International

Burma Accepted for EITI Scheme, But NGOs Remain Concerned

Jul 3, 2014 | The Irrawaddy

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global anti-corruption scheme, announced on Wednesday that Burma has been accepted as a candidate country. The decision means…

Burma: Burmese Army Plans to Return Only a Quarter of Seized Land Nationwide

Jul 3, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

The Burmese army plans to return less than 125,000 acres of farmland to its original owners, making up only less than a quarter of land…

Extremist Group Takes Syria's Key Oil Field

Jul 3, 2014 | Associated Press

Activists say fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have taken control of Syria's largest oil field, near the border with Iraq.

The…

African Markets - Factors to watch on July 3

Jul 3, 2014 | Reuters

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday.

 EVENTS:

 Kenya - Central Bank of…

South Sudan to Borrow About $1 Billion From Oil Firms in 2014/15 Budget

Jul 2, 2014 | Reuters

South Sudan plans to borrow 3 billion South Sudanese pounds, about $1 billion at the official rate, from oil companies during the coming financial year…

Water Supply Key to Outcome of Conflicts in Iraq and Syria, Experts Warn

Jul 2, 2014 | The Guardian

Security analysts in London and Baghdad say control of rivers and dams has become a major tactical weapon for Isis.

The outcome of the Iraq and…

Regional Distrust Fuelling Water Conflicts in South Asia

Jul 2, 2014 | Eco-Business

Disputes over water threaten to aggravate tensions between countries in South Asia. Large parts of India and Pakistan already suffer from water stress and these…

DRC: Congo Admitted to EITI Resource Transparency Initiative

Jul 2, 2014 | Thomson Reuters Foundation

KINSHASA, July 2 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo has earned full membership to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the global organisation promoting good…

Conflict Minerals Law Starts Working despite Poor Industry Response

Jul 1, 2014 | Eric Onstad, Reuters, Chicago Tribune

LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. law on conflict minerals is curbing African warlords' presence around mines in Congo, campaigners say, but its full impact remains…

Iraq/Syria: Water Wars Directed against Syria and Iraq: Turkey’s Control of the Euphrates River

Jul 1, 2014 | Abdulrahman Al-Masri, Global Research

The Euphrates has three main dams within Syria: Tishreen, Euphrates and Al-Baath. The Euphrates dam is considered the most important of the three. The water…

Liberia: Huge Disparity - EITI Fifth Report Points to Conflicting Liberia Figures

Jul 1, 2014 | Stephen D. Kollie, AllAfrica

The fifth Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report has revealed disparities in figures reported by the agency, companies and government agencies.

The EITI reported stated that…

Myanmar: CPI Cut Our Rice Ration, Say Anti-Dam Activists

Jul 1, 2014 | Nang Mya Nadi, Democratic Voice of Burma

Two local Kachin women, who have been involved in anti-Myitsone dam activities, say they have had their rice rations cut by China Power Investment Corporation…

Liberia: St. Peters Episcopal Church Taken to Court

Jul 1, 2014 | AllAfrica

The New Kru Town Magisterial Court has set this Wednesday for hearing in a land case involving the Episcopal Church of Liberia Caldwell Branch and…

Sudan: Sudan Bank-Lending Ban Stirs Risk as Oil Revenue Dwindles

Jun 30, 2014 | Maher Chmaytelli, Bloomberg

Sudan risks storing up trouble for itself by slapping lending curbs on banks amid soaring inflation and a slump in oil-pipeline revenue.

