International


Iraq/Kurdistan: International Oil Producers Halt Northern Iraq Operations

Aug 14, 2014 | Turkish Weekly

In a story on the suspension of oil production by a number of international companies operating in Iraq's north, the Anadolu Agency erroneously reported that…


India: There Will be Water Wars Soon: HC on Depleting Water Level in Delhi

Aug 14, 2014 | The Economic Times

The Delhi High Court today said there would be "water wars" soon given the rate water sources is depleting and asked the city government whether…


Liberia: Sime Darby Slows Liberia Operations Due to Ebola Virus

Aug 14, 2014 | Bloomberg

Sime Darby Bhd (SIME), the world’s biggest listed palm oil producer, said it’s slowing production in Liberia because of the Ebola virus.

The Kuala Lumpur-based company,…


Liberia: Sifca Says Exports of Rubber From Liberia Halted on Ebola

Aug 14, 2014 | Bloomberg

Sifca Group, an Ivory Coast agribusiness company, said its exports of rubber from Liberia have been halted as a result of the closing of land…


Iraq: Iraq Crisis: West’s ‘Mandate’ Limited by National Borders – and Don’t Dare Mention Oil

Aug 14, 2014 | The Independent

In the Middle East, the first shots of every war define the narrative we all dutifully follow. So too, this greatest crisis since the last…


Global: Global Conflicts Cause concern in Markets, Commodities

Aug 14, 2014 | Nwi Times

Headlines across the world have been filled with news of violence and intensifying conflicts in the Gaza strip, the Ukraine and Russia, and Iraq.

The largely…


Liberia: Liberia Offers New Acreage Despite No Update on Oil Legislation

Aug 14, 2014 | Platts

Liberia has offered four exploration blocks for licensing despite previous assurances that they would first put in place petroleum legislation.

State-owned NOCAL on its website said…


Liberia: Liberia's National Oil Company Denies Selling Oil Blocks

Aug 14, 2014 | All Africa

The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) says oil blocks that are now out for international competitive bidding, are neither being sold nor auctioned contrary…


Conflict Minerals: How Monitoring Smelters is Key to Curbing Conflict Minerals

Aug 14, 2014 | Web Africa

Technology hardware, software and services provider HP says it is keeping a close watch on smelters and refiners in a bid to reach the company’s…


DRC: Eastern Congo Slowly Producing More Conflict-Free Minerals Report

Aug 14, 2014 | Thomas Reuters Foundation

The number of mines certified as producing “conflict-free” minerals in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is slowly increasing, though challenges remain in cutting off this…


Bangladesh: Land Grabbing Drives Lawlessness and Deaths in Bangladesh

Aug 14, 2014 | UCA News

In separate incidents last week, a tribal Santal man was murdered, and an Oraon woman was gang raped by Muslim men in northern Bangladesh. A…


Nigeria: Awka Youths, Elders Square Up Against Anambra Government Over Land Grabbing

Aug 14, 2014 | Daily Post

Youths and elders of Ezinano community in Awka, Anambra State have drawn a battle line with state government over what they termed “unlawful acquisition of…


Myanmar: Corrupt “Land Grabs” Imperil Democracy in Burma

Aug 14, 2014 | Thomas Reuters Foundation

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to own property [and] no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of…


Iraq: Militants Hold Seven Iraq Oil Fields After Syria Blitz, IEA Says

Aug 14, 2014 | Bloomberg

Islamic State fighters have captured seven oil fields in Iraq with a total output capacity of 80,000 barrels a day, adding to energy deposits they…


Myanmar: Kanbalu Farmers Demand Release of 57 Jailed ‘Plough Protestors’

Aug 14, 2014 | DVB

Some 1,500 farmers rallied for the release of 57 jailed land rights activists in central Burma’s Sagaing Division on Wednesday.

The demonstrators, who received permission from…


Myanmar: Drug Control Efforts Go Local in Myanmar’s Kachin State

Aug 14, 2014 | IRIN

Myanmar's northern Kachin State, renowned for its heroin production, is changing tack in its efforts to curb rampant drug use and cultivation: In addition to…


Kurdistan: Turkey Has Called on US to Lift Kurdish Oil Ban

Aug 14, 2014 | Financial Times

LONDON - Turkey has called on the US to lift obstacles to the sale of oil by Iraq’s cash-strapped Kurds to help in their war…


South China Sea: China Defends Position on Sea Dispute

Aug 13, 2014 | DVB

Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Summit in Naypyidaw on Saturday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the country is willing to…


South China Sea: At ARF, India Backs International Arbitration, Freedom of Navigation

Aug 13, 2014 | The Diplomat

As The Diplomat reported earlier on Monday, this year’s ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was one of the more productive multilateral meetings in the Asia-Pacific region in recent memory.…


South China Sea: U.S. to Monitor South China Sea for De-escalation After China Rebuff

Aug 13, 2014 | Reuters

The United States will monitor the South China Sea to see whether "de-escalatory steps" are being taken, a U.S. State Department official said on Monday,…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil and Erbil

Aug 13, 2014 | New Yorker

To the defense of Erbil: this was the main cause that drew President Obama back to combat in Iraq last week, two and a half…


Myanmar: Myanmar Can Renegotiate Hydro Deal to Keep More Power, says Chinese Firm

Aug 13, 2014 | Reuters

A Chinese firm that signed deals with Myanmar's former military rulers to build hydro dams said it could renegotiate the terms, which would see some…


Myanmar: US to Waive Timber Sanctions for One Year

Aug 13, 2014 | Myanmar Times

The United States Treasury Department granted a special one year licence beginning in late July for certain US companies to trade with Myanma Timber Enterprise…


Can Women Make the World More Peaceful?

Aug 11, 2014 | Laurel Stone

Do women hold the key to a peaceful society? Much is known about the victimisation of women through rape, trafficking, and early marriages, but much…


China/South China Sea: A View From the Sea, as China Flexes Muscle

Aug 9, 2014 | Austin Ramzy, The New York Times

ABOARD CSB-8003, in the South China Sea — As the large white Chinese ship closed in, the smaller Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel could only veer…


Kenya: Youths Block Thika Superhighway to Protest Land Grabbing

Aug 9, 2014 | Albert Nyakundi, The Star

Tension is high on the Thika superhighway after several youth groups and community based organizations protested against a private developer who is fencing of public…


Conflict Minerals: How to Make the Most of Africa’s Business Boom

Aug 9, 2014 | Sara Murphy, The Motley Fool

Following the close of this week's unprecedented U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the business community's eyes are trained on Africa. Perhaps not since colonization has the West…


South China Sea: China to Build Lighthouses on Five Disputed Islands

Aug 8, 2014 | Today

BEIJING — China is planning to build lighthouses on five islands in the South China Sea, the official China News Agency reported yesterday, in what…


Uganda: Uganda's Mineral Exports Dry Up Over 'Conflict' Certificate

Aug 8, 2014 | Nicholas Bariyo, The Wall Street Journal

KAMPALA, Uganda—Mineral exports have ground to a halt because a certification process aimed at stopping so-called "conflict minerals" from leaving the country hasn't been put…


DRC: Brutal, Conflict Minerals Smuggling General Escapes Justice

Aug 8, 2014 | Timo Mueller, Enough Project

In important developments last Thursday, on 31 July, Congolese authorities cleared all charges leveled against General Amisi Kumba, former commander of the Congolese land forces. Amisi was suspended on…