International
Sierra Leone: S/Leonean Leader Orders Halt to Land Grabbing around University Campus
May 21, 2015
|
APA, Star Africa
Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma has ordered authorities at the University of Sierra Leone to immediately address the protracted issue of land grabbing around…
China/South China Sea: Exclusive: China Warns U.S. Surveillance Plane
May 21, 2015
|
CNN
The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a U.S. surveillance plane on Wednesday swooped over islands that Beijing is using to extend its zone…
DRC: First Copper from Congo-China Deal Due by Year End - Government
May 21, 2015
|
Aaron Ross, Reuters
A joint venture between Democratic Republic of Congo's state miner and two Chinese companies, signed under a 2009 "minerals for infrastructure" deal, will begin producing…
South Sudan: South Sudan Government Denies Main Oil Fields Seized by Rebels
May 20, 2015
|
John Tanza and Waakhe Simon Wudu, Voice of America
The South Sudan government on Wednesday dismissed claims by rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar that they have seized control of the strategic…
Nigeria: Youth and Civil Society Groups Protest against Governor Uduaghan over Embezzlement and Land Grabbing
May 20, 2015
|
Sahara Reporters
More than 2,000 youth and community activists took to the streets in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, to protest the corrupt actions of Delta…
United States: Obama: Climate Change Poses Risk to US Military, National Security
May 20, 2015
|
Roberta Rampton, Reuters
May 20 Rising seas, thawing permafrost and longer wildfires caused by warmer global temperatures threaten U.S. military bases and will change the way the U.S.…
Myanmar: Kachin MP Calls for Urgent Govt Intervention on Hpakant Jade Mines
May 20, 2015
|
Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy
A Union Parliament lawmaker from Kachin State has called for an urgent overhaul of mining in Hpakant, home to the world’s most lucrative sources of…
South Sudan: South Sudan Rebels Say Capture Oil Refinery, Tell Firms to Leave
May 19, 2015
|
Denis Dumo, Reuters
South Sudanese rebels said on Tuesday they had captured a refinery near a major oilfield in Upper Nile State, where fighting has flared up in…
Liberia: GVL Oil Mill - Welcoming News after Ebola in Liberia
May 19, 2015
|
FrontPageAfrica
When news broke last Thursday that the Asian Oil Palm giant Golden Veroleum Liberia had signed a US$20.984M contract for the construction of its Oil…
China/Vietnam: Vietnam Opposes Chinese Fishing Ban in Disputed Sea
May 18, 2015
|
Reuters
Vietnam said it resolutely opposes a temporary Chinese ban on fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin, the latest in a series of sovereignty disputes in…
Iraq/Kurdistan: If Baghdad Won't Be Responsive, KRG Will Sell Oil Independently
May 18, 2015
|
The Kurdish Globe
The KRG delegation held a meeting with the parliamentary groups and relevant committees to discuss the latest developments in the implementation of the agreement reached…
Conflict Minerals: Call to Toughen European Rules on 'Conflict Minerals'
May 18, 2015
|
BBC News
A letter has been signed by more than 150 groups before a European Parliament vote on ways to limit their sale. Many tech gadgets such…
Iraq: BP Agrees to Cut Spending on Iraq's Rumaila Field after Oil Price Drop
May 18, 2015
|
Rania El Gamal, Reuters
BP has cut its development budget for Iraq's giant Rumaila oilfield by $1 billion this year after the government warned a slump in crude prices…
China/South China Sea: Kerry Meets with China's Foreign Minister over Disputed Islands
May 16, 2015
|
Scott Neuman, NPR
China's foreign minister today reasserted Beijing's claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea, dismissing a push by his counterpart, Secretary of State John…
DRC: 'Conflict Minerals' Funding Deadly Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo as EU Plans Laws to Clean Up Trade
May 16, 2015
|
Sarah Morrison, The Independent
The European Parliament is set to vote on its first conflict minerals regulation aimed at cleaning up the trade this coming week. The European Union…
Syria: US Says Army Commandos on Overnight Raid into Syria Kill Islamic State's Oil Operations Head
May 16, 2015
|
Robert Burns and Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press
In a rare ground attack deep into Syria, U.S. Army commandos killed a man described as the Islamic State's head of oil operations, captured his…
Cyprus/Turkey: Cyprus Peace Talks 'Positive and Productive'
May 16, 2015
|
Deutsche Welle
Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci, met in Nicosia in search of a breakthrough to the…
Liberia: Moratorium on Logging Activities is Undermining Liberia’s Economy says Senate Pro-Tempore
May 15, 2015
|
Cholo Brooks, Global News Network
The President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate Armah Zolu Jallah says Liberia needs to identify its priorities in terms of adopting policies that will benefit…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq’s Oil Minister Leaves Erbil with No Progress in Oil & Budget Talks
May 15, 2015
|
Rudaw
Iraq’s Oil Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi returned to Baghdad Friday evening after two days of talks with Kurdish officials over oil and budget disputes with…
Iraq: The Islamic State Threatens to Capture Massive Iraqi Oil Refinery
May 15, 2015
|
Hugh Naylor, Washington Post
Six months after the government triumphantly announced that Islamic State militants had retreated from Iraq’s largest refinery, the extremist group is again threatening to overrun…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Images Reveal Vietnam's Expansion in the South China Sea
May 15, 2015
|
Gabriel Domínguez, Deutsche Welle
Surveillance imagery recently obtained by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) shows that in recent years Vietnam has undertaken significant construction in the…
Iraq: 9th Circuit Court Overturns $85M Award for Oregon Soldiers
May 14, 2015
|
Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday threw out a landmark verdict that a dozen Oregon Army National Guardsmen won against a defense contractor…
DRC: India Eyes Mineral Exploration, Procurement Deals from Congo
May 14, 2015
|
Business Standard
India has expressed keen interest in having a "mutually beneficial" relationship with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in exploration as well as procurement of various…
Iraq: 12 Years Later, a Mystery of Chemical Exposure in Iraq Clears Slightly
May 14, 2015
|
C.J. Chivers, New York Times
The toxic vapors acted quickly against the Second Platoon of the 811th Ordnance Company, whose soldiers were moving abandoned barrels out of an Iraqi Republican…
DRC: Conflict Minerals Rule: A View of Ongoing Compliance
May 14, 2015
|
Deloitte, Wall Street Journal
As the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule approaches its second filing deadline in June, many registrants continue to face the challenge of gaining adequate visibility into…
South Sudan: UN Ramps Up Airlifts to Reach Conflict-Hit Farmers Ahead of Planting Season
May 14, 2015
|
United Nations
As the main planting season begins in South Sudan, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced today that it is accelerating its efforts…
Iraq: Iraqi Refinery May Be Destroyed in Battle to Save it
May 13, 2015
|
Reuters
Islamic State militants have dug trenches around natural gas and hydrogen tanks at Iraq's largest refinery, raising the stakes in a battle where the price…
Iraq: Baghdad-Erbil Relations Grow Sour
May 13, 2015
|
Anadolu Agency
Relations between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government in Erbil are growing sour as Erbil awaits full payment for oil, according to…
Iraq: How Important is the Battle for Iraq's Baiji Oil Refinery?
May 12, 2015
|
Jill S Russell, BBC
The struggle between Iraqi government forces and Shia militia against Islamic State (IS) for control of the country's largest oil refinery, Baiji, is at yet…
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: 1 Year Later: Reflections on China's Oil Rig 'Sovereignty-Making' in the South China Sea
May 12, 2015
|
Ankit Panda, The Diplomat
One year ago, China’s state-owned China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) moved an exploratory oil rig, Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HD-981), worth an estimated $1 billion,…