International


China/India/Kashmir: India and China Step Back from Standoff in Kashmir

Sep 26, 2014 | Hari Kumar, New York Times

NEW DELHI — India and China have agreed to defuse the nearly three-week-old standoff between troops in the disputed border region of Ladakh, Kashmir, the…


Colombia: Mining Companies Ordered to Return Land to Natives in Colombia

Sep 26, 2014 | World Bulletin

A Colombian legal tribunal has ordered 11 companies to halt gold-mining operations in a 50,000-hectare (124,000-acre) reserve in the northwest of the country and return…


Bangladesh: Protect Indigenous Rakhines

Sep 25, 2014 | The Daily Star

The state must ensure that the indigenous Rakhines, whose population is down to a few thousand now, do no get wiped out from the country,…


Syria: U.S., Coalition Forces Hit Oil Refineries in Syria

Sep 25, 2014 | Doug Stanglin and Ray Locker, USA TODAY

U.S. aircraft and those from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates struck Islamic State targets in Syria on Wednesday, including 12 oil refineries, the…


Iraq/Syria: Details of Oil Fields in Syria, Oil Locations in Iraq Under Control of Islamic State Group

Sep 25, 2014 | Bassem Mroue, Times Colonist

BEIRUT - For the first time since the Unites States and five Arab countries started bombing positions of the Islamic State group in Syria, oil…


United States: US Homeland Security Moves to Tackle Climate Change Risks

Sep 25, 2014 | Lisa Anderson, Reuters

NEW YORK - Protecting the infrastructure of American cities from the effects of climate change is rising on the agenda of the U.S. Department of…


Conflict Minerals: Canadian Conflict Minerals Bill Fails at Second Reading

Sep 25, 2014 | Metal Bulletin

Canada’s proposed conflict minerals legislation has failed at its second reading, which took place in the country’s House of Commons on Wednesday September 24.Bill C-486:…


Conflict Minerals: Campaigners Push for 'Conflict-Free' Phones

Sep 25, 2014 | Tim Friend, Al Jazeera

A huge number of phones and electronic items are made with metals from mines in conflict-ridden countries, but campaigners in Europe are looking to end…


South Sudan: China to Send UN Troops to South Sudan, Denies Deployment Related to Oil Investment

Sep 25, 2014 | Kathleen Caulderwood, International Business Times

China will send 700 troops to South Sudan as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission to help civilians after nine months of violent conflict that…


Myanmar: Govt Accused of Blocking Debate Over MP’s Coal-Fired Plant

Sep 25, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

MPs from different parties in the Aeyeywady Region parliament are uniting in their effort to urge the regional government to discuss its plans to build…


Syria: Warplanes Blast Militants' Refineries in Syria, Targeting a Source of Cash

Sep 25, 2014 | Helene Cooper and Anne Barnard, New York Times

WASHINGTON —  Warplanes from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday attacked what military officials believe were the majority of…


Myanmar: Inspectors to Fan Out Along China Border to Curb Timber Smuggling: Ministry

Sep 24, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

Inspection teams and checkpoints will be expanded in major timber smuggling areas in Sagaing and Mandalay regions as well as northern Shan State to seal…


Conflict Minerals: EU Failing To Stifle Deadly Trade In Conflict Minerals: Rights Groups

Sep 24, 2014 | RTT News

The European Union is failing to stifle a deadly trade in conflict minerals, a coalition of rights groups warned on Wednesday, ahead of weak new…


Iraq: Iraq Army Counters ISIL Attack on Baiji Oil Refinery

Sep 24, 2014 | Press TV

The Iraqi army, backed by Sunni tribesmen and Shia volunteers, has countered an attack by the ISIL terrorist group on the country’s largest oil refinery.

