International

South Sudan: China Plays Peacemaker in Africa

Nov 2, 2014 | Independent Online

The ‘Middle Kingdom’ has a new vision of the role it plays in Africa after meeting the South Sudanese rebels, writes Peter Fabricius.

The civil war…

Sudan/ South Sudan/ Abyei: WBeG’s Abyei Community Rejects Moves to Include Region in Sudan Elections

Nov 2, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

Western Bahr el Ghazal’s Abyei community have denounced provocative moves by Sudan’s election commission include the contested region in its upcoming election next year.

In a…

Iraq/Syria: Wanted - Experienced Oil Plant Manager, Pay £140,000 P.S....Send CV to ISIS: Jihadists Advertising for Skilled Professionals to Man Its Failing Oil Fields after String of Fatal Accidents

Nov 1, 2014 | Jack Crone, MailOnline

ISIS is on the  lookout for a skilled professional to manage its failing oil refineries and has  been using black-market agents to advertise the £140,000-a-year…

China/South China Sea: China’s Clandestine Submarine Caves Extend Xi’s Naval Reach

Oct 31, 2014 | David Tweed, Bloomberg

Beneath the surface of the South China Sea off the tropical Chinese resort island of Hainan, an underwater tunnel guides submarines into a lair reminiscent…

Somalia: Floods Threaten Somali Food Security

Oct 31, 2014 | Joe DaCapua, Voice of America

After a poor rainy season early this year, parts of southern Somalia now are being hit with severe floods. The rainy season that began in…

Papua New Guinea: Highway Opposed : Papua Separatist Leader

Oct 31, 2014 | Islands Business

PORT MORESBY, PNG ----Papua separatist leader of the 1970s Dame Josephine Abaijah has called on Papuans and like-thinking Papua New Guineans to rise in unity…

Conflict Minerals: Companies Need to Improve Conflict Minerals Disclosures

Oct 31, 2014 | Yin Wilczek, Corporate Counsel Weekly

Oct. 24 —  As companies prepare their second conflict minerals disclosures, the emphasis is on “more and better” processes, a consultant said Oct. 24.

That includes…

Iraq: Iraqi Army Inches towards Beiji Oil Refinery

Oct 31, 2014 | Al Jazeera

Iraqi security forces have advanced further into towns north of Baghdad in a new offensive to retake the country's biggest oil refinery from Islamic State…

Myanmar: Burma Farmers at Risk of Losing Land under Legal Shift: Think Tank

Oct 31, 2014 | Thin Lei Lwin, Irrawaddy

BANGKOK — Millions of small-scale farmers in Burma risk losing land under proposals to regulate land use which focus too much on investment and not…

Russia/Ukraine: With Political Rift Still Deep, Russia-Ukraine Gas Deal Is Widely Seen as a Patch

Oct 31, 2014 | New York Times

A deal struck on Thursday to restart Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine will keep homes heated this winter, but it does not fully settle a fierce, long-running fight…

Land Grabbing: Report: 93 Percent of Mining, Oil & Gas, Logging, Agriculture Developments Involve Inhabited Land

Oct 30, 2014 | Burness Communications

LIMA, PERU — In an analysis of almost 73,000 concessions in eight tropical forested countries, more than 93 percent of these developments were found to…

Central African Republic: CAR Food Security Hard Hit

Oct 30, 2014 | Joe DeCapua, Voice of America

Violence in Central African Republic has taken a heavy toll on food security. A new U.N. assessment says crops, livestock and fishing have all been…

Vietnam/South China Sea: Satellite Photo Shows Vietnam's Land Reclamation in South China Sea

Oct 30, 2014 | Want China Times

Satellite images captured by Taiwan indicate that Vietnam is pushing for land reclamation much harder than China in the disputed South China Sea, the Christian…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Kirkuk Pushes for $3-5bn Refinery

Oct 30, 2014 | Emirates 24/7

Iraq’s northern oil-rich Kirkuk governorate has revived demands on the central government to honour its previous pledge and construct a refinery at a cost of…

Sri Lanka: Deadly Landslide Hits Central Sri Lanka

Oct 30, 2014 | New York Times

At least six people were killed and about 300 were missing in central Sri Lanka on Wednesday after an early morning landslide set off by heavy monsoon…

