News


South Sudan/Sudan: Juba, Khartoum Begin Oil Fee Negotiations

Mar 2, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan and its northern neighbour have started negotiations on provisions of the 2012 Cooperation Agreement, focusing on crude oil flowing through Sudanese territory.

Sudan’s petroleum…


Syria: Climate Change Implicated in Current Syrian Conflict

Mar 2, 2015 | Mark Zastrow, Nature

The drought that ravaged Syria from 2007 to 2010 was the worst in that nation’s recorded history, devastating agriculture in the region. Roughly 1.5 million…


Iraq: Iraq Says Crude Price Fall Prompts Review of Oil Contracts

Mar 2, 2015 | Reuters

Iraq said on Monday it is reviewing its oil production agreements with international firms because falling crude prices meant that the financial cost of existing…


Myanmar: Peace Brings Plantations and Displacement in Myeik Hills

Mar 2, 2015 | Wa Lone, Myanmar Times

The Kawutt-Kawmabyin area is more than 40 kilometres (27 miles) from Myeik and 80-km (50 miles) from Tanintharyi township. Much of the area, including the…


Iraq: Oil Smuggling Highlights Challenges in Shutting Down IS Finances

Feb 28, 2015 | Sharon Behn, Voice of America

In the span of one year, Islamic State militants made more than half a billion dollars by seizing government banks, illegal oil sales, kidnapping and…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdish Oil Tanker Docks in Israel

Feb 28, 2015 | I24News

An Iraqi Kurdish oil tanker, blocked for months from unloading its cargo has delivered its goods to Israel, according to ship-tracking data which showed the…


South Sudan: Study: ‘Direct Link’ Between Oil Exploration and Water Pollution

Feb 28, 2015 | Radio Tamazuj

The results of a new three-year scientific study show that oil production at Thar Jath and Mala fields in Unity State has polluted groundwater in…


Bangladesh: Violence and Land Grabbing Forced 210 Indigenous Families to Flee the Country in 2014

Feb 28, 2015 | Abid Azad, Dhaka Tribune

Two hundred and ten indigenous families fled Bangladesh in 2014 after being threatened or dispossessed of their land, a human rights report said. 

In 2014, some…


Myanmar: Land: The Search for Solutions

Feb 28, 2015 | Yen Snaing, The Irrawaddy

Dr. Thaung Htun is director of the Institute for Peace and Social Justice in Myanmar and a leading advocate for fair land use policies and…


Wars for Resources?

Feb 27, 2015 | John Foster

Recent conflicts in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine have ostensibly been about “bad guys” who threatened peace with weapons of one kind or another, or…


Liberia: Liberia Sells Off Valuable Oil Assets Amid Brewing Scandals

Feb 27, 2015 | Front Page Africa

Liberia has been struggling to get back on track- lacking infrastructure, basic social services, with huge unemployment characterized by raging poverty, but the country is…


Russia/Ukraine: Russia and Ukraine Move toward Resolution of Feud over Natural Gas Payments

Feb 27, 2015 | Andrew E.Kramer, New York Times

A natural gas payment dispute between Russia and Ukraine that had been casting a shadow over European energy markets appeared to be winding down on…


Afghanistan: More Than 200 Killed in Avalanches and Floods in Afghanistan

Feb 27, 2015 | Zabihullah Tamanna, FloodList

At least 100 more people were reported dead in avalanches in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, bringing the total death toll since Wednesday morning to at…


South Sudan, DR Congo interested in Ugandan crude oil export pipeline: Minister

Feb 26, 2015 | Platts, McGraw Hill Financial

South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo have shown an interest in the construction and development of the proposed 1,300-km (806-mile) crude pipeline to…


Security Council extends UN peacekeeping force in Abyei through July 2015

Feb 26, 2015 | UN News Centre

The Security Council has unanimousy extended the United Nations peacekeeping force in Abyei – a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan – as…


