International


Iraq: Iraq Ups Oil Output in South, as Militants Stem Northern Production

Aug 20, 2014 | Wall Street Journal

Iraq is pushing forward with an ambitious increase in production at its prolific southern oil fields, as an Islamist insurgency has strangled output in the…


Iraq: Smuggled Oil Could Fund ISIS Beyond the Battles of Iraq

Aug 20, 2014 | Shale Plays Media

The Islamic State, also known by their older name, ISIS, has systematically attempted (and on some fronts succeeded) to take over prominent infrastructure and resources…


Conflict Minerals: Amnesty International Continues to Push for En Banc Rehearing in Conflict Minerals Case

Aug 20, 2014 | Dodd Frank

Amnesty International has filed a supplemental brief which continues to advocate for a rehearing en banc in the conflict minerals case. The argument is this:  American Meat Institute v. U.S.…


South Sudan: New Oilfield in North Darfur to Go Into Production Soon - Governor

Aug 20, 2014 | All Africa

The governor of North Darfur Mohamed Osman Kibir announced that oil exploration in the Nekhaila field block 12, north-east of its state is about to…


Sierra Leone: Industrialization and Global Value Chains in Sierra Leone

Aug 20, 2014 | Afribiz

Plagued by ten years of civil conflict that inhibited commodity production and trade capacity and weakened market systems including the country’s infrastructure, it would be…


Liberia: Open Basin - TGS Nopec Hails Liberia Oil Block Bid Rounds

Aug 20, 2014 | All Africa

With Liberia battling the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, the National Oil Company of Liberia which earlier denied selling oil blocks have advertised four…


Timor-Leste: Timorese Graduates Secure Places in New Oil & Gas Training Program

Aug 20, 2014 | ConocoPhilips

Today in a ceremony in Dili, ConocoPhillips together with the Government of Timor-Leste welcomed 12 graduates into the 2014 Foundational Skills Training and Internship Program…


Myanmar: Drug Lords 'Hurt Myanmar Stability'

Aug 20, 2014 | Bangkok Post

The UN on Monday warned that drug trafficking gangs in Myanmar are undermining stability and development, as it hailed a new partnership with the government…


Myanmar: Corrupt “Land Grabs” Imperil Democracy in Burma

Aug 20, 2014 | Center for International Private Enterprise

Burma lacks many institutions necessary for a market-oriented democracy, such as a reliable court system, dependable electricity, and accessible financial services. The country’s physical infrastructure…


DRC: la FAO apporte 160 millions FCFA pour booster la filière manioc au Congo (DRC: FAO Brings 160 Million FCFA to Boost Cassava Sector in Congo)

Aug 19, 2014 | ADIAC

Dans la recherche d’un projet plus efficace, capable d’augmenter sensiblement la productivité en manioc, aliment consommé par 90% de Congolais, le gouvernement vient de mettre sur…


Iraq: How Iraq's Black Market in Oil Funds ISIS

Aug 19, 2014 | CNN

ISIS control just a few marginal fields in Iraq's north, but they are enough to fund the terrorist group's self-sufficiency.

A month ago, the ISIS--controlled oil…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Seventh Northern Iraqi Oil Tanker Departs Turkey

Aug 19, 2014 | World Bulletin

A seventh tanker filled with northern Iraqi oil has departed from the southeastern Turkish port of Ceyhan, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced on Monday.

This…


India: Gang Wars Rage Still, in West UP

Aug 19, 2014 | The Times of India

Fights over water have led to bloodshed. Water wars claimed at least 25 lives in Kinoni village. Vinod Bawla refused to share water for irrigation…


China/Vietnam: Chinese Contractors Abandon Vietnam Hydro Project as Tensions Remain High

Aug 19, 2014 | GCR

A major hydropower project in Vietnam stood in limbo over the weekend amid reports that the two Chinese contractors building it have abandoned the project…


Myanmar: Activists Continue to be Arrested Amid Spate of Land Grabs, Rights Group Says

Aug 19, 2014 | Eleven

The government has continued to arrest activists and protesters although it has fulfilled some of the public’s demands, a recent report by the Human Rights…


Myanmar: Officials Must Monitor Land Disputes to Prevent Crime: Thein Sein

Aug 19, 2014 | Eleven

President Thein Sein has called on state and regional officials to keep a close watch on land disputes – in line with the law and…


Myanmar: Struggling to Save Myanmar’s National Parks

Aug 19, 2014 | The Seattle Times

Off a remote, glimmering beach in Myanmar backed by a lush tropical forest, Julia Tedesco skims the crystalline waters with mask and fins, looking for…


East Africa: Averting Resource Curse In East Africa

Aug 19, 2014 | The Star

Discoveries of large quantities of commercially viable hydrocarbons and mineral ore in Eastern Africa continue to raise a fundamental question: can these resources be a…


China/Vietnam: Vietnamese Fishermen Wrecked by Chinese Attack

Aug 18, 2014 | ThanhNien News

A Vietnamese fisherman sailed back from a traditional fishing ground near Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands on Friday night, devastated as he said a Chinese vessel…


Iraq: Iraq and the Oil Wars

Aug 17, 2014 | Dennis J Bernstein, Consortium News

President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq gave U.S. and other Western oil companies a major stake in the country’s giant oil fields, a foothold…


South China Sea: Fishing Vessels in China Serve as Proxy Enforcers

Aug 17, 2014 | Wendel Minnick, Defense News

TAIPEI — China’s use of swarming tactics with fishing vessels to project and protect Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea appears unstoppable, experts…


Myanmar: U.S. Waives Sanctions on Myanmar Timber

Aug 16, 2014 | Carey L. Biron, Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 2014 (IPS) - Civil society groups are split over a decision by the U.S. government to waive sanctions on Myanmar’s timber sector…


Iraq: U.S. Said to Carry Out Airstrikes in North Iraq

Aug 16, 2014 | Zaid Sabah, Gopal Ratnam and Khalid Al-Ansary, Bloomberg Businessweek

The U.S. carried out airstrikes today on Islamic State targets in northern Iraq to protect Yezidis and prevent damage to a critical dam, according to…


South Sudan: Exxon Ends Oil Search With Total in South Sudan as War Rages

Aug 15, 2014 | Bloomberg

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the U.S.’s largest oil company, ended exploration plans with Total SA (FP) in South Sudan, Total and the government said, a…


Liberia: Grow but Cherish Your Environment

Aug 15, 2014 | The Economist

For half a century, Indonesia and Malaysia have accounted for the vast majority of the world’s exports of palm oil. But now investors are flocking…


Iraq: Islamic State Seizes Control of Iraq's Oil, Wheat

Aug 15, 2014 | Albawaba News

ISIS terrorists are currently in control of seven oil fields in Iraq and large amounts of the country’s wheat supplies.

Iraqi officials said on Wednesday that…


China/Vietnam: Is Vietnam Spinning Out of China’s Orbit?

Aug 15, 2014 | Foreign Policy Association

Beijing’s formidable display of aggression this year is backfiring, as its neighbors scramble to beef up their military capabilities and forge defensive alliances both within…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdistan's Largest Producing Oilfield Working to Boost Output

Aug 15, 2014 | Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters Africa

TAQ TAQ OILFIELD, Iraq Aug 15 (Reuters) - Oil production at Iraqi Kurdistan's largest producing oil field is planned to rise by at least 16,500…


Kurdistan: Exclusive: Iraqi Kurds Sell Third Major Oil Cargo, Fourth Heads to Croatia

Aug 15, 2014 | Julia Payne and David Sheppard, Reuters

(Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdistan has delivered its third major cargo of crude oil out of a Turkish port and a fourth is sailing to Croatia,…


Myanmar: Sagaing Division Farmers Stage Protest Against Trial, Land-Grabs

Aug 14, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

About 1,000 farmers in Sagaing Division’s Kantbalu Township staged a protest on Wednesday to demand back confiscated lands and ask for the release of dozens…