International

Iraq/Kurdistan: World Oil Slump Limits Appetite for Kurdish Crude

Oct 14, 2014 | Sharmila Devi, Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A slump in the world price of oil is adding to the woes of the Kurdistan Regional Government, where the fight…

Liberia: Timber Union Rejects $150 Million Deal

Oct 14, 2014 | Winston W. Parley, AllAfrica

The Liberia Timber Union Association or LTA has strongly rejected a US$150m forest deal recently signed between Liberia and Norway, demanding a public debate on…

Conflict Minerals: Church Leaders Call for EU Rules on Conflict Resources to be Binding and Consistent

Oct 14, 2014 | CIDSE

In a joint statement, supported by CIDSE, the international alliance of Catholic development agencies, they warn that European citizens expect guarantees that they are not…

Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: Security Council Extends UN Peacekeeping Force in Abyei Through February 2015

Oct 14, 2014 | United Nations

The Security Council today extended the United Nations peacekeeping force in Abyei – a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan – as part…

South Sudan/Abyei: Abyei Belongs to Us: Warrap Leadership

Oct 14, 2014 | Ariik Atekdit, Gurtong

JUBA - State Information Minister and Spokesman Paul Dhel Gum told the press that Abyei region is politically and geographically in Warrap State.He called upon…

Papua New Guinea: PNG Governors Concerned About Land Grabbing

Oct 14, 2014 | Radio New Zealand

The Governor of Papua New Guinea’s Oro province says there’s a lot of concern about land grabbing among Governors of the country’s twenty provinces.

Land-related issues…

Somalia: ACT Alliance Preliminary Appeal: Drought and Food Insecurity in Somalia

Oct 14, 2014 | Elisabeth Gouel, ACT Alliance

The humanitarian situation in Somalia remains dire with drought alerts being sounded. Somalia has been characterized by clan and armed conflict which still continue in…

Iraq/Syria: Islamic State Loses Its Oil Business

Oct 14, 2014 | Matthew Philips, Bloomberg

It’s been a month since President Obama announced that the U.S. would engage in a sustained campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State, the militant Sunni…

Liberia: Community Land Mapping in Liberia Captured on Film

Oct 14, 2014 | Namati

The work of Namati’s Liberian partner, the Sustainable Development Institute, has been captured on film by the climate change campaign organisation If Not Us Then…

Sudan: Roundup: Economic Circles in Sudan Optimistic Over Breakthrough in Economy

Oct 14, 2014 | Global Post

KHARTOUM -- Sudan's economic circles are optimistic that the country's economy could see key improvement as monthly inflation rate has significantly dropped to 39.2 percent.On…

Liberia: Timber Assciation Threatens Anti-Forest GOL Letter of Intent

Oct 14, 2014 | Edwin M. Fayia III, AllAfrica

Barely two weeks after the Liberian Government's 'Letter of Intent' agreement with the Norwegian Government, the Liberia Timber Association (LTA) has threatened legal action to…

Food Security: Conflict and Ebola Outbreak Threaten Food Security in Africa

Oct 14, 2014 | Derrick Mbatha, United Nations

The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West Africa and conflict in South Sudan are causing food shortages, according to the President of the…

Iraq: The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons

Oct 14, 2014 | CJ Chivers, New York Times

The soldiers at the blast crater sensed something was wrong.It was August 2008 near Taji, Iraq. They had just exploded a stack of old Iraqi…

Climate Change: Pentagon Says Global Warming Presents Immediate Security Threat

Oct 13, 2014 | Coral Davenport, New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon released a report Monday asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism,…

Iraq: Goverment Reviews Oil Ties with United States

Oct 13, 2014 | United Press International

BAGHDAD, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. energy companies need to stay invested in Iraq's oil sector as the war-torn country continues on the path of reconstruction,…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Foreign Tankers Blacklisted by Baghdad After Kurdish Oil Transfers

Oct 13, 2014 | International Business Times

Iraq's oil marketing agency has banned three foreign tankers from Iraqi ports, according to the Platts news service, citing market sources.

