor that has been fully controlled by insurgents since June has been damaged so badly that, even if…


South Sudan: Chinese Force ‘Not in South Sudan’

Sep 11, 2014 | Carl Odera, Business Day

JUBA — China will send 700 soldiers to a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in South Sudan later this year to protect civilians amid a…


South Sudan/Sudan: S. Sudan Demands Foreign Intervention to Resolve Dispute with Khartoum

Sep 11, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

(JUBA) – South Sudan had demanded the intervention of the African Union, United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for it to resolve…


Iraq: Ex-Diplomat ‘Laundered Iraq Oil Money’

Sep 10, 2014 | David Taylor, The Times

A former top United States diplomat is fighting allegations of tax evasion and money laundering after Austrian bank accounts in his wife’s name were frozen,…


Timor-Leste: Big Oil Stands By as Con Man Swindles East Timor

Sep 10, 2014 | Tom Allard, The Sydney Morning Herald

As Bobby Boye surveyed his extensive property portfolio, the 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost and other luxury vehicles in the garage, he may well have reflected with…


Myanmar: VP Nyan Htun Contemplates Burma’s Energy Needs

Sep 10, 2014 | Binny Mary Paul, Democratic Voice of Burma

Burmese Vice- President Nyan Htun has raised concerns about energy consumption in Burma.

At the National Energy Management Committee meeting in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, he pointed…


Myanmar: Netherlands to Help Burma Manage Water

Sep 10, 2014 | Ole Chavannes, Democratic Voice of Burma

During the last day of Burmese President Thein Sein’s ten-day tour through Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced support for water management…


South Sudan: China Sending 1,800 Peacekeepers to South Sudan

Sep 10, 2014 | Voice of America

China is sending hundreds of troops to join the U.N. peacekeeping force in war-torn South Sudan, where Chinese companies have major oil interests.

Comments from China's…


South Sudan: Juba Sacks 14 Nuer Oil Workers Over Alleged Rebel Links

Sep 10, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

(JUBA) – A group of South Sudanese men of Nuer origin, who were employed by several oil companies, have been denied salary payments and dismissed…


Sierra Leone: Ebola Cuts Sierra Leone Growth to Three-Year Low

Sep 10, 2014 | Yahoo News

Freetown (AFP) - Sierra Leone said Wednesday the Ebola crisis had devastated the economy, with growth projections pared back to single digits for the first…


DRC: DR Congo’s Miners Bear Brunt of Attempts to Make Minerals Conflict-Free

Sep 10, 2014 | The Guardian

Legislation that requires firms to trace the supply chains of minerals sourced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is disrupting people’s livelihoods and creating…


India/Pakistan: In Srinagar, Floodwaters Recede, but Anger Remains

Sep 10, 2014 | Betwa Sharma and Nida Najar, The New York Times

SRINAGAR, Kashmir — As people waited here for rescue on rooftops and balconies, fear was giving way on Wednesday to anger and resentment over what…


Mindanao/Philippines: Philippine Bill Would Give Muslims Autonomy

Sep 10, 2014 | Floyd Whaley, The New York Times

MANILA — President Benigno S. Aquino III on Wednesday submitted a draft law to the Philippine Congress that would create a self-governed, predominantly Muslim autonomous…


Cambodia: Environmental Group Blasts Forest Council for Certifying Tainted Vietnam Company

Sep 10, 2014 | Radio Free Asia

Environmental advocacy group Global Witness on Wednesday criticized an international forest management council for giving recognition to a Vietnamese state-owned rubber company accused of grabbing…


Somalia: War-Torn Somalia Faces Starvation

Sep 10, 2014 | Allan Olingo, The East African

Somalia is staring at a fresh food crisis due to delayed rains, rising food prices and persistent conflict.

The fragile food security situation in the Horn…


Water Wars: The Water Wars: Conflicts Over Water Sources Continue to Grow

Sep 9, 2014 | David Zetland, Water Canada

Google "water wars" and you will get 1.45 million search returns – more than "nuclear war." Does this statistic mean that water wars are more…


South Sudan/Sudan: S. Sudan Seeks Pipeline Alternative to End Dependence on Sudan

Sep 9, 2014 | World Tribune

WASHINGTON — South Sudan has sought an alternative to the export crude oil pipeline that crosses into its northern rival.

A U.S. government report said South…


Iraq: New Iraq Oil Minister Faces Kurdish Dispute, Security Threats

Sep 9, 2014 | Voice of America

DUBAI—Iraq's new oil minister is a veteran politician who will need to deploy all his experience to resolve disputes over Kurdish oil production and allay…