International


Myanmar: Dozens of New Flora, Fauna Species in Myanmar

Jun 5, 2014 | Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A dragon fish with intricate, maze-like markings on every scale, a frog with rough, chocolate-colored skin and a ginger plant are…


Conflict Minerals: The Conflict Over Conflict-Free Minerals

Jun 5, 2014 | Ian King, Bloomberg Businessweek

Like most advanced chips these days, Intel’s (INTC) contain tantalum, gold, tin, and tungsten—elements that can be mined on the cheap in war-torn parts of…


Liberia: House Requests U.S.$700,000 Explanation

Jun 5, 2014 | Necus M. Andrews, AllAfrica

The House of Representatives has mandated its joint Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditure to investigate the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) to provide…


Myanmar: Land Rights Activist Murdered in Burma

Jun 5, 2014 | Moe Zaw, Voice of America

RANGOON — An opposition land rights activist in Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been shot and killed in a remote village in northern Shan…


Myanmar: Demolition of Riverside Squats Leaves Families Homeless

Jun 5, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

Local authorities have demolished 50 huts belonging to squatters on the banks of the Irrawaddy in Mandalay Division.

The villagers had been forced onto higher ground by…


China/Philippines: Philippines Reports Chinese Ship Movement Around Disputed Reefs

Jun 5, 2014 | Floyd Whaley, The New York Times

MANILA — China is moving ships around disputed reefs in the South China Sea that could be used to reclaim land and build structures, President…


China/Philippines: China Refuses to Defend its South China Sea Claims to UN Court

Jun 4, 2014 | Bloomberg

China refused to defend its territorial claims in the South China Sea to a United Nations tribunal because it doesn’t recognize international arbitration of its…


China/Philippines: Tribunal orders China to respond to PHL’s complaint over sea row

Jun 4, 2014 | GMA News

A United Nations-backed international arbitral tribunal has ordered China to respond to the Philippines' claim that Beijing illegally occupied certain areas in the South China…


East Africa: East African states plan single consultant for oil pipeline: official

Jun 4, 2014 | George Obulutsa, Reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan are expected to invite bids this month for a single consultant to oversee the building of an…


Myanmar: Mangrove Planters Take Fight to Naypyidaw

Jun 4, 2014 | Democratic Voice of Burma

Twenty-three farmers from Dedaye, Irrawaddy Division have travelled to the capital Naypyidaw, with the hopes of meeting President Thein Sein.

The farmers object to their regional…


Myanmar: Police Rip Down 200 Homes in Hlegu Township

Jun 4, 2014 | Eleven

Police and security guards destroyed the homes of about 200 families who have been unable to find suitable housing since being evicted from a village…


South Sudan: Campaign Group Demands 'Immediate' Suspension of Oil Contracts

Jun 4, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

June 4, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan government must “immediately” issue suspension on all new contracts in its oil industry, the campaign group, Global Witness…


Conflict Minerals: A Call for Conflict-Free Phones

Jun 3, 2014 | Laura Secorun Palet, USA Today

Despite his serene demeanor, Bas Van