News


Iraq/Kurdistan: Protesters Force Gazprom Neft to Quit Halabja Block

Oct 5, 2014 | Osamah Golpy, Rudaw

HOREN, Iraq - Russian oil company Gazprom Neft has been forced to halt operations in the Halabja block following demonstrations by locals demanding all oil…


South Sudan: Malnutrition Rates Still High Despite Food Security Improvements

Oct 4, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

Juba — Tens of thousands of children under the age of five remain at risk of malnutrition-related death in South Sudan, despite temporary improvements in…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Pomegranates, Not Oil, the Star of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Rebirth

Oct 4, 2014 | Hugh Naylor, The National

HALABJA, IRAQ - For Shakhawan Mohammed the future of Iraqi Kurdistan lies not in oil but in pomegranates.Mr Mohammed cultivates a dozen varieties of the…


Myanmar: Millions of Tonnes of Teak and Hardwood Exported

Oct 4, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

The Thein Sein government has permitted the export of 5.7 million tonnes of teak and hardwood over the past four years.The timber was exported with…


The U.S. Needs a Plan to Deal With Mideast Oil-Sharing Conflicts

Oct 3, 2014 | Wall Street Journal

Modern warfare has often involved targeting of fuel-supply lines, so the U.S. military’s recent decision to target the oil-supply chain of Islamic State is not…


Liberia: Hailing the Passage of the Land Law

Oct 3, 2014 | The Inquirer Editorial Board, allAfrica

Yesterday it was reported that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has signed into law the 'Act Against Criminal Conveyance of Land'. The Act was signed on August…


From Liberia to America, We Must Stop Illegal Logging

Oct 3, 2014 | Roll Call

Around the world, illegal logging threatens communities and drives deforestation. Every second, an area of forest the size of a football field disappears due to…


Africa: UN Hunger Report: Despite Positive Trends at Global Level, Food Security Continues to be a Big Concern Across Near East and North Africa Countries

Oct 3, 2014 | Zawya

The number of undernourished in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) has more than doubled since 1990 standing now at about 33 million peoples,…


Syria: Pentagon: Most of Islamic State’s Oil Refineries in Syria Have Been Destroyed

Oct 3, 2014 | Maggie Ybarra, The Washington Times

The Pentagon says that it has demolished the majority of the oil refineries the Islamic State has been using to fund its terrorist activities and…


Conflict Minerals: Sourcing Practices Changing as US Law on Mineral Imports Takes Hold

Oct 3, 2014 | Anine Vermeulen, Mining Weekly

For decades, the trade in tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (also known as 3TG), along with various other minerals and resources, has played a central…


Iraq: Iraq Asks 2nd Circ. For $10B Oil-For-Food Rehearing

Oct 3, 2014 | Cara Salvatore, Law360

New York -- The Republic of Iraq urged the full Second Circuit on Thursday to rehear a split decision in a $10 billion racketeering suit…


Iraq: Murkowski: Iraqi Oil Market Showed Early Signs of Instability

Oct 3, 2014 | Timothy Cama, The Hill

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) put out a report Friday saying that publicly available data on Iraqi oil markets should have helped predict the rise of…


Conflict Minerals: Disclosure Issuers Want Feedback on First Disclosures As They Prepare Next Conflict Mineral Filings

Oct 3, 2014 | Yin Wilczek, Bloomberg

After the first-ever filings for conflict minerals disclosures in June, some issuers now are asking: is anyone even paying attention?