The central bank, led…

DRC: DRC's Gecamines to Cut 6 000 Jobs

Jun 30, 2014 | Felix Njini, The Southern Times

Windhoek - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s state mining company will cut around 6 000 jobs ‑ more than half its workforce - as it…

Sudan Signs Agreement to Transport 50% of S. Sudan's Oil

Jun 29, 2014 | Shadia Basheri - Sudan Vision Daily

Khartoum – An agreement was signed yesterday between the Ministry of Petroleum and partners operating in the Petrodar project to transport fifty percent of South…

Sudan Seals New Agreement With Petrodar on Transit Fees

Jun 28, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

The Sudanese government and Petrodar oil company signed an agreement on Saturday, by which the latter pays $19.8 per barrel of oil flowing from oilfields…

Conflict Minerals: Department of Commerce Hasn’t Met Conflict Minerals Obligations, GAO Says

Jun 27, 2014 | Ken Tysiac, Journal of Accountancy

Although U.S. public companies were required to file their first conflict minerals disclosures earlier this month, a new government report shows that the U.S. Department…

Conflict Minerals: In Conflict Mineral Disclosures, Different Industries Seeing Different Trends

Jun 27, 2014 | Yin Wilczek, The Bureau of National Affairs

Based on their first-ever conflict minerals disclosures, different industries are approaching the Securities and Exchange Commission's conflict minerals requirements in different ways, a consultant said…

Liberia: SIFCA Accused of Violating Communities' Rights in Liberia's Southeast

Jun 27, 2014 | AllAfrica

Monrovia — SIFCA an agribusiness group which operates in Liberia through two subsidiaries Maryland Palm Oil Plantation (MOPP) and Cavalla Rubber Corporation's (CRC) has been…

Myanmar: Myitsone Will Harm China-Burma Relations: Ethnic Politicians

Jun 27, 2014 | Zarni Mann, The Irrawaddy

MANDALAY — Ethnic politicians from Burma have warned the Chinese government that resumption of the Myitsone dam project will harm relations between the two countries,…

Myanmar: UN: 'Poverty and corruption' fueling Myanmar's opium woes

Jun 27, 2014 | Gabriel Dominguez, Deutsche Welle

Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of opium - the raw ingredient for heroin - after Afghanistan, accounting for 10 percent of global production.…

South Sudan: South Sudan's Oil Output Slips to 160,000 bpd - Ministry Official

Jun 26, 2014 | Carl Odera, Reuters

JUBA, June 26 (Reuters) - South Sudan's oil production is averaging about 160,000 barrels per day (bpd), slipping by about 5,000 bpd on numbers released…

Myanmar: Real Winners of Myanmar’s Oil and Gas Blocks Remain Hidden

Jun 26, 2014 | Global Witness

The majority of companies recently awarded oil and gas blocks in Myanmar have failed to answer questions over who really owns them, said Global Witness as…

Myanmar: The Opaque World of Myanmar’s Oil Industry

Jun 26, 2014 | Michael Peel, Financial Times

A Kazakh gas magnate, a furniture maker and two brothers once under international sanctions are part of a colourful cast flocking largely unnoticed to Myanmar’s…

Myanmar: Lower Supplies Affect Annual Gems Sales in Myanmar

Jun 26, 2014 | May Wong, Channel NewsAsia

NAY PYI TAW: At Myanmar's only annual gems fair in Nay Pyi Taw, sales are expected to hit US$1.5 billion this year, down from US$2.4…

Redrawn Lines Seen as No Cure in Iraq Conflict

Jun 26, 2014 | Robert F. Worth - The New York Times

ISTANBUL — Over the past two weeks, the specter that has haunted Iraq since its founding 93 years ago appears to have become a reality:…

Belgium: Belgians Share Their Land With War’s Reminders

Jun 26, 2014 | The New York Times

YPRES, Belgium — The padlocked cage beside the driveway on the Butaye family farm near this town in western Belgium is almost full of rusting…

Liberia: Liberia's Poor and the Rising Sea

Jun 25, 2014 | Wade C. L. Williams, AllAfrica

Monrovia — Mary B owned a shop in West Point, Monrovia's densely-populated slum community, where she sold liquor just few yards away from the sea.…

Conflict Minerals: Does Furniture Contain Conflict Minerals?

Jun 25, 2014 | Thomas Russell, Furniture Today

HIGH POINT — Publicly held furniture companies acknowledge they have taken steps to determine whether various metals used in their finished product come from mines…