International

Liberia: Concern Mounts Over U.S.$8.5 Million Escrow Account

Jul 23, 2014 | AllAfrica

Civil society groups are mounting concern over the status of the US$8.5 million placed in the escrow account at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).…

Liberia: 'Don't Sell Our Oil Blocks' - Citizens Mount Pressure On Lawmakers

Jul 23, 2014 | AllAfrica

Monrovia — With information that there are ongoing discussions for the 53rd National Legislature to hastily ratify agreements for the sale of additional oil blocks…

China/Vietnam: After HYSY-981: A US-Vietnam Alliance?

Jul 22, 2014 | Ankit Panda, The Diplomat

Carl Thayer, Flashpoints‘ resident South China Sea expert, took a look at the reasons China might have preemptively withdrawn its oil rig from South China Sea…

Iraq: Baiji Refinery Still Under Siege

Jul 22, 2014 | Iraq Oil Report

Elite Iraqi soldiers at Iraq's largest oil refinery are still fending off regular attacks by militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham…

Liberia: In Japanese Oil Deal - What Happened to $8.5 Million Earmarked for Development Projects?

Jul 22, 2014 | Augustus D.R. Bortue, AllAfrica

There is public concern regarding the status of a US$8.5 million, which was reportedly deposited in an Escrow Account at the Central Bank of Liberia…

India: Armed Bandits Demand Water in Dry Northern India

Jul 21, 2014 | Associated Press

Armed bandits in drought-stricken northern India are threatening to kill hundreds of villagers unless they deliver 35 buckets of water each day to the outlaws…

Liberia: Liberia Clan Fights Palm Oil Land Grab, Accused of Harassing Investors

Jul 21, 2014 | AFK Insider

Liberia’s Jogbahn Clan is at the forefront of efforts to resist the grab of Indigenous Peoples’ land and forests for palm oil plantations. But according…

Conflict Minerals: Cal Poly Adopts Student's Resolution on Conflict Minerals

Jul 21, 2014 | The Tribune

Cal Poly’s president has signed off on a resolution pledging the university will purchase products using conflict-free minerals whenever available.

Minerals such as tin, gold, tantalum…

Iraq: ISIS Militants Use Water as Weapon of War in Iraq

Jul 21, 2014 | Albawaba

Militants from ISIS now control or threaten key facilities on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, generating fears that the Al-Qaeda splinter group could turn off the taps to the…

Iraq/Syria: Jihadists Sell Syrian Oil to Iraqi Businessmen

Jul 21, 2014 | Global Post

The jihadist Islamic State is selling oil and liquid gas products extracted from fields under its control in Syria to Iraqi businessmen across the border,…

Afghanistan: U.S. troops in Afghanistan Sent Waste to Open Burn Pits, Report Finds

Jul 21, 2014 | David Zucchino, LA Times

Although the U.S. has spent millions to build incinerators in Afghanistan to avoid exposing anyone to toxic smoke from open burning, American troops sent waste…

Iraq: Iraqi Oil Sector Faces Prospect of Independent Kurdistan

Jul 21, 2014 | Walid Khoudouri, Al-Monitor

Iraq has been suffering a continuous series of political crises since the 1980s — the most recent of which include the possible secession of the Kurds to…

South Sudan: Oil Company Donates Agricultural Equipment to Upper Nile Farmers

Jul 20, 2014 | Radio Tamazuj

The Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC) donated twelve pieces of agricultural machinery this month to local authorities of four counties in South Sudan’s oil producing…

Iraq: Kurdish Peshmerga Force Secures Kirkuk, Its Oil

Jul 20, 2014 | Jeffrey Young, Voice of America

KIRKUK, IRAQI KURDISTAN — The Kurdistan regional government has sent its Peshmerga troops into the adjacent province of Kirkuk to drive out insurgents, and to…

Iraq: Farm Project May Switch from Mosul to Kurdistan

Jul 19, 2014 | Kira Walker, Rudaw

Part of a foreign-funded project to improve agriculture in Iraq may be switched from Mosul to the Kurdistan Region after the country’s second-largest city fell…