Israel/Palestine: Denied Land Access, Palestinians Miss Olive Harvest

Oct 29, 2014 | Sarah Benhaida, AFP

Al-Janiya (Palestinian Territories) - Abbas Yusef points wistfully towards his olive trees, which are bearing their annual fruit. Yet again, the 70-year-old Palestinian farmer will…

Water Security: Groundwater: World Crisis, Conflicts Likely Without Better Management -- Report

Oct 29, 2014 | Dylan Brown, E&ENews

Humanity needs to stop its unchecked run on the world's groundwater reserves rapidly running dry or risk future shortages and conflict, a NASA scientist warns…

Timor-Leste: Australians urged to pressure government on East Timor boundary dispute

Oct 29, 2014 | Ron Sutton, World News Radio

Australia and East Timor have quietly begun talks towards a possible settlement of their boundary in the Timor Sea, an issue of immense importance to…

Timor-Leste: Australia and East Timor Restart Talks on Maritime Boundary

Oct 28, 2014 | Sydney Morning Herald

East Timor's parliament has authorised the "immediate commencement of negotiations" with Australia to establish a new maritime boundary between the countries.

The resolution, passed on Friday…

Mindanao/Philippines: State-Backed ‘Landgrab’ Denounced

Oct 28, 2014 | Christine F. Herrera, Manila Standard Today

Militant farmers on Monday urged Congress to probe the state-sponsored landgrabbing of 39,238.93 hectares of farmlands at the Yulo King Ranch in Palawan, which were…

DRC: Just Published: "Congo, Dem. Rep. Mining Report Q4 2014"

Oct 28, 2014 | Digital Journal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's vast mineral resources will continue to attract international interest, given the country's untapped and high-grade reserves. Growth over the…

Responsible Sourcing "Solutions for Hope" Program to Expand in the Congo, Colombia and Beyond with Motorola Solutions Foundation Grant

Oct 28, 2014 | Globe Newswire

WASHINGTON -- The Motorola Solutions Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI), today announced a grant to RESOLVE to help expand the Solutions…

South Sudan: South Sudan Refugees Stranded Between Floods and Fight

Oct 28, 2014 | William Davison, Bloomberg

Given a choice between braving floods in her refugee camp in Ethiopia or returning home to war in South Sudan, Martha Nyakuk prefers the deluge…

Myanmar: Thai Power Firm’s Business Tactics ‘Use Burma’s Weak Laws’

Oct 28, 2014 | William Boot, The Irrawaddy

One of the chief financiers of hydroelectric dams planned on Burma’s Salween River is accused of investing in countries where there is “oppression and limited…

Sudan: 'Khartoum's Financial Policies a Crime Against Sudan' - Economist

Oct 28, 2014 | Radio Dabanga

Khartoum — Sudanese economist Mohamed Ibrahim Kebej has accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of "squandering" $70 billion of oil revenues between 2000 and…

India/Vietnam/China: India to Supply Vietnam with Naval Vessels Amid China Disputes

Oct 28, 2014 | Sanjeev Miglani, Reuters

India will soon be supplying naval vessels to Vietnam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, the first significant military transfer to Hanoi at a…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdistan's Oil Pipeline Capacity to Double After Upgrade - Sources

Oct 27, 2014 | Humeyra Pamuk and Orhan Coskun, Reuters

Iraqi Kurdistan plans to increase the capacity of its oil pipeline via Turkey to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) following upgrade work, industry sources and…

Kenya/South Sudan/Uganda: World Bank Pledges $600 Million to Fund Uganda-Kenya Oil Pipeline

Oct 27, 2014 | Platts

The World Bank has pledged some $600 million to facilitate the construction of a regional pipeline linking oil fields in Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan,…

South Sudan: Corporate Delegation Inspects Environmental Damage of Pariang Oil Fields

Oct 27, 2014 | Radio Tamazuj

A delegation of the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) visited Pariang County, Unity State to inspect environmental damage from oil fields abandoned at the start…

Conflict Minerals: Survey Reveals Cost of Conflict Minerals Compliance

Oct 27, 2014 | PCBDesign007

The first year of conflict minerals reporting has come and gone, but how much did it cost? What lessons have we learned? A comprehensive Tulane…