International

Nigeria: Scores Killed in Raids on Central Nigeria Villages

Mar 16, 2014 | Reuters, The New York Times

KADUNA, Nigeria — Gunmen shot, hacked and burned to death at least 100 people and razed homes in central Nigeria, a region shaken by disputes…

Ukraine: For Crimea, Secession is Only as Good as Recognition

Mar 15, 2014 | Dan Bilefsky, The New York Times

PARIS — When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with the strong support of the United States, Russia, a staunch ally of the Serbs,…

Russia Seizes Gas Plant Near Crimea Border, Ukraine Says

Mar 15, 2014 | David M. Herszenhorn, Peter Baker, and Andrew E. Kramermarch, The New York Times

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Tensions mounted on the eve of a secession referendum here in Crimea as helicopter-borne Russian forces made a provocative incursion just beyond…

Nigeria: Scores Reported Killed in Village Raids in Nigerian Land Conflict

Mar 13, 2014 | Agence France-Presse, The New York Times

KANO, Nigeria — Gunmen on motorbikes killed at least 69 people and burned down several homes in attacks on four villages related to conflicts over…

United States: Suit Filed in Haiti Cholera Epidemic

Mar 12, 2014 | Somini Sengupta, The New York Times

A class-action lawsuit claiming to represent cholera victims in Haiti and their relatives in the United States was filed against the United Nations on Tuesday…

Libya: Prime Minister Ousted in Chaos over Tanker

Mar 11, 2014 | David D. Kirkpatrick and Cliffort Kraussmarch, The New York Times

CAIRO — Libya’s transitional Parliament voted on Tuesday to remove its prime minister as his government conceded that despite days of bluster it was powerless…

South Sudan: Conflict Erases Food Security Gains, UN Agencies Say

Mar 10, 2014 | Charlton Doki, Voice of America

JUBA — The conflict in South Sudan has undone the strides the young country has taken toward food security in recent years, U.N. agencies said…

Dispute Over Fate of Mysterious Tanker With Oil From Libya

Mar 10, 2014 | Clifford Krauss, The New York Times

HOUSTON — A tanker that had been sitting for three days in a Libyan port controlled by a regional militia has what every refinery in…

Nigeria: Nigerians Ask Why Oil Funds Are Missing

Mar 10, 2014 | Adam Nossiter, The New York Times

LAGOS, Nigeria — Even in a country where untold oil wealth disappears into the pockets of the elite, the oil corruption scheme he was investigating…

Ukraine: Sovereignty vs. Self-Rule: Crimea Reignites Battle

Mar 8, 2014 | Peter Baker, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — They wanted to break away from a country they considered hostile. The central government cried foul, calling it a violation of international law.…

Libyan Militia Selling Oil, Defying the Government

Mar 8, 2014 | David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times

CAIRO — A militia group that has blockaded Libya’s main oil ports for more than six months began on Saturday to sell the oil for…

Analysis: Why Russia's Crimea Move Fails Legal Test

Mar 7, 2014 | BBC

The Russian parliament says Crimea can become Russian territory if that is what the region's people decide they want in a referendum set for 16…

Ukraine: How a Fight Over Natural Resources Is Quietly Driving The World’s Response To Ukraine

Mar 6, 2014 | Think Progress

On Thursday, the fast-moving crisis in Ukraine took another surprising turn as the de facto authorities of Crimea, the semi-autonomous Ukrainian republic that is currently…

Afghanistan's Minerals Await Vital Railroads

Mar 6, 2014 | Gopal Ratnam 

At the Naibabad freight terminal near the northern Afghan town of Mazar-e-Sharif, workers rush to unload wheat and construction materials from Uzbekistan that have arrived…

Europe: EU Proposes Responsible Trading Strategy for Minerals from Conflict Zones

Mar 5, 2014 | European Commission

High Representative (HR) of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht today proposed an integrated…

Fight Over the Spoils Leads to Rights Abuses: As Myanmar Gears up for Its Largest Oil and Gas Concessions So Far...

Mar 2, 2014 | Bangkok Post

On a humid July day in Shan state, a 12-year-old girl was playing under the monsoon rains falling over her tiny northern township of Ke…

China/Malaysia/Philippines/Vietnam: Malaysia Joins Forces with Philippines and Vietnam Against China in Sea Dispute

Mar 1, 2014 | Craig Hill, China Daily Mail

The submerged reef would be easy to miss, under turquoise seas about 80 km (50 miles) off Malaysia’s Borneo island state of Sarawak.

But two Chinese…

Sierra Leone: Mining Boom Brings Rights Abuses

Feb 28, 2014 | Human Rights Watch

The government of Sierra Leone and a mining company that is the country’s largest private employer have undermined villagers’ access to food and prevented workers from challenging…

Conflict, Migration Contributing to Food Insecurity in Near East, says UN Official

Feb 27, 2014 | United Nations

Conflict, the flow of refugees and migration are worsening food security in the Near East, along with constraints on food production and a growing dependence…

Nigeria: PPP Records Another Milestone in Land Dispute in Delta State

Feb 26, 2014 | Alliance for Peacebuilding

The communities are Obi Ogadi in Asaba and Ogboli in Ibusa, both in Delta State, Nigeria. The contention involves the legal ownership of a piece…

Asia: Why Are China and Japan Inching Toward War Over Five Tiny Islands?

Feb 25, 2014 | Eric Posner, Slate Magazine

Five tiny uninhabited islands slumber in the Pacific Ocean a short distance from Taiwan, China, and Japan. The Japanese call them the Senkaku Islands. The…

Africa: Effective Water Management Can Prevent Conflict, USAID Says

Feb 25, 2014 | Kathryn McConnell, AllAfrica

Washington — Countries with unreliable supplies of water are more vulnerable to conflict, according to a new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development…

Costa Rica: Ongoing Conflict Over Water in Guanacaste Turns Political

Feb 23, 2014 | Costa Rica News

Guanacaste is the province with the most water difficulties in Costa Rica, and the beach community of Playa Potrero is currently one of the most…

Resource Flows and Trends in Fragile States

Feb 16, 2014 | OECD

Aid has declined by 2.4% in 2011 and will continue its downward trend. Meanwhile, the share of the world’s poor found in fragile states is…

Ivory Coast Joins the African Gold Rush – But It's No Quick Fix for the Economy

Feb 16, 2014 | The Guardian

From the sky, Ivory Coast looks like a patchwork quilt, with fields of varying shapes and shades of green and brown woven together. In the…

UK Government Set to Examine Soco’s Activities in Virunga National Park

Feb 14, 2014 | World Wildlife Fund

It was announced today that a complaint filed by WWF has been accepted, and issues related to respect for human rights and the environment in…

Apple in Conflict Mineral 'Name and Shame' Crackdown

Feb 13, 2014 | BBC

Conflict minerals, as they are known, are mined in areas of fighting or human rights abuses, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The first published…

Nigeria Bank Governor Alleges Oil Subsidy Racket

Feb 12, 2014 | The Financial Times

Nigeria's central bank governor has exposed a multibillion-dollar subsidy racket inside the state-owned oil company that may partly explain huge shortfalls in what Africa’s leading…

SodaStream: conflict bubbles or bridge to peace?

Feb 11, 2014 | On Line Opinion

That Scarlett Johansson is unable to be both the face of SodaStream – an Israeli drinks company with operations in a West Bank settlement, and…

Oil, Libyans’ Bargaining Chip

Feb 11, 2014 | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

There was great hope in early 2012 that oil and gas revenues, which had rebounded fairly quickly after the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi, would allow…