South Sudan: South Sudanese Rebels Slam China’s Conflicting Roles in South Sudan

Jul 18, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

July 18, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese armed opposition faction of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) under the leadership of the former vice-president,…

Liberia: Liberia, Sime Darby Ink $10m Palm Oil Factory Project

Jul 18, 2014 | Star Africa

The Malaysian palm oil company, Sime Darby, has broken grounds for the construction of a $10 million palm oil factory in Liberia, the management told…

Myanmar: Sagaing Court Imprisons 18 Farmers for Actions in Land Dispute

Jul 17, 2014 | Zarni Mann, The Irrawaddy

MANDALAY — A Sagaing Division court sentenced 18 farmers to prison terms varying from three months to three years on Thursday on charges of trespassing…

DRC: DRC Launches Agri-Business Park in Move to Revamp Farming

Jul 17, 2014 | The Africa Report

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has launched its first agricultural business park, the initial step in a plan to use its vast tracts of arable…

South Sudan: Sudan: Abyei Community Accuses Sudan of Deadly Attack

Jul 17, 2014 | AllAfrica

Juba — Officials and community leaders from the contested oil-producing region of Abyei have accused the Sudanese government of carrying out a raid on Thursday…

Timor-Leste: Timor Leste Considers Onshore Oil Block Auction at the End of 2014

Jul 16, 2014 | Macauhub

Timor Leste (East Timor) is considering launching its first auction of onshore oil blocks at the end of this year, the Oil & Gas Journal…

Myanmar: Three Farmers Sentenced to Three Years for Plough Protest in Sagaing

Jul 16, 2014 | Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma

Three farmers in Sagaing Division were sentenced to three years in prison on Monday for “trespassing” and about 300 more face charges for staging a…

China/Vietnam: Chinese Oil Rig Moved Away From Disputed Waters Off Vietnam

Jul 16, 2014 | John Ruwitch and Nguyen Phuong Linh, Reuters

SHANGHAI/HANOI, July 16 (Reuters) - A Chinese oil rig has finished drilling near the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea after finding signs…

Central African Republic: Forest Governance at Risk

Jul 15, 2014 | EU Forest Watch

The EU and others donors are slowly re-engaging in the Central African Republic (CAR) to support reconstruction and stabilisation efforts. In May, the European Union…

Ivory Coast VPA: Work in Progress

Jul 15, 2014 | EU Forest Watch

Representatives from the Ivory Coast -government, private sector and civil society- met with European Commission officials in Brussels from 24 - 26 June 2014, to…

Myanmar: Development and Alternative Crops Provide Hope In War On Illicit Drugs – UN

Jul 15, 2014 | United Nations

Senior United Nations officials today called for a greater focus on development activities and alternative crops in countries where the tight grip of drug lords…

Sierra Leone: Reprocessing of Tongo Sample Tailings Results in 29% Grade Increase

Jul 15, 2014 | Leandi Kolver, Mining Weekly

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The reprocessing of bulk sample tailings at West Africa-focused diamond developer Stellar Diamonds’ Tongo kimberlite dyke project, in Sierra Leone, has yielded…

Liberia: Lawyer Wants Ellen's Intervention

Jul 15, 2014 | AllAfrica

The Executive Director of Innocence Project Africa (INPA), has requested the intervention of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in a controversy surrounding a disputed land within the…

Myanmar: As Japan’s Aid Money Pours In – Community Groups Raise Concerns

Jul 15, 2014 | John Arterbury, Karen News

When three villagers from rural Myanmar visited Tokyo earlier this month they came equipped with an unusual itinerary. Rather than spend time exploring the city’s…

Iraq: Kurds May Have Oil To Export, But Buyers Are Harder To Find

Jul 15, 2014 | Jackie Northman, NPR

Kurdish security forces, the peshmerga, have , in northern Iraq. The fields have the potential to put billions of dollars into the coffers of the…