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation…

Liberia: Cavalla Rubber, Maryland County Oil Palm Donate Ebola Gears

Oct 13, 2014 | allAfrica

Maryland County — As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Management of Cavalla Rubber Corporation and Maryland Oil Palm Plantation on October 10, 2014…

South China Sea: China’s Dangerous Game

Oct 13, 2014 | The Atlantic

In the tranquil harbors that dot the coastline of Palawan, a sword-shaped island in the western Philippines, the ferry boats are crowded with commuters traveling back…

Myanmar: First Half Gas Exports Rise by $400 mn

Oct 13, 2014 | Natural Gas Asia

Myanmar’s natural gas exports has crossed $2.1 billion in the first half of current fiscal, up more than $400 million over same period last year,…

Myanmar: Controversial Hat Gyi Dam Blamed for Karen Conflict

Oct 13, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

Ongoing fighting in southeastern Burma between the government and Karen rebels is linked to a planned hydropower dam nearby on the Salween River, according to…

Sierra Leone: Diamond Miners Adjust to Fight Against Ebola

Oct 12, 2014 | Ronen Shnidman, Rapaport

Western diamond mining companies in Sierra Leone have adjusted their operations as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues to plague the country's diamond-rich eastern…

Gaza: Cross-Border Environmental Group Urges Israel to Increase Water Supply to Gaza

Oct 11, 2014 | The Jersusalem Post

As parties from the region prepare to gather in Cairo next week to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza, the environmental organization Friends of the Earth…

Liberia: Liberia’s Hydrocarbon Potential Sparking Interest in Current Bid Round, Despite Ebola Challenges, says GlobalData Analyst

Oct 11, 2014 | Sierra Express Media

LONDON, UK (GlobalData), 9 October 2014 – Liberia’s current invitation-only bidding round has ignited interest among international oil companies, due to the country’s considerable hydrocarbon…

Liberia: Lawmaker Breaks Silence On Controversial U.S.$25,000 Saga

Oct 10, 2014 | Abraham S. Sollie, AllAfrica

Monrovia — Montserrado County District #15 Representative, Adolph A. Lawrence, has for the first time spoken publicly on the controversial US$25,000 saga.

It can be recalled…

China/Vietnam: China’s Airstrip in Paracel Islands Heightens Vietnam Tensions

Oct 10, 2014 | John Boudreau, Bloomberg

China’s completion of an upgraded airstrip in the disputed Paracel Islands gives it another foothold in the South China Sea and risks sparking a renewed…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Bans Entry of Three Tankers at Its Crude Oil Terminals

Oct 10, 2014 | Platts

Iraq has banned three oil tankers -- two Suezmaxes and one Panamax -- from loading at its oil terminals in response to direct exports of…

Sanction: Here's How President Obama Is Using the 'Oil Weapon'—Against Iran, Russia, and ISIS

Oct 10, 2014 | Michael Klare, Mother Jones

It was heinous. It was underhanded. It was beyond the bounds of international morality. It was an attack on the American way of life. It…

South Sudan: Floodwaters Add to Misery of South Sudan Camps for Displaced

Oct 10, 2014 | Gabe Joselow, Voice of America

BENTIU, SOUTH SUDAN—Every day, the first thing residents of a protection site at the U.N. base in Bentiu, South Sudan, do when they wake up…

China/South China Sea: China 'Sends Warning' With Release of Photographs of Disputed South China Sea Island

Oct 9, 2014 | Minnie Chan, South China Morning Post

China has released the first high-resolution photographs of a newly built runway on a disputed island in the South China Sea.

An analyst said the aim…

West Africa: Ebola Fears Could Impact Commodities

Oct 9, 2014 | Michael Kozoil, The Land

RESTRICTIONS on the movement of labour and goods as the Ebola crisis in West Africa worsens could have an impact on commodity markets, economists warn.

Commodity…