International


DRC: New Scheme Seeks to Improve Tracking of DRC Minerals

Sep 9, 2015 | Nick Long, Voice of America

The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is renowned for its mineral wealth, but much of that wealth is untapped, partly because of fears that mineral…


Liberia: Women Petition Senate to Pass Land Rights Bill

Sep 9, 2015 | Liberia News Agency, Richard Stephens

A group of women under the banner of the Women NGO Network Tuesday converged on the Capitol Building to petition the Liberian Senate to speedily…


Liberia: Liberia's Bust State Oil Firm to Get 'Forensic' Uudit

Sep 9, 2015 | AFP

Liberia's Senate ordered Wednesday a "forensic" audit of the bankrupt state oil company and vowed to punish anyone found to have negligently handled its finances.…


Mexico: Mexico Community Takes on Illegal Loggers

Sep 9, 2015 | John Holman, Al Jazeera

Organised criminal gangs have helped make Mexico one of the worst victims of deforestation in the world. However, a small community is now taking on…


Myanmar: A Closer Look at Chin State’s Vulnerable Flood-Displaced

Sep 7, 2015 | Lawi Weng, The Irrawaddy

Hundreds of newly displaced families in this small village in Chin State wait hopefully for relief in temporary shelters after a landslide wiped away their…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdistan Says Paying $75 Million to Genel, DNO, Gulf Keystone

Sep 7, 2015 | Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Iraq's Kurdistan region said on Monday it had allocated $75 million of revenue from its independent crude sales to oil exporting companies that have gone…


Syria: How Climate Change is Behind the Surge of Migrants to Europe

Sep 7, 2015 | Aryn Baker, Time

More than 10,000 migrants and refugees traveled to Western Europe via Hungary over the weekend, fleeing conflict-ravaged and impoverished homelands in the hope of finding…


DRC: Companies Struggle to Comply with Rules on Conflict Minerals

Sep 7, 2015 | Lynnley Browning, New York Times

A pink My Little Pony balloon does not usually evoke images of rifle-toting warlords in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Still, Party City Holdings, the…


Colombia: 47 Municipios de Cundinamarca Están en Riesgo de Sequía (47 Municipalities in Cundinamarca Are at Risk of Drought)

Sep 7, 2015 | El Espectador

Este lunes, desde la Gobernación de Cundinamarca, advirtieron que 47 de 116 municipios del departamento están en alerta, debido al desabastecimiento de agua y a…


Angola: Foreign Oil Drillers Sour on Regulation-Happy Angola, Total Says

Sep 5, 2015 | Candido Mendes, Bloomberg

Angola risks losing investment from foreign oil companies as costly government regulations and low world prices make the country, vying to be Africa’s largest producer,…


DRC: Is There Even Such a Thing as Conflict-Free Minerals?

Sep 4, 2015 | Tom Clynes, Take Part

For decades, it has been impossible to distinguish processed tantalum that originated in DRC from other sources. The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative and other endeavors aim…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Chinese, Vietnamese Presidents Meet, Agreeing to Properly Handle Disputes

Sep 4, 2015 | Claire Hopkins, Press Examiner

The two leaders said they are pleased with the development of the Vietnam-Laos relationship and cooperation on all fronts, including the recently signed trade agreements…


Myanmar: Myanmar Activist in Court as Land Crackdown Deepens, Rights Groups Say

Sep 4, 2015 | Reuters

A prominent farmers' activist in Myanmar appeared in court on Friday in what watchdog organisations say is part of an escalating crackdown on land rights…


Afghanistan: Report: $1B Wasted in Afghan Refugee Crisis

Sep 3, 2015 | Paul D. Shinkman, US News & World Report

Almost $1 billion in support from the U.S. government has done little to stem a refugee crisis in Afghanistan that has reportedly displaced millions of…


Liberia: GVL Excepts to INHCR Report

Sep 2, 2015 | The New Dawn

The Indonesian oil palm company, Golden Veroleum Liberia, has taken exception to the recent report by the Independent National Commission on Human Rights on the…