The…


South Sudan: Humanitarian Assistance Helps Stabilise South Sudan Food Security, But Concerns Remain For Next Year, WFP Warns

Sep 24, 2014 | World Food Programme

JUBA – In the wake of a new food security analysis announcing improvements in South Sudan, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which has provided…


Sudan: Canadian, Nigerian Firms Sign Oil Contract with Sudan

Sep 23, 2014 | Sudan Vision

Khartoum - Sudan’s Petroleum Ministry signed oil exploration contracts with three companies on Sunday, including the Canadian State Petroleum Oversees Inc., Nigeria’s Express Petroleum &…


Liberia: Liberia Signs 'Transformational' Deal to Stem Deforestation

Sep 23, 2014 | Matt McGrath, BBC News

Liberia is to become the first nation in Africa to completely stop cutting down its trees in return for development aid.Norway will pay the impoverished…


Iraq: Iraq Exports More Oil From Southern Terminals Far From Conflict

Sep 23, 2014 | Alex Lawler, Reuters

Iraq's oil exports from its southern terminals on the Gulf, far from the fighting in its north, have increased so far this month as bad…


Iraq: Sen. Nelson: "Appropriate" For Iraq To Reimburse U.S. With Oil For Freeing Them From ISIS

Sep 23, 2014 | Real Clear Politics

WOLF BLITZER: Would it be unusual to ask some of the oil-rich Arab countries, whether Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar -- they have a lot…


Iraq: IS Attackers Repelled From Baiji Refinery

Sep 23, 2014 | Iraq Oil Report

Recently reinforced Iraqi security forces at the Baiji refinery, backed by Iraqi Army helicopters, repelled on Tuesday the latest attempt by anti-government militants to take…


Iraq/Kuwait: Iraq, Kuwait Deepen Oil Ties

Sep 23, 2014 | Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi Oil Ministry welcomed a delegation from Kuwait to discuss ways in which the two countries could expand bilateral ties in the…


Liberia: Sime Darby Delays Liberia Palm Oil Mill Construction Over Ebola

Sep 23, 2014 | Alphonso Toweh, Reuters

WASHINGTON - Malaysian palm oil firm Sime Darby has delayed construction of a mill for its Liberia plantation and has suspended talks to expand its…


Taiwan/South China Sea: Pixel by Pixel, Taiwan Maps Out Claims to Contested South China Sea (+video)

Sep 23, 2014 | Ralph Jennings, The Christian Science Monitor

Taipei, Taiwan — Wang Cheng-gi laughs nervously as he discusses the detailed new maps of the disputed South China Sea being drawn in his corner…


China/Philippines/South China Sea: Philippine Leader Questions Intent of China Ships

Sep 23, 2014 | Matthew Pennington, Associated Press, ABC News

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday his nation will stick up for its territorial rights in the disputed South China Sea and voiced concern…


Myanmar: ‘Colonial Style’ Red Tape Blamed for Delay in Returning Seized Land

Sep 23, 2014 | Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma

Burma’s parliamentary Farmland Investigation Commission has cited the overwhelming layers of bureaucracy – said to resemble archaic practices from the days of colonial rule –…


Russia/Ukraine: Conflict Keeps Gas 'Steppingstone' in Spotlight

Sep 22, 2014 | Natural Gas Europe

Months before winter, markets in Europe are already shivering as the war in Ukraine threatens to curtail natural gas deliveries from Russia.But as U.S. lawmakers push for greenlighting…


Myanmar: Yangon's Urban-Development Plans Are Self-Defeating, Critics Say

Sep 22, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

The government’s efforts to build low-cost housing for them in Yangon have been self-defeating, urban planning experts say. The projects have merely driven up the…


Iraq/Syria: The Truth About Turkey and Islamic State Oil

Sep 22, 2014 | Mustafa Akyol, Turkey Post

The Sept. 20 release of 49 Turks held by the Islamic State (IS) for 101 days came as a great relief for Turkey. They were…


DRC: Mining Sector CSR: Responsible Returns in a Warm Investment Climate

Sep 22, 2014 | Joseph Kirschke, Insurance News Net

In January, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Mining Minister Martin Kabwelulu asked mining companies to cease expansions amid a severe electricity shortfall. "We'll spend the…


Liberia: Liberia Oil Bid Round Courts ECOWAS Companies

Sep 22, 2014 | Business Day

A new Liberian bid round for four offshore oil blocs is courting investment from ECOWAS companies, using an incentive that targets regional upstream operators that…