Myanmar: Letpadaung: Fields of Fire

Feb 26, 2015 | Kyaw Phyo, The Irrawaddy

Situated on the western bank of the Chindwin River in Sagaing Region, the Letpadaung copper mine near Monywa in upper Myanmar has been a source…


Myanmar: World Bank’s US$100 Million Credit to Myanmar Continues Hydroelectric Infrastructure Development in Irrawaddy River Basin

Feb 26, 2015 | Gregory B. Poindexter, Hydro World

Some of the 20 planned hydropower plants for Myanmar (formerly Burma), which is located in South East Asia, will be constructed within the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady…


Sierra Leone: Conflict Between Rice Farmers and Cattle Herdsmen in the Northern Province

Feb 26, 2015 | Concord Times

Due to its geographical proximity to Guinea and as a result of vast savanna landscape, the Northern Province attracts nomadic Fullah herdsmen. Almost all five…


Register for Course in Natural Resource Management in Post-Conflict Countries

Feb 25, 2015 | United Nations Institute for Training and Research

At the end of the course, participants will be able to: describe how natural resources can contribute to or prolong conflict as well as undermine…


George Clooney on Sudan’s Rape of Darfur

Feb 25, 2015 | George Clooney, John Prendergast, and Akshaya Kumar

Over time, international outrage has shifted away from Darfur. When change doesn’t come fast enough, attention spans are short — especially for places that appear…


Liberia: Indicted for Corruption

Feb 25, 2015 | M. Welemongai Ciapha - All Africa Global Media

The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) has indicted 10 persons for corruption in connection with their alleged involvement in a US$40,000 bribery offered to members of…


Liberia: As Gov't Cries for Revenue Intake, Illegal Mining Rocks

Feb 25, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, GNN Liberia

The illegal mining of Liberia’s mineral sectors around the country has reportedly climbed to its highest peak. Both Liberians and foreign nationals have advantage of…


Timor-Leste: LNG Collapse Threatens Trade

Feb 25, 2015 | Global Trade Review

East Timor’s future as a major LNG exporter remains in the balance, after the collapse of the US$17bn Sunrise project this week.The Australian company Woodrise…


Africa: Land and Gender Based Violence: Experiences from Rwanda and Liberia

Feb 25, 2015 | All Africa Global Media

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a profound problem in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa: in Rwanda, 35 percent of women have reported experiencing physical, sexual, or…


Kurdistan Oil Producer Gulf Keystone up for Sale

Feb 25, 2015 | Fast FT

Problems with wrestling payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government are proving too much for Gulf Keystone Petroleum, the UK listed - but Iraq-focused - oil…


Vietnam: The Lethal Legacy of the Vietnam War

Feb 25, 2015 | George Black, The Nation

On a mild, sunny morning last November, Chuck Searcy and I drove out along a spur of the old Ho Chi Minh Trail to the…


Myanmar: Farmers Demand Compensation for Farmland Destroyed by Gas Pipeline

Feb 24, 2015 | Narinjara - Burma News International

Fifty farmers who have not yet received compensation for their farmland that was destroyed by mud from a gas pipeline construction demonstrated in front of…


Myanmar: Shell Myanmar Energy to Spend $1.2 BN on Offshore Oil Exploration

Feb 24, 2015 | Eleven Media

Shell Myanmar Energy is poised to spend US$1.2 billion on offshore oil and gas exploration and provide $61 million as a signature bonus to state-run…


Liberia: 'Criminal Conspiracy'? Indictment looms in Nocal 'Bribery' Saga

Feb 24, 2015 | All Africa Global Media

Monrovia — The Liberian government is poised to move in on several individuals, including the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National…


Egypt, Jordan Plan Pipeline to Get Gas from Iraq

Feb 24, 2015 | Trade Arabia

Egypt and Jordan have announced a plan to build a natural gas pipeline from Iraq to Jordan, which will also provide both countries the gas…