News


Russia’s Next Land Grab

Sep 9, 2014 | New York Times

WASHINGTON — UKRAINE isn’t the only place where Russia is stirring up trouble. Since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Moscow has routinely supported…


Water Wars: The Water Wars: Conflicts Over Water Sources Continue to Grow

Sep 9, 2014 | David Zetland, Water Canada

Google "water wars" and you will get 1.45 million search returns – more than "nuclear war." Does this statistic mean that water wars are more…


South Sudan/Sudan: S. Sudan Seeks Pipeline Alternative to End Dependence on Sudan

Sep 9, 2014 | World Tribune

WASHINGTON — South Sudan has sought an alternative to the export crude oil pipeline that crosses into its northern rival.

A U.S. government report said South…


Iraq: New Iraq Oil Minister Faces Kurdish Dispute, Security Threats

Sep 9, 2014 | Voice of America

DUBAI—Iraq's new oil minister is a veteran politician who will need to deploy all his experience to resolve disputes over Kurdish oil production and allay…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Oil and US Leverage in Iraq

Sep 9, 2014 | Jim Krane and Ted Loch-Temzelides, Forbes

HOUSTON _ As the Obama Administration ratchets up its confrontation with radical Islamists in Iraq, an idled tanker loaded with Kurdish oil off the Texas…


West Africa: Ebola May Disrupt Oil and Gas Operations in West Africa, Threatening Region's Economy, says GlobalData Analyst

Sep 9, 2014 | AllAfrica

London — Oil and gas exploration and production programs in West African states are under increasing risk due to the failure to contain the Ebola…


Myanmar: Japanese-Led Projects Risk Fueling Conflict in Burma: Activists

Sep 9, 2014 | Yen Snaing and Saw Yan Naing, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Dozens of Karen civil society groups are calling on Japan’s international development agency to halt plans for development projects in southeastern Burma.

The Karen…


China/Japan: China Sends Warships to Escort Oil Rig to Waters Claimed by Japan Near Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands

Sep 9, 2014 | China Daily Mail

China’s qianzhan.com says in its report today that China’s Kaixuan-1 oil rig is on its way to the area near the disputed Diaoyu Islands (known…


Israel/Palestine: New Emblem of an Elemental Conflict: Seized West Bank Land

Sep 9, 2014 | Isabel Kershner, The New York Times

WADI FUKIN, West Bank — At the edge of this small Palestinian village, an asphalt road turns into a dirt path that winds through a…


DRC: Salonga Program Manager/Landscape Leader

Sep 8, 2014 | WWF

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s leading conservation organization, seeks a Salonga Program Manager/Landscape Leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The position is…


Ethiopia: Focal Region Manager

Sep 8, 2014 | IWMI

The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), is looking for an experienced Focal Region…


Rwanda: Embedded Advisor in Rwanda Development Board (RDB)

Sep 8, 2014 | Crown Agents

The goal of USAID Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth Project (PSDAG) is to increase smallholder incomes by promoting private sector investments– internationally and domestically -…


Natural Resources and Violence in Nigeria

Sep 8, 2014 | Peace Direct

There is much to say about the on-going crisis in Nigeria, but little has been mentioned that goes beyond the kidnapping of a group of…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Files Claim Against Greek Oil Shipper

Sep 8, 2014 | Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government revealed Monday it started legal proceedings against a Greek company responsible for exports of oil from the Kurdish north of…


Myanmar: Coal: The New Power Battleground

Sep 8, 2014 | Wa Lone, Myanmar Times

The strong monsoon wind blows thick, rain-filled clouds in from the Andaman Sea to the fringes of the Ayeyarwady delta. Thoung Khon is just 60…


Myanmar: Burmese Workers Get Lengthy Jail Terms for Pipeline Clash

Sep 8, 2014 | Lawi Weng, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — A court in Arakan State sentenced 17 Burmese workers to between six and 10 years each in prison on Sunday for destroying property…


Pakistan: Internal Affairs: BDU Chief ‘Dragged’ Into Land-Grabbing Allegations

Sep 8, 2014 | The Express Tribune

PESHAWAR: The bomb disposal unit’s AIG Shafqat Malik dismissed rumours that his driver was injured in a land-grabbing attempt on Warsak Road on Saturday.

“Farman, a resident…


Food Security: Middle East Wars Could Put World’s Food Security at Risk

Sep 8, 2014 | Steve Connor, The Independent

Millions of people could in future face starvation as an indirect result of the violent turmoil in the Middle East which has the highest concentration…


Afghanistan: Snow Sales Replace Illegal Logging in Afghan Province

Sep 8, 2014 | Qaisar Khosti, Environmental News Service

For hundreds of years, people in Afghanistan have stockpiled winter snows in specially-dug pits so they can use it during the scorching summer months. Now,…


Iraq: Shelter and WASH Specialists

Sep 7, 2014 | Danish Refugee Council

Danish Refugee Council is urgently seeking key staff for our current operation and emergency scale-up in the Kurdish (KRI) and Central Regions of Iraq -…


West Africa: Ebola Outbreak Dulls Diamond Industry

Sep 7, 2014 | Melvyn Reggie Thomas, Tmes of India

SURAT: The  Ebola outbreak has started casting a shadow over the  diamond industry as diamantaires have stopped sourcing rough diamonds from West African countries. Africa…


Vietnam: Vietnam Building Deterrent Against China in Disputed Seas With Submarines

Sep 7, 2014 | Greg Torode, Reuters

Vietnam will soon have a credible naval deterrent to China in the South China Sea in the form of Kilo-class submarines from Russia, which experts…


Conflict Minerals: Good News and Bad News: Commerce Department Publishes List of Conflict Minerals Processing Facilities

Sep 7, 2014 | Steve Quinlivan, Dodd-Frank

The good news is the Commerce Department published a list of ”all known conflict mineral processing facilities worldwide” as required by section 1502(d)(3)(C) of the…


Iraq/Syria: Scotland Leads Calls for Crackdown on Trade in Smuggled Oil by Islamic State

Sep 7, 2014 | Herald Scotland

Scotland is leading calls for an EU-led crackdown on the illicit trade in black market oil fuelling the march of the terror group Islamic State…


Iraq: New Rumaila Contract Includes Substantive Changes

Sep 6, 2014 | Ali Abu Iraq, Ben Lando, and Staff, Iraq Oil Report

Iraq has renegotiated a lower production target for Rumaila, its most prolific oil field – part of a broader effort to moderate the country's oil…


Australia/Timor-Leste: UN Court Postpones East Timor Spy Case

Sep 6, 2014 | Harriet Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald

The architect of East Timor's independence movement has welcomed the decision by Australia and his country to postpone court action over their spy row and  pursue…


Timor Leste: International Project Development Specialist

Sep 5, 2014 | UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, working in 177 countries and territories. In Timor-Leste, UNDP provides technical advice and…


Climate Security Threat Remains Hidden Behind Current Conflicts

Sep 5, 2014 | Responding to Climate Change

At the NATO summit, the UK distributed leaflets outlining its five priorities for the summit. Number one is, obviously, the crisis in Ukraine. The phrase…


South Sudan: From Money Box to Tinder Box

Sep 5, 2014 | Daily Maverick

The box was half the height of the minister’s desk. At the start of the day it was full to the brim with South Sudanese…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurds Say They’ll Give a Unified Iraqi Government One Last chance

Sep 5, 2014 | Roy Gutman, Miami Herald

IRBIL, Iraq -- Kurdish leaders, acceding to U.S. demands, are postponing plans for an early referendum on independence and say they instead will devote their…