International

Conflict Minerals: Catholic Aid Network Urges European Action on Conflict Minerals

Mar 17, 2015 | Catholic Sentinel

An international consortium of Catholic aid agencies charged that European businesses are causing suffering and death by importing minerals from regions of the world experiencing…

South China Sea: U.S. Navy Urges Southeast Asian Patrols of South China Sea

Mar 17, 2015 | Sharon Chen, Bloomberg

The commander of the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet called on Southeast Asian nations to form a combined maritime force to patrol areas of the South…

Iran/Iraq/ Kuwait: Iraq Eyeing Development of Joint Fields

Mar 16, 2015 | Hellenic Shipping News

Iran’s media said on Saturday that Iraq has started a new round of talks with Iran and Kuwait over the development of oil wells that…

India: How Coal Fuels India’s Insurgency

Mar 16, 2015 | Anthony Loyd, National Geographic

The gunman at the jungle’s edge lived and died by different names. Some knew him as Prashant, others as Paramjeet. Occasionally he called himself Gopalji,…

Myanmar: Knowledge Vacuum and Conflict Plague Salween River

Mar 14, 2015 | Demelza Black, The Irrawaddy

Bright sunlight bears down on Saw Nyan Win as he unravels his fishing net with practiced hands on the bank of the Salween river, “I…

Timor-Leste: Timor Considers Buying Sunrise

Mar 13, 2015 | Peter Klinger, The West Australian

Timor-Leste Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Alfredo Pires said yesterday its national oil company, Timor Gap, could be used to buy out Woodside or other…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Oil Deal with Baghdad Unravels as Tensions Rise

Mar 13, 2015 | Isabel Coles, Rania El Gamal, and Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters

A four-month-old oil deal between Iraq and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is close to unraveling after payments from Baghdad dried up, prompting Arbil to threaten…

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone News: Rutile Falls but Sierra Rutile Tops 2014 Production

Mar 13, 2015 | Awoko

Of the five (iron ore, diamonds, rutile ilmenite, zircon and bauxite) heavily mined minerals in Sierra Leone only two (ilmenite and zircon) were able to…

South Sudan/Sudan/Abyei: Warrap Government Urges UNISFA To Block Bashir's Plan To Visit Abyei Region

Mar 12, 2015 | Ariik Atekdit, Gurtong

Omer Al-Bashir is believed to be planning a visit to the area for his April elections campaign.

Paul Dhel Gum, the State Minister of Information…

Nile River: On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict over Water

Mar 12, 2015 | Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360

For thousands of years, Egyptians have depended on the waters of the Nile flowing out of the Ethiopian highlands and central Africa. It is the…

Iraq: Oil Companies Offer to Cut 2015 Spending in Iraq

Mar 12, 2015 | Reuters

Oil companies have proposed millions of dollars of cuts in development spending in Iraq, a senior oil ministry official said, after Baghdad told them low…

Myanmar: ‘Unprecedented Rate’ of Agriculture-Driven Deforestation: Report

Mar 12, 2015 | David Hopkins, The Irrawaddy

The conversion of forestlands for agricultural development is occurring at an “unprecedented rate,” aided by a weak legal framework governing forest management and land use,…

Liberia: Liberia Locals May Lose Land Rights To Palm Oil Industry

Mar 12, 2015 | John C. Cannon, Mongabay.com

The rights of local and indigenous peoples aren’t being adequately protected in the drive for economic development, according to a report published in February by…

South Sudan/Sudan: Abyei is Sudanese Territory and Will Remain So: President Bashir

Mar 12, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

During a visit to the West Kordofan state on Wednesday, Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir asserted that the contested Abyei area belongs to Sudan and…

Iraq: Iraq’s Continuing Struggle with Conflict Pollution

Mar 12, 2015 | Wim Zwijnenburg, Insight on Conflict

While Iraq is still recovering from the environmental impact of both Gulf wars, it now faces new environmental problems caused by the current conflict against…

