International
China/United States/South China Sea: US Patrols to Raise Stakes with Beijing in Disputed South China Sea
Oct 24, 2015
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Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom, Livemint
US plans to send warships or military aircraft within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, possibly within days,…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: Amid Anti-ISIS Coalition in Syria and Iraq, Oil Sales Earn $50M a Month for Islamic State
Oct 23, 2015
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Michael Kaplan, International Business Times
The Islamic State militant group brings in up to $50 million each month in oil sales, allowing the militants to prolong their control over large swathes…
Timor-Leste: A Stabilized East Timor Creating Opportunities for Foreign Businesses
Oct 23, 2015
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Sadachika Watanabe, Nikkei
East Timor is looking to upgrade its natural-resource and transportation infrastructure, creating new business opportunities for overseas construction companies and plant builders. As East Timor's…
Myanmar: Booming Chinese Demand for Jade Fuels Armed Conflict and Entrenched Corruption in Myanmar
Oct 23, 2015
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Ron Gluckman, Forbes Asia
Deals with Chinese companies financed modern equipment, and digging scaled up. So, too, did landslides and drug addiction among poor miners–many work, and die, scavenging…
DRC: Picks, Pans and Bare Hands: How Miners in the Heart of Africa Toil in Terrible Conditions to Extract the Rare Minerals that Power Your iPhone
Oct 22, 2015
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Nick Fagge, Daily Mail
Scraping through shovels-full of silt for the precious mineral with their bare hands, miners use these primitive methods to harvest coltan - the magical conductor…
South Sudan: Food Security Body IPC Warns of Famine in South Sudan
Oct 22, 2015
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Tom Miles, Reuters
South Sudan faces a serious risk of famine by the end of this year and 30,000 people are already classified as being in a food…
Myanmar: Burma Jade Trade: Former Junta Members Making Huge Profits While Locals Suffer Environmental Effects
Oct 22, 2015
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David Connet, Independent
A damning new report into the jade trade warns the precious stones are bringing misery and death to the people of Burma where it is…
Sudan/Darfur: Sudan President Bashir Confirms Referendum in Darfur Next Year
Oct 21, 2015
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Xinhua News Agency
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has announced that an administrative referendum in Darfur would be held in April 2016 to end controversy over the administrative status…
Africa: The Geopolitics: Africa’s Rich Oil-Curse or Blessings for the Inhabitants? ..A Diplomatic Analysis of the Chinese, West And Others’ Quest In Africa (Part 4)
Oct 21, 2015
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Josephus Moses Gray, Global News Network
"This might sound ridiculous”, but it is a glimpsing fact that oil’s curse can be avoidable and turn into fruitful and praiseworthy blessings; but the…
Iraq: Iraq Oil Refinery to Eliminate Liquid Waste with ZLD System
Oct 21, 2015
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WaterWorld
Iraq´s State Company for Oil Projeacts (SCOP) will use a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) to eliminate all liquid waste discharge from its Karbala refinery. Veolia´s…
Iraq: Is the Future of Iraq's Oil Industry Under Threat?
