International


Iraqi economy to shrink 2.7 pct in 2014, first time since 2003 war-IMF

Oct 27, 2014 | Reuters

Iraq's economy is likely to shrink 2.7 percent this year, the first contraction since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, after Islamic State militants occupied swathes…


East Africa: Shared Resources, Waters Spark Off Disputes as Region Discovers Oil, Gas

Oct 27, 2014 | John Mbaria, The East African

The global scramble for resources, particularly as it affects the hydrocarbons and fish sectors in East Africa, could degenerate into conflict, thereby jeopardise ongoing economic…


South Sudan: Will Star Shine for South Sudan? Scrutinising South Sudan's First Post-Independence Oil Deal

Oct 27, 2014 | Global Witness

South Sudan’s first post-independence oil deal is high-risk and in urgent need of further scrutiny, according to a new Global Witness report released today. The…


Sudan: ‘Ruling Party Manages Sudan Through Private Companies’: Economist

Oct 26, 2014 | Radio Dabanga

A prominent Sudanese economist has reported that the Sudanese government spent at least $65 billion of oil revenues on security measures between 2000 and July…


DRC: DRC Gold Production Set to Quadruple

Oct 26, 2014 | MINING.com

The amount of gold produced by the Democratic Republic of Congo is on track to be four times the amount produced last year, thanks largely…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil Gives Kurds a Path to Independence, and Conflict With Baghdad

Oct 25, 2014 | Azam Ahmed and Clifford Krauss, New York Times

KIRKUK, Iraq — Roughly two dozen huge oil tankers are idly turning figure eights around the Mediterranean or on the high seas, loaded with oil…


Iraq Crisis: US Warns Buyers and Middlemen Involved in Isis Oil Trade

Oct 24, 2014 | Vasudevan Sridharan, International Business Times

The US has warned Turkish and Kurdish middlemen involved in the lucrative Isis oil trade as the US is determined to choke the extremists' sources…


Iraq: The US Has Intervened to Help Iraq Hold Its Most Important Oil Facility

Oct 24, 2014 | Stephen Snyder, Public Radio International

The refinery, the largest in the country, is surrounded by ISIS fighters and their supporters. It's been shut down since mid-June, but the government is still clinging to…


Liberia: Protecting Liberia's Forest - Liberia-Norway Sign Agreement

Oct 24, 2014 | Al-Varney Rogers, AllAfrica

Monrovia — The Forestry Development Authority says the 150 million agreement signed between the governments of Liberia and Norway is not meant to infringe on…


Darfur/Sudan: Oil in Darfur Waiting to Be Explored - Expert

Oct 23, 2014 | Sudan Vision

El Fasher — The Darfur region has a great potential for oil exploration, estimated at between five to fifteen billion barrels, as long as the…


Iraq/Syria: U.S. Warns of Sanctions on Buyers of Islamic State Oil

Oct 23, 2014 | Anna Yukhananov, Reuters

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Thursday threatened to slap sanctions on anyone buying oil from Islamic State militants in an effort to disrupt what…


Iraq/Kurdistan: A Mysterious Oil Tanker Might Hold the Key to Kurdish Independence

Oct 23, 2014 | Matthew Philips, Businessweek

At any given time, the Gulf of Mexico is crawling with oil tankers, many of them delivering some of the 7.5 million barrels of foreign…


South Sudan: South Sudan Looks to Livestock to Break Oil Dependence

Oct 23, 2014 | Michael Atit, Voice of America

As South Sudan tries to break its economic dependence on oil, it is looking to another resource it has in abundance: livestock.