To date, the Securities and Exchange…


West Africa: How Saving West African Forests Might Have Prevented the Ebola Epidemic

Oct 3, 2014 | JA Ginsburg, The Guardian

The world now knows in great detail how Thomas Eric Duncan, a man who just a few weeks ago showed admirable compassion for a sick,…


Uganda: Natural Resource Team Leader, Mercy Corps (Contingent upon funding)

Oct 2, 2014 | Mercy Corps

General Position Summary:

The NRM Team Leader will be responsible for overseeing program activities aimed at strengthening the horizontal and vertical linkages that support good governance…


Iraq: Oil Giant Puts Exploration on Hold, but Kurdish Villagers Not Allowed Back on Their Land

Oct 2, 2014 | Independent Catholic News

Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraqi Kurdistan visited its partners in villages affected by the ExxonMobil operations on 8 -12 September. The huge Exxoncamp near Hajji…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Kurds Tripling Oil Output While Renewing Baghdad Talks

Oct 2, 2014 | Khalid Al-Ansary and Nayla Razzouk, Bloomberg

Iraq’s Kurds are boosting crude output threefold by the end of next year and plan soon to resume talks with the new central government, signaling…


South Sudan: South Sudan Devalues Its Currency by 50 Percent

Oct 2, 2014 | Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome, eTurboNews

South Sudan’s Central Bank has finally faced reality when they devalued the currency from the unsustainable rate of 2.96 SSP (South Sudan Pounds) versus one…


Myanmar: Mandalay Farmers Rally Against Land Grab, Shooting of Villagers

Oct 2, 2014 | Eleven Myanmar

About 1,000 farmers took to the streets of Singu Township, Mandalay Region, on Tuesday, to demand the return of seized farmland and protest against authorities’…


Iraq: Thailand Imports Iraqi Crude for the First Time in Two Years

Oct 2, 2014 | Platts

Thailand for the first time in over two years bought crude oil from Iraq, but the grade of the import remains unclear.

Thai customs data released…


Liberia: Ebola Outbreak Upsets Exxon Drilling Plans

Oct 2, 2014 | Matt Krantz, USA Today

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is disrupting some drilling plans for the USA's biggest oil company.

ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said at a press conference…


Kurdistan on the Brink

Oct 1, 2014 | Samira Ghaderi, The Hill

As ISIS continues its savagery throughout Iraq, the government of Iraq (GoI) has recently transitioned its leadership with Prime Minister al-Abadi replacing al-Maliki.  Many hope…


Liberia: U.S.$25 K Scandal Rocks Nocal - Legislature, LACC Probing

Oct 1, 2014 | AllAfrica

A scandal involving a purported attempt to defraud the Liberian government is sending shivers in the corridors of the national legislature, linking the office of…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Protesters Halt Gazprom Neft in Halabja

Oct 1, 2014 | Mohammed Hussein and Patrick Osgood, Iraq Oil Report

Russia’s Gazprom Neft has halted operations in one of its exploration blocks because of ongoing protests by residents – the latest oil company in Iraq's…


India: P3 - Project Officer, UNESCO/Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development

Sep 30, 2014 | Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development

The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s first education-related category 1 institute towards the development and promotion of…


Kurdish Attempts to Sell Oil Are Not Going to Get Support from the Obama Administration

Sep 30, 2014 | Platts

For two months now, the United Kalavrvta tanker holding 1 million barrels of Kurdish crude has idled in international waters off the coast of Galveston, Texas, awaiting…


Preventing Water Wars: How to Build Bridges over River Disputes

Sep 30, 2014 | Ilmas Futehally, The Guardian

Fifty years ago, Lake Chad in Africa had a surface area of 25,000 square kilometres. Today, it has less than 2,000. The surface area of…


Conservatives Kill Measure to Cut Money for Violent Militias in Africa

Sep 30, 2014 | Rabble

There are times when some of the most significant events in Parliament happen far from public view.

This week the chatter about politics is all about…


Without Peace, Can There Be Development?

Sep 30, 2014 | Huffington Post

As UN Member States follow last week's General Assembly debates with the months-long intergovernmental negotiations around the post-2015 development agenda, this is a critical time…


Myanmar: 130 Firms to Exhibit at October Oil & Gas Fair

Sep 30, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

One hundred and thirty firms from 22 different countries will exhibit a range of services and products at Burma’s inaugural oil and gas trade fair,…