International

Eastern DRC: Stop Fixating on Conflict Minerals

Jun 23, 2014 | Christoph Vogel, Think Africa Press

Goma/Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo: In October 2013, after a year-and-a-half-long rebellion in which its forces managed to take control of several major cities and…

Iraq: Iraq Upheaval Threatens Oil Development Plans

Jun 23, 2014 | Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The turmoil in Iraq has thrown the OPEC member's ambitious plans to boost oil production into doubt, threatening to crimp its most…

Myanmar: Land-Grab Documentary Takes Top Burma Prize at Human Rights Film Festival

Jun 20, 2014 | Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — A 30-minute documentary about land confiscation in Burma won two out of eight awards at the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival…

Kurdistan/Iraq: First Cargo of Disputed Kurdish Iraqi Oil Delivered to Israel

Jun 20, 2014 | DEBKAfile

The Liberia-flagged SCF Altai tanker docked at Ashkelon port early Friday and began unloading crude, according to a port source. This may be the first…

Liberia: Stakeholders Make Recommendations on Land Governance

Jun 20, 2014 | Jimmey C. Fahngon, AllAfrica

Stakeholders at the voluntary guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests seminar have made several recommendations geared towards the improvement of…

Timor-Leste: East Timor Plans First Onshore Bid Round

Jun 20, 2014 | Rick Wilkinson, Oil & Gas Journal

The Democratic Republic of Timor Lesté (East Timor) is planning its first bid round for onshore acreage toward the end of this year.

The country’s Minister…

Kenya/South Sudan/Uganda/Ethiopia: Kenya Attacks Undermine Plans for East African Trade Hub

Jun 20, 2014 | Drazen Jorgic, Retuers

LAMU, Kenya, June 20 (Reuters) - The latest in a string of militant attacks on Kenya's coast has dealt a fresh blow to the economy,…

Liberia: Bursting the Bubble of Natural Resource Expectations

Jun 19, 2014 | Luke Balleny, Thomson Reuters Foundation

After oil was found off Ghana’s southwest coast in 2007, John Atta Mills, former president of Ghana is said to have proclaimed, “We will use…

Iraq: China to Relocate Some Workers in Oil Supplier Iraq

Jun 19, 2014 | Global Post

China is to relocate some workers in Iraq -- where it is the biggest foreign investor in the oil industry -- in the face of…

China/Vietnam: In Push to Assert Rights, China Plans to Send 2nd Oil Rig to Waters Near Vietnam

Jun 19, 2014 | Jane Perlez, The New York Times

HANOI, Vietnam — The day after tough talks between Vietnam and China that made no progress over a Chinese oil rig in the South China…

Iraq: Iraqi Officials Claim Control of Major Refinery in Baiji

Jun 19, 2014 | Alissa J. Rubin and Suadad Al-Salhy, The New York Times

BAGHDAD — Iraqi government officials claimed on Thursday that Sunni militants had retreated from a major refinery in Baiji after intense fighting for more than…

South China Sea: Analysts Say China May Try to Use Manmade Islands to Bolster Bid for Economic Development

Jun 19, 2014 | Edward Wong,, The New York Times

China has been moving sand onto some reefs and rocks in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea to create islands that can support…

Conflict Minerals: Sexual Violence and Conflict Minerals: International Demand Fuels Cycle

Jun 18, 2014 | Zainab Hawa Bangura, The Guardian

Gold, tungsten, tantalum and tin: these are raw materials that you may never think about, but they are the link between our most common electronic…

Myanmar: Farmers hold massive march in Mandalay over land grab

Jun 18, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

Around 1,500 farmers from Mandalay Division’s Pyin Oo Lwin participated in a march on Monday to demand the return of 300,000 acres of farmland allegedly…

Myanmar: Myanmar Gas Exports Seen Rising on Ramping Up of New China Pipeline

Jun 18, 2014 | Aung Hla Tun, Reuters

(Reuters) - Myanmar's earnings from natural gas exports fell in the last fiscal year as more of the resource was consumed domestically but shipments of…

China/Vietnam: For Vietnam and China, No Easing of Tensions

Jun 18, 2014 | Jane Perlez, The New York Times

HONG KONG — China and Vietnam exchanged sharp views Wednesday in their dispute over a Chinese oil rig deployed in contested waters in the South…

Sudan: Rebuilding Governance for Natural Resources is Vital for Resilient Livelihoods and Long-term Peace, Says New UNEP Report

Jun 17, 2014 | UNEP

17 June 2014, Khartoum, Sudan – UNEP releases third report in an environmental governance series that looks at supporting peacebuilding relating to natural resources in…

Kyrgyzstan: Conflicts in Kyrgyzstan Foreshadow Water Wars to Come

Jun 17, 2014 | Fyodor Savintsev, Creative Time Reports

Water scarcity is an omnipresent plight in the developing world. Today 780 million people lack access to drinking water. By 2030 nearly half the world’s…

Liberia: Eviction Dilemma - Over 6,000 Mount Barclay Residents Made Homeless

Jun 17, 2014 | Henry Karmo, AllAfrica

Mount Barclay, Montserrado County- Over six thousand residents in the Mount Barclay community have been made homeless as a result of a Civil Law court…

Myanmar: Myanmar's Widening Rural-Urban Divide

Jun 17, 2014 | Deutsche Welle

Over the past years Myanmar has instituted a set of economic reforms designed to boost growth. But economist Lex Rieffel tells DW little has changed,…

Myanmar: Myanmar's Wildlife Trafficking Hotspot

Jun 17, 2014 | Sebastian Strangio, Al Jazeera

Mong La, Myanmar - In the middle of Zhangji Restaurant stood the venue's main attraction: a long glass aquarium filled with Chinese rice wine and…

Myanmar: 15-Year Drug Eradication Effort Failed: Minister

Jun 17, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — A Home Affairs minister has told Parliament that despite a 15-year nationwide drug eradication project opium production in Burma has continued to rise,…

Ukraine: Ukraine Suspects Terrorism in Pipeline Explosion

Jun 17, 2014 | David M. Herszengorn, The New York Times

MOSCOW — A major natural gas pipeline exploded in central Ukraine on Tuesday, a day after the Russian energy behemoth Gazprom said that it was…

Sierra Leone: Dangers Dealing in Diamonds

Jun 16, 2014 | Brad Thompson, The West Australian

Perth businessman Cyril D'Silva has a rare insight into diamonds, danger and doing business in Sierra Leone.He has just taken delivery of the first cut…

Water Wars: This Map Reveals Where Our Future Water Wars Will Begin

Jun 16, 2014 | Ria Misra, i09

As droughts intensify around the world, the stand-off over who gets access to which water sources is becoming more and more fraught. Here are the…

Conflict Resources: Officials: Wildlife Products May Finance Terrorism

Jun 16, 2014 | Verena Dobnik, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. government is stepping up its crackdown on the illegal trafficking of wild animal products across the nation's borders, saying…

Liberia: Court Official Scuffle With Reporters During Land Dispute

Jun 15, 2014 | AllAfrica

Monrovia — The man in the picture had his hand pointed to a FrontPAgeAfrica reporter who had gone on a reportorial duty to cover an…

Liberia: Robert Sirleaf Establishes Disaster Empowerment Recovery Program

Jun 15, 2014 | Henry Karmo, AllAfrica

Monrovia — The office of Mr. Robert Sirleaf former Chairman of the board of directors of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) says it…

Myanmar: Mandalay Farmers Begin ‘Plough Protest’ on 3,000 Acres

Jun 13, 2014 | Tun Tun Thein, Democratic Voice of Burma

Some 800 farmers in Mandalay Division began ploughing more than 3,000 acres of farmland last week as a protest for its return since it was…

Iraq: Iraq’s Insurgency and the Threat to Oil

Jun 13, 2014 | Gulf News

Washington: Oil markets are finally rattling after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) took over a series of key Iraqi…