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International

Liberia: House Reaffirms Its Commitment to Reform Oil Sector

Dec 4, 2014 | Richard Stephens, AllAfrica

Monrovia — Deputy House Speaker Hans Barchue has reaffirmed the National Legislature's commitment to reform the oil and gas sectors of Liberia to ensure every…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Here's What The Big Iraqi-Kurdish Oil Deal Really Means

Dec 4, 2014 | Michael Knights, Business Insider

Leaders in Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan have taken a brave step toward reunifying the country through revenue sharing. The United States should support implementation of…

Afghan President Sets out His Mining Agenda

Dec 4, 2014 | Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

The potential for major government revenue from the Afghan mining sector is significant. Whilst it will not alone revive Afghanistan’s economic prospects, it will need…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Big Kurdish Oil Deal

Dec 3, 2014 | Vivienna Walt, Fortune

You almost have to hand it to ISIS. The brutal terror group has stormed across Syria and Iraq, gobbling up territory and sparking turmoil across…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Special Report: How Exxon Helped Make Iraqi Kurdistan

Dec 3, 2014 | Dmitry Zhdannikov, Isabel Coles and Ned Parker, Reuters

In January 2011, Exxon hired one of the best connected men in Iraq: Ali Khedery, an American of Iraqi descent who had served in Baghdad as…

Iraq: Amid Conflict with ISIS, Iraq Pumps Oil Like There's No Tomorrow

Dec 3, 2014 | Robert Winderm, NBC News

espite its war with ISIS, Iraq is pumping oil at a pace not seen in nearly 40 years, and the spigot will be opened still…

Africa: IGAD Officials to Discuss Beefing up Regional Cooperation in Conflict Prevention

Dec 3, 2014 | APA

The Committee of Permanent Secretaries (CPS) of the Inter-Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD)'s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) will convene on Thursday in…

South Sudan: Here's Why China's Sending Hundreds Of Peacekeepers To Africa

Dec 3, 2014 | Sean J. Li, Business Insider

hina announced in September that it would send a battalion of seven-hundred infantry soldiers to reinforce the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), a…

Peru: Colombia's FARC Profit from Illegal Gold Mining in Peru

Dec 3, 2014 | Marguerite Cawley, In Sight Crime

A journalist in Peru has reported that Colombia's FARC guerrillas are profiting from the illegal gold trade inside Peru, underscoring the rebels' cross-border activities and…

China/Vietnam: Vietnamese and Chinese Vessels Clash Again in South China Sea

Dec 2, 2014 | Want China Times

Vietnamese fishing boats clashed again with Chinese coast guard vessels in the disputed South China Sea on Nov. 26, four months after China withdrew its…

China/South China Sea: China Defends Land Reclamation in South China Sea

Dec 2, 2014 | Associated Press

Defying a U.S. call to halt the project, China defended its land reclamation in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday,…

Angola: Secret Footage Allegedly Shows Diamond Diggers Being Tortured in Angola

Dec 2, 2014 | Global Voices

A video purportedly showing employees of a private mining security company torturing two Congolese diamond diggers with a machete in Angola has raised the ire of many social…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Government and Kurds Reach Deal to Share Oil Revenues

Dec 2, 2014 | Tim Arango, New York Times

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government agreed Tuesday to a long-term accord with the autonomous Kurdish region to share the country’s oil wealth and military resources…

Sierra Leone: Sunergy Clarifies Recent Press Release Issued By Sierra Leone National Minerals Agency

Dec 1, 2014 | Smallcap Network

NEW YORK, NY, United States, via ETELIGIS INC., 12/01/2014 - - Sunergy, Inc. ("Sunergy" or "the Company") (OTC Pink: SNEY) (PINKSHEETS: SNEY), was made aware…

Liberia: LEITI Holds Technical Workshop

Dec 1, 2014 | AllAfrica

The Secretariat of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) over the weekend held a one-day technical workshop aimed at enhancing effectiveness in the preparation…

Iraq: Up To 400,000 Barrels Of Iraqi Oil ‘Remains Inactive’ As Kurds, Iraqi Central Government Aim To Solve Payment Issue

Dec 1, 2014 | Angelo Young, International Business Times

The key to a permanent resolution of disputes between Iraq's central government and leaders of its semiautonomous region known as Kurdistan over what to pay…

Myanmar: Searching for Burmese Jade, and Finding Misery/Video Feature: Jade’s Journey Marked by Drugs and Death

Dec 1, 2014 | Dan Levin and Jonah M. Kessel, New York Times

MYITKYINA, Myanmar — At 16, the gem trader’s son set out for the jade mines to seek his fortune in the precious stone that China…

Iraq: Video Feature: Targeting ISIS’ Black-Market Oil Trade

Dec 1, 2014 | Emily B. Hager, New York Times

Along the border between Iraq and Turkey, guards are keeping a watchful eye out for oil smugglers. Oil from the Islamic State’s territories feeds an…

Iraq: Iraq's Oil Minister Says Islamic State No Longer a Threat to Baghdad's 'Black Gold'

Nov 30, 2014 | Andrew Critchlow, The Telegraph

Iraq’s oil minister believes that the Islamic State no longer poses a significant threat to the country’s vital oil facilities and that the new government…

Iraq: Iraq Says Failing Oil Prices Force Rethink of 2015 Budget

Nov 30, 2014 | Reuters

Falling oil prices have forced Iraq to scrap the draft 2015 budget it planned to present to parliament on Sunday, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi told…

Conflict Minerals/DRC: How a Well-Intentioned U.S. Law Left Congolese Miners Jobless

Nov 30, 2014 | Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post

LUNTUKULU, Congo — When his father could no longer make enough money from the tin mine, when he could no longer pay for school, Bienfait…

Liberia: Justice Banks Denies Harry Greaves' Petition to Stop Oil Block Sale

Nov 30, 2014 | Abednego Davis, AllAfrica

A request to prevent the Liberian government from receiving about US$120million as "signature bonus" from the sale of the four remaining offshore oil blocks LB-6,…

South Sudan: South Sudan Limits Dollar Sales as Oil Exports Fall

Nov 28, 2014 | Carl Odera, Reuters

South Sudan has issued new rules banning the trade of dollars in the black market and restricting the sale of hard currency at foreign exchange…

Liberia: President Sirleaf Signs 2014/2015 Budget Into Law - but Veto Line Item Under Additional Revenue Section 3 B (f) of the Budget

Nov 28, 2014 | AllAfrica

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has signed the 2014/2015 fiscal budget into law, but has vetoed a line item which calls for signature bonus in the…