Oct 21, 2015
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Nick Cunnigham, OilPrice.com
Iraq is one of the major reasons why OPEC has been able to increase oil production over the past year, even as oil prices have…
Conflict Minerals: EU Conflict Minerals Regulation Not Expected until Mid-2016 – at the Earliest
Oct 20, 2015
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National Law Review
The Council of the EU is currently developing its position on the conflict minerals regulation as proposed by the European Parliament on May 20, 2015.…
Liberia: 45,000 Residents to Become Homeless
Oct 20, 2015
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E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor and Jonathan Browne, The New Dawn
About 45,000 residents, particularly squatters from the Industrial Park in Gardnerville have staged street protests here against a planned demolition next Monday, 26 October by…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Cholera Cases Grow, Spread to Kurdish Region
Oct 20, 2015
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Al Arabiya
The number of cholera cases in Iraq has risen to more than 1,800 as the epidemic spread to the northern autonomous Kurdish region, health officials…
Myanmar: Recent Floods Deal Devastating Blow to Agricultural Livelihoods and Food Security in Myanmar – UN
Oct 20, 2015
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United Nations
A new joint United Nations agency-Myanmar Government report paints a grim picture of the destruction caused by flooding in the country, where more than half…
Liberia: Rivercess County, Finance Ministry Exchange over Social Contributions
Oct 19, 2015
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Samwar S. Fallah, FrontPageAfrica
The oil blocks in the seas of Rivercess County have so far yielded some of the biggest payments from Liberia's oil industry. Two oil companies…
Liberia: Liberians Murmur over Submission of Four Oil Blocks to The House by Ellen
Oct 19, 2015
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Cholo Brooks, Global News Network
Liberians over the weekend murmured over the latest information from the office of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on the submission of other oil blocks to…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: How ISIS Built Its Own Multi-Million Dollar Industry by Attacking Oilfields [Video]
Oct 17, 2015
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Hari Sreenivasan, PBS
The militant group known as the Islamic State or ISIS controls huge amounts of territory in Iraq and Syria. And ISIS finances much of its…
Syria: Kerry: Climate Change Made the Syrian Civil War Far Worse
Oct 17, 2015
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Jacqueline Klimas, Washington Examiner
Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Saturday that climate change didn't cause the Syrian conflict, but he said it did play a large role in…
Liberia: Parliament's Passage of Liberia’s Land Rights Act Urged
Oct 16, 2015
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James Butty, Voice of America
An international land rights group said Liberia risks a resurgence of social conflict unless the country’s legislature approves a Land Rights Act that is moving…
China/South China Sea: China Suggests Joint South China Sea Drills with Asean
Oct 16, 2015
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BBC
Beijing is currently hosting an informal meeting for defence ministers from the region. China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan has suggested drills for "maritime rescues and…
Myanmar: Russia to Build Early Warning System for Natural Disasters in Myanmar
Oct 16, 2015
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Alexander Korablinov, Russia Beyond the Headlines
The Russian Emergencies Ministry will help Myanmar build an early warning system for natural calamities and supply it with equipment needed for clean-up operations, Vasily Pospelov, Russia’s ambassador…
Iraq/Islamic State: Iraqi Forces and Shiite Militias Retake Oil Refinery from ISIS
Oct 16, 2015
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Michael R. Gordon, New York Times
Iraqi forces and the Shiite militias fighting alongside them announced Friday that they had retaken the oil refinery at Baiji from Islamic State militants, in…
Iraq: Iraq Claims to Have Taken Key Oil Facility – Again
Oct 15, 2015
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Mitchell Prothero, McClatchey DC
Iraqi security forces claimed Thursday to have taken control of most of the nearly completely destroyed oil refinery in the strategic central Iraqi city of…
Liberia: Oil Blocs Sale: Ellen Lobbies Legislature for Ratification
Oct 15, 2015
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Henry Karmo and Samwar S. Fallah, FrontPageAfrica
Liberia has already sold off several offshore oil blocs to big international oil companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and others generating millions in signature bonuses and…
Rwanda: Exclusive Interview with Hon. Dr Vincent Biruta, Minister of Natural Resources
Oct 15, 2015
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Mining Review Africa
The most exciting project currently happening in the Rwandan mining sector is the transformation of the industry from an artisanal-mining dominated industry to a well…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Accuses Chinese Vessel of Sinking Fishing Boat
Oct 15, 2015
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Associated Press
Vietnam said Thursday that a Chinese vessel rammed into and sank one of its fishing boats near disputed islands in the South China Sea in…
South Sudan/Sudan: Sudan, S. Sudan Agree to Demilitarize Border
Oct 14, 2015
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Addis Getachew Tadesse, Anadolu Agency
After more than two years of negotiations, Sudan and South Sudan on Wednesday signed a deal to implement an earlier agreement to demilitarize their common border. The…
Iraq/Syria: ISIS Inc: How Oil Fuels the Jihadi Terrorists
Oct 14, 2015
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Erika Solomon, Guy Chazan, and Sam Jones, Financial Times
On the outskirts of al-Omar oilfield in eastern Syria, with warplanes flying overhead, a line of trucks stretches for 6km. Some drivers wait for a…
Myanmar: Locals Reject Consultation on Burma’s Divisive Tasang Dam Project
Oct 14, 2015
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Mark Inkey, Asian Correspondent
SMEC, the Australian company carrying out the environmental and social impact assessment (EIA/SIA) for Shan State’s Tasang Dam will be unable to produce a meaningful…