The world's newest nation…


Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone: Ebola Outbreak Prompts Food Scarcity and Threat of Social Conflict

Oct 23, 2014 | Clar Ni Chonghaile, The Guardian

Farmers in Liberia are too frightened to work together in their fields, fertilisers and seeds are stuck on the other side of closed borders, markets…


Liberia: GOL, Norwegian Gov't Sign U.S.$150 Million Agreement

Oct 23, 2014 | Victor C. Hanson Jr, AllAfrica

The Government of Liberia and the Kingdom of Norway have signed US$150 million agreement to improve forest governance, strengthen law enforcement, and support efforts aimed…


Iraq/Syria: U.S. Strikes Cut Into ISIS Oil Revenues, Treasury Official Says

Oct 23, 2014 | Julie Hirschfeld David, New York Times

The American military campaign against the Islamic State has begun to cut into the Sunni militant group’s substantial oil revenues, the top counterterrorism official at…


Haiti: Hearing in Haitians’ Cholera Case

Oct 23, 2014 | Rick Gladstone, New York Times

A federal judge in Manhattan heard arguments on Thursday in the first court proceeding over Haitian cholera victims’ lawsuit against the United Nations. They contend…


Conflict Minerals: Catholic Bishops Press EU on Conflict Minerals

Oct 22, 2014 | Sue Reisinger, Corporate Counsel

Some 70 Roman Catholic bishops from around the world and a global Catholic development agency are urging the EU to make proposed rules for so-called…


Conflict Minerals: Group of Investors Urge European Union to Adopt Stronger Conflict Minerals Legislation

Oct 22, 2014 | Providence Journal

BRUSSELS and SAN FRANCISCO -- Yesterday, global sustainable and responsible investors and investment organisations representing more than EUR855 billion in assets under management sent a…


Iraq/Kurdistan: US Not to Intervene in Baghdad, Erbil Dispute Over Tanker of Kurdish Oil: Official

Oct 22, 2014 | Platts

The Obama administration will not intervene in a legal dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over a tanker of Kurdish oil that has been circling off…


Philippines/South China Sea: Philippines pushes arbitration in China sea row

Oct 22, 2014 | Oliver Teves, Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president said Wednesday that the international arbitration Manila has initiated to challenge China's territorial claims in the South China Sea…


China/South China Sea: China Installs Buoys in Pacific Ocean, Report Says

Oct 22, 2014 | AFP

Beijing (AFP) - China has installed 17 sets of submerged buoys in "key marine areas" of the western Pacific Ocean, state media said, a move…


Conflict Minerals: IT and the Trade in Conflict Minerals

Oct 21, 2014 | Maija Palmer, Financial Times

The next time your mobile phone buzzes in your pocket, think tungsten. The hard, steel-grey mineral is crucial to the component that makes phones vibrate.…


Mindanao/Philippines: Massive Land Grabbing Reported in SouthCot Town

Oct 21, 2014 | Minda News

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Officials of Tantangan town in South Cotabato have raised alarm over the alleged massive land grabbing activities in two of its…


Liberia: Ebola Epidemic Delays Auction

Oct 21, 2014 | Africa Energy Intelligence

Liberia has pulled out all the stops to make its licensing round a success. But Monrovia is touting new blocks in a highly complicated health…


Africa: 15 African Nations That Are The Most Land-Grabbed By Foreign Interests

Oct 21, 2014 | Atlanta Black Star

Land grabbing is defined as the practice of buying or leasing large pieces of land in developing countries by domestic and international companies, governments worldwide…


South Sudan/Sudan: China Reviewing Oil Relationships with Sudan, South Sudan, Researcher Says

Oct 21, 2014 | Nick Snow, Oil & Gas Journal

The Chinese government and China National Petroleum Corp. are reviewing their relationships with Sudan and South Sudan following years of growth that changed both sides,…


Uganda: Uganda Says Oil Revenue Possible Alternative to Chinese Cash for Railway

Oct 21, 2014 | Karin Strohecker, Reuters

LONDON - Uganda could rely on income from future oil exports to finance an $8 billion railway if funding talks with China fail to bear…


Myanmar: Norwegian Support for Hydropower: Peacebuilding Through Best Practice

Oct 21, 2014 | Ashley South, Democratic Voice of Burma

Last week I accompanied a group from the Norwegian embassy in Rangoon, and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), to the Karen National…


Myanmar: Record Haul in Jade Sales to Burmese Traders

Oct 21, 2014 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Jade sales at a major gems emporium for local traders in Burma hit a record high this week, a spokesperson for the Myanma…