International


Palestine: Water Delivery Drivers Dice with Death in War-Torn Gaza

Aug 26, 2014 | Yahoo News

Mohammed al-Khatib fears for his life every time he gets behind the wheel. In wartime, providing drinking water to homes and schools in Gaza means…


South Sudan: Addressing Community Concerns Around Oil, Gas and Mining in South Sudan

Aug 26, 2014 | Cordaid

Cordaid and the Ministry are concerned with the plights of the communities impacted by oil extraction in South Sudan. Albeit endowed with significant reserves of…


Iraq/ Kurdistan: Kurds Get Seizure Order Thrown Out for Texas Oil Tanker

Aug 26, 2014 | Bloomberg News

The Kurdistan Regional Government can bring $100 million of crude ashore in Texas after a U.S. judge threw out a court order that would have required federal…


South China Sea: Remote, Gas-rich Islands on Indonesia’s South China Sea Frontline

Aug 26, 2014 | The Malay Mail

The word “sleepy” could have been invented for Ranai, the largest town in Indonesia’s remote and sparsely populated Natuna archipelago.

It has few cars and only…


Myanmar: Ye Farmers Forced to Accept Unfair Land Compensation

Aug 26, 2014 | Burma News International

In a recent meeting with the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society’s Farmers’ Affairs Committee, many farmers from Mon State’s Ye Township expressed their dismay…


Myanmar: Is Mergui Archipelago Tourism a Force for Good?

Aug 26, 2014 | The Telegraph

Beyond the guard rail of the yacht I was sailing on lay the same islands – still lonely, still largely untouched by civilisation though from…


Iraq: Government Eyes Bulgarian Invention to Protect Oil Pipelines from Attack

Aug 25, 2014 | Novinite

Iraq is working on a project for protecting its oil pipelines against terrorist attacks that uses Bulgarian know-how, Iraq’s Ambassador in Sofia has said.

In an interview with…


Vietnam: Chinese Firms’ Contract for Hydropower Project Terminated

Aug 25, 2014 | Global Construction Review

The operator of a multimillion-dollar hydropower project in Vietnam has terminated the contract with two Chinese firms for their failure to build the scheme as…


Myanmar: Arakan Has Solved Only 17 Land Confiscated Cases

Aug 25, 2014 | Narinjara

Only few land confiscated cases have been resolved by the authority in Arakan. Statistics reveal that 17 out of 212 land confiscated cases were solved…


Iraq: Approving a Hydrocarbon Law is Key to Iraq's Future

Aug 25, 2014 | Al-Monitor

Nouri al-Maliki and the Islamic Dawa Party took office in Iraq eight years ago. Oil revenues topped $41 billion in 2007 and rose to nearly $86…


Iraq/ Syria: USD 2m a Day in Oil Smuggled Out of Iraq, Syria by ISIL

Aug 25, 2014 | Zawya

An estimated 30,000 barrels of crude oil is being smuggled daily out of Iraq and Syria by members of the ISIL and sold on the…


Iraq/ Syria: Islamic State's Bootleg Petro-State May Prove Unsustainable

Aug 25, 2014 | Al-Jazeera

With up to $2 million in daily revenue from black market oil, the Islamic State insurgency not only holds sway over swathes of Syria and…


South Sudan: Industrialization and Global Value Chains in South Sudan

Aug 25, 2014 | Afribiz

Developing domestic production and exports in the non-oil sectors is important for South Sudan’s drive for industrialization, yet its participation in global value chains (GVCs)…


South China Sea: PLA Reports Maritime Drill Near Vietnam Simulating Threat to Oil Rig

Aug 25, 2014 | South China Morning Post

The People's Liberation Army recently staged a drill in waters close to Vietnam in the South China Sea, simulating a scenario in which an oil…


South China Sea: India Examining Vietnam’s South China Sea Oil Blocks Offer

Aug 25, 2014 | The Times of India

Vietnam on Monday made a strong pitch for greater Indian involvement in maintaining maritime safety, security and settlement of territorial disputes in the disputed South…


Conflict Minerals: Jewelry Leaders and CEOs Join Enough Project in Conflict Gold Solutions Forum

Aug 22, 2014 | Enough Project

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the Great Lakes Region of Africa has been entrenched in conflict for nearly 20 years. Militias control artisanal…


Turkey: Turkey Suspends Oil Drilling in Iraq Amid Tension

Aug 22, 2014 | Today's Zaman

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) decided to suspend drilling in six oil…


Uganda: Residents Commit to Fighting Land Grabbers

Aug 22, 2014 | New Vision

The district chairperson Anthony Atubo, who led the residents, said land is life and nobody can live comfortably without it.

“Land is a major factor…


Myanmar: Military Demands Farmers Destroy their own Homes

Aug 22, 2014 | Asian Human Rights Commission

Farmers from Ngetpyawtine village tract, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Division, have been instructed by the Township Administrative Office to remove the houses they have built on…


India: Vietnam Renews Lease of Indian Oil Blocks in South China Sea

Aug 21, 2014 | Times of India

Vietnam has renewed India's lease of two oil blocks in the South China Sea for another year, on the eve of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj's…


South Sudan: Rebels Say Ready for Talks, Unveil Proposal for Governance

Aug 21, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

The chief negotiator for the rebel group, Taban Deng Gai, on Tuesday said they were ready to negotiate on their proposed positions with the government’s…


Iraq: Government Worried by Terrorist Ties to Oil

Aug 21, 2014 | United Press International

The Iraqi government said Wednesday it was troubled by the alleged sale of crude oil from parts of the country under the control of a…


Thailand: Coup Leaders Trigger Oil Investment Rush Into Burma

Aug 21, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

The military takeover in Thailand is prompting a new push by the country’s oil companies to press for business in Burma, an industry analyst said.

The…


Myanmar: Karenni State Villagers Ask Min Aung Hlaing to Let Them Farm

Aug 21, 2014 | DVB Media

Local villagers in Karenni State’s Hpruso Township sent a letter to Burma’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing for permission to farm on land that was…


Myanmar: Shan IDPs Petition for Army to Vacate Occupied Village

Aug 21, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

About 300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Shan State’s Kyaythee Township plan to submit a petition asking the Burmese Army to withdraw from their…


Myanmar: Farmers Sentenced to 8 Months for Mandalay Plough Protest

Aug 21, 2014 | DVB Media

Local farmers from Mandalay Division’s Sintgai Township were sentenced to prison terms of up to eight months on Tuesday under charges of trespassing and destroying…


Myanmar: Central Myanmar Holds Workshop on Peasants’ Affairs

Aug 21, 2014 | Eleven News

The issue of land grabbing dominated a workshop for farmers in Magway, which drew delegates representing farmers in every township of the region in central…


Europe - Central Asia: European Commission Prepares a Conference on Eco Security in Azerbaijan

Aug 21, 2014 | ABC Business Portal

The ecological safety of Azerbaijan has entered into the regional agenda of the European Union. Informed sources say that the European Commission is preparing an international…


East-Timor: Over-Reliance on Oil and Gas Threatens East Timor's Economy

Aug 21, 2014 | Deutsche Welle

The economy of the small independent Southeast Asian nation contracted in 2006 following a deterioration of security that left the government to request military assistance…


Iraq: Troops in Iraq Rout Sunni Militants From a Key Dam

Aug 20, 2014 | NY Times

Iraqi and Kurdish ground troops overran Sunni militants and reclaimed Iraq’s largest dam on Monday, President Obama said, as American warplanes unleashed a barrage of…