Israel/Palestine: Gaza Could Soon Become Uninhabitable, UN Report Predicts

Sep 2, 2015 | Peter Beaumont, Guardian

A hard-hitting new United Nations report says Gaza could become uninhabitable in less than five years if current economic and population trends continue. It cites…


Syria: Syria's Ailing Water Network Could Spark Epidemics: Red Cross

Sep 2, 2015 | Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters

Syria's water network, heavily damaged by bombs and shelling, is at risk of collapse as its civil war drags on, increasing the threat of deadly…


Liberia: Liberian Lawmaker Wants Audits - Falls Short in Equity

Sep 1, 2015 | Henry Karmo, FrontPageAfrica

Representative Bhofal Chambers (CDC-District #2 Maryland County) has written the House of Representatives requesting the august body to ensure the audit of several Ministries and…


India: Marathwada Towns Come to Blows over Dam Water

Sep 1, 2015 | Syed Rizwanullah, Thain News Network

Water wars are breaking out on the Osmanabad-Beed border, and officials have even come to blows over their share of water in Manjra dam -…


South China Sea: India Ready to Move Oil Platform into South China Sea

Sep 1, 2015 | Want China Times

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is ready to move an oil platform into the South China Sea to help the Vietnamese government explore for…


Sierra Leone: Spain to Hand over US-Belgian Businessman Wanted in Sierra Leone Blood Diamonds Case

Aug 31, 2015 | Ciaran Giles, Associated Press

An American-Belgian businessman arrested for suspected involvement in enslavement and pillaging blood diamonds during Sierra Leone's civil war will be handed over shortly to Belgium,…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Controversy Continues over How to Cut up Kirkuk

Aug 31, 2015 | Saad Salloum, Al-Monitor

While the Kurds think of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk as the “Jerusalem of Kurdistan,” since the adoption of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, the Turkmens have been calling for…


Timor-Leste: Six Years after the Montara Oil Spill, Those Who Suffered Most Still Seek Compensation

Aug 30, 2015 | News.com.au

On August 21, 2009, the West Atlas rig owned by the Norwegian-Bermudan Seadrill and operated by Perth-based operation PTTEP Australasia Montara sprung a leak. For…


South Sudan: African Union Commission Says Oil Resources Must Benefit the People for Lasting Peace

Aug 30, 2015 | Ann Garrison, Bay View

The warring parties in South Sudan’s 20-month civil war signed a peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, earlier this week. The civil war which began…


Conflict Diamonds: Africa’s Blood Diamonds are Dawood's Latest Biz, Intelligence Agencies Say

Aug 30, 2015 | Raj Shekhar, Times News Network

Investigators working to identify underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's offshore assets have stumbled on a startling fact: The fugitive is now in the business of conflict…


Sierra Leone: Spain Detains Belgian Sierra Leone Diamond Trafficker

Aug 28, 2015 | Expatica

Spanish police said Friday they have detained a Belgian man wanted for allegedly trafficking diamonds in Sierra Leone during the west African country's decade-long civil…


Middle East: Water Wars? Devastating Shortages Will Fuel MidEast Conflicts for 25 yrs – Report

Aug 28, 2015 | RT

In a worrying global trend, the Middle East is set for a record water shortage to strike over the next 25 years. The global fallout…


Sierra Leone: The Ebola Crisis Is Over, but Tiffany Is Still Paying for It

Aug 27, 2015 | Kyle Stock, Bloomberg

The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is hitting Tiffany & Co.'s bottom line. In 2011, the company lent about $50 million to a miner in Sierra…


Iraq: Oil Prices Compound Iraq’s Stability Concerns

Aug 27, 2015 | Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com

Iraq has managed to ratchet up oil production to record highs, against what would seem to be insurmountable obstacles. Despite political gridlock, a fight against…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurds Pledge Oil Company Payments to Boost Output

Aug 27, 2015 | Daniel J. Graeber, United Press International

A move to issue regular payments to oil companies operating in the Kurdish north of Iraq should help them endure the market downturn, the government…