China/Japan/South China Sea: Testing Beijing, Japan Eyes Growing Role in South China Sea Security

Mar 11, 2015 | Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo, Reuters

Seventy years after its imperial forces were kicked out of the South China Sea, Japan is quietly moving back into the region, forging security ties…

Exclusive: Iraq Builds Up Arrears to Majors as Oil Price Drops - Sources

Mar 11, 2015 | Dmitry Zhdannikov and Alex Lawler, Reuters

Iraq is building up debts to the oil companies developing its giant fields, industry sources said, a further sign of how the oil-price drop is…

Liberia: GVL, Citizens Reach Agreement

Mar 10, 2015 | N. Dweh Nimley, The NEWS (Monrovia)

Citizens of Butaw Administrative District in Sinoe County have reportedly reached an agreement with Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) for the expansion and development of land…

Sierra Leone: Ebola Crisis Could Force Sierra Leone to Diversify away from Mining

Mar 10, 2015 | The Guardian

As Sierra Leone looks to rebuild after the Ebola epidemic, it may be forced to diversify from a mining-heavy economic base. Falling iron ore prices…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurds Say Keeping Their Side of Baghdad Oil Deal

Mar 9, 2015 | Isabel Coles, Reuters

Iraqi Kurdistan said Monday it is on course to keep its side of an oil export deal reached with Baghdad in December, as loadings from…

Iraq/Syria/Libya: Oil Could Lead to the Downfall of ISIS

Mar 9, 2015 | Rob Nikolewski, Watchdog

One of the key factors to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria may be as simple as disrupting oil production at facilities in northern…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Coast Guards Chase Chinese Vessel off Vietnam Waters

Mar 9, 2015 | Nguyen Tu and Ba Vinh, Thanh Nien News

Coast guards in central Vietnam last week chased a Chinese poacher vessel from Vietnamese waters thanks to local fishermen's tip-off. Truong Van Phuong, a fisherman from…

China/South China Sea: China Defends Island Building in South China Sea, Says Not Seeking New World Order

Mar 8, 2015 | Michael Martina, Reuters

China's foreign minister on Sunday defended his government's controversial policy of reclamation on disputed isles in the South China Sea which has sparked regional concern,…

Myanmar: Many Buried in Jade Mine Landslide

Mar 8, 2015 | Eleven

Many raw jade miners are feared dead after a 1,000-foot-high heap of soil collapsed in Hpakant, Kachin State. “I ran as soon as I heard…

Syria: Air Strike on Islamic State-Run Refinery in Syria Kills 30-Monitor

Mar 8, 2015 | Reuters

A U.S.-led coalition air strike in Syria hit an oil refinery run by the Islamic State militant group near the border with Turkey on Sunday,…

Iraq/Kurdistan: ISIS Blows up Mekhmour Oil Fields to Thwart Airstrikes

Mar 7, 2015 | Rudaw

Fighters with the Islamic State have responded to a wave of crippling coalition airstrikes targeting the Mekhmour front by exploding
two oil fields in the…

Iraq/Syria: UN Condemns 'Destruction' of Ancient Iraq City of Hatra

Mar 7, 2015 | I24News

The United Nations cultural body on Saturday condemned what it said was the destruction of the ancient city of Hatra in Iraq by the Islamic…

Water Wars: Why Water Shortages Are the Greatest Threat to Global Security

Mar 6, 2015 | Zeeshan Aleem, Policy Mic

If you were to ask the average American to list what the cause of the next global conflict would be, they'd likely list the threats…

Myanmar: Banking on the Farm Vote

Mar 6, 2015 | Thurein Htway, Nikkei

The Myanmar Farmer Development Party is proposing to set up a bank that will provide financial support to farmers to improve their productivity -- and…

Palestine: Gaza's Farmers on Front Lines of Perpetual War

Mar 6, 2015 | Dylan Collins, Al Jazeera

Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip are struggling to recover from the 51-day war between Israel and Palestinian armed groups that ended with a ceasefire…