International


Libya: Libyan Unrest Will Force Oil Prices Higher

May 21, 2014 | Alessandro Bruno, InvestorIntel

Industrialized countries may be faced with the prospect of a shrinking oil supply and higher prices in the second half of the year unless a…


Myanmar: Factbox: Myanmar's Oil Sector Attracts Investment

May 21, 2014 | Reuters

(Reuters) - The opening up of Myanmar's economy after decades of isolation has led to a jump in oil demand, attracting local and foreign investors…


Sudan: Sudan Welcomes Russian Gas Specialists

May 20, 2014 | Vestnik Kavkaza

A week ago, rebels in South Sudan, a republic that had broken away from Sudan, demanded oil extraction to be stopped, threatening to take over…


Africa: UN Eyes Africa Oil Levy to Fight Disease

May 20, 2014 | Global Post

The United Nations has begun talks with African leaders over a levy on oil that could rake in huge sums to fight disease in developing…


Myanmar: Letpadaung Mine Workers’ Release Comes with Right to Use Seized Land: Farmers

May 20, 2014 | Zarni Mann, The Irawaddy

MANDALAY — Farmers from the Letpadaung copper mining area in Sagaing Division say they will soon begin to sow crops on their confiscated lands, having…


Myanmar: Myanmar's Pending Ceasefire Jeopardized by Skirmishes over Illegal Logging

May 20, 2014 | Hereward Holland, National Geographic

Myanmar's forests are the final frontier for the logging of tropical hardwoods in mainland Southeast Asia.

Until a few weeks ago as many as a hundred…


Myanmar: Resentment of China Spreading in Myanmar

May 19, 2014 | Thomas Fuller, The New York Times

BANGKOK — A flare-up of resilient hostility toward China among its neighbors has infected central Myanmar, where a Chinese company operating a copper mine has…


Myanmar: Minister Touts Massive Land Redistribution Program

May 19, 2014 | Bill O’Toole and Noe Noe Aung, Myanmar Times

During a visit to Mandalay on May 11, Minister for the President’s Office U Soe Thein made an ambitious claim. Speaking at the Youth and…


Sudan: Sudan's Oil Output Falls by 10-20,000 bpd

May 18, 2014 | Radio Dabanga/Reuters

SINGAPORE (REUTERS) (18 May.) - Production of Sudan's Nile Blend has dropped to around 90,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 100,000-110,000 bpd two months…


South Sudan: Oil Fans Flames of South Sudan War

May 18, 2014 | Newvision

Despite heavy international pressure, a second ceasefire this month for the world's youngest nation has crumbled, in a war that has already claimed thousands --…


Balkans: Catastrophic Floods Hit Balkans, Raising Fears for Land Mines and Power Plants

May 18, 2014 | Rick Lyman, The New York Times

WARSAW — At least 33 people have died and tens of thousands have been evacuated in Serbia and Bosnia during three days of torrential rains…


Crimea: In Taking Crimea, Putin Gains a Sea of Fuel Reserves

May 17, 2014 | William J. Broad, The New York Times

When Russia seized Crimea in March, it acquired not just the Crimean landmass but also a maritime zone more than three times its size with…


Myanmar: Drugs, Land and Mining Issues Plague Shan State

May 17, 2014 | Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma

A four-day regional development workshop responding to the challenges posed by drugs and environmental degradation— identified by contributors as the main issues plaguing the region –…


China, Philippines, Vietnam: China Paper Supports ‘Non-Peaceful’ Steps Against PH, Vietnam

May 16, 2014 | INQUIRER.net

BEIJING – A state-run Chinese newspaper backed the use of “non-peaceful” measures against Vietnam and the Philippines Friday, as it considered the possibility of war…


China/Vietnam: Unrest Poses a Risky Choice for Vietnam

May 16, 2014 | Chris Buckley and Edward Wong, The New York Times

HA TINH PROVINCE, Vietnam — The hundreds of men on motorbikes who roared into Lee Hsueh Ying’s factory compound north of Ho Chi Minh City…


Timor-Leste: Wife of East Timor's P.M. Slams Australia

May 16, 2014 | Emma Alberici, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: East Timor's former first lady has slammed Australia's handling of its relationship with the struggling nation as both countries fight in The…


Liberia: Liberians Successfully Resist UK Company’s ‘Land Grab’

May 16, 2014 | Global Information Network

(GIN)—After years of fruitless court battles by small farmers against major multinational corporations,  the Jogbahn Clan across 11 villages in Liberia is celebrating victory over…


Climate Security: Climate Change, Migration, and Nontraditional Security Threats in China

May 16, 2014 | Center for American Progress

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Center for American Progress released the latest report in a series on the intersecting phenomena of climate, migration, and security.…


South Sudan: East - West Tussle for Oil 'Sparked South Sudan War'

May 16, 2014 | Ramadhan Rajab, AllAfrica

STRUGGLE between the Western and Eastern countries over control of oil fields in Southern Sudan is behind the ongoing conflicts in the country, South Sudan's…


Sudan: Sudan Oil Industry’s Lingering Questions

May 15, 2014 | Alsir Sidahmed, Sudan Tribune

May 15, 2014 - A statement attributed to Petroleum Minister Eng. Makkawi Awad that Sudan’s oil reserves stand at 4 billion barrels raises more questions…


Myanmar: Despite Ceasefire, Army Seizes Land and Tortures Citizens in Southeast Myanmar - Report

May 14, 2014 | Thin Lei Win, Thomson Reuters Foundation

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The Myanmar army continues to commit rights abuses - seizing land and detaining and torturing citizens - in the country’s…


Myanmar: Land Grab Report to Inform Parliament Commission

May 14, 2014 | Eleven Media Group

The special report will discuss farmland disputes including the Thilawa Port Project and Migyaungkan evictions and suggest ways to solve these disputes. 

“The current methods have…


Myanmar: Coal-fire plant fuels concern in Mon State

May 14, 2014 | Nang Mya Nadi, Democratic Voice of Burma

Several civil society groups in Mon State have united in opposition to a proposed coal-fired power plant.

The Mon Youth Forum (MYF) and Ye Town Social…


Tunisia: Tunisian Discontent Reflected in Protests That Have Idled Mines

May 13, 2014 | Carlotta Gall, The New York Times

GAFSA, Tunisia — Tunisians often say the first uprising of the Arab Spring began not in 2010 after the self-immolation of a fruit vendor, Mohamed…


Ukraine: At Center of Ukraine Talks, Degrees of Decentralizing

May 13, 2014 | David M. Herszenhornd, The New York Times

KIEV, Ukraine — National “round-table” talks seeking to resolve Ukraine’s six-month political crisis by finding a formula for decentralizing power will begin Wednesday against a…


Liberia: Ellen Calls for Agriculture, Food Production

May 13, 2014 | Rewina Juduh, AllAfrica

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has encouraged Liberians to return to the soil and engage in agriculture and food production, noting the rewards are immense "though farming…


Myanmar: Courts, Cops, Cronies—The Three C's Driving Farmers to Ruin, and Jail

May 13, 2014 | Asian Human Rights Commission

The frenzy of land grabbing in Burma (Myanmar) amid the country's transition to nominally democratic government shows no signs of abating. Reports of the number…


Myanmar: Building barriers: Fencing off the Bangladesh border

May 13, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

The construction of a fence along Burma’s border with Bangladesh has resumed in Arakan State.

New checkpoints will also be built to stop people entering Burma…


World: Climate Change Deemed Growing Security Threat by Military Researchers

May 13, 2014 | Coral Davenport, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The accelerating rate of climate change poses a severe risk to national security and acts as a catalyst for global political conflict, a…


Myanmar: Tea industry in steep decline

May 13, 2014 | Paing Soe, Democratic Voice of Burma

Tea-leaf producers in Namhsan, northern Shan State, are struggling to stay in business due to labour shortages and a surge in untaxed tea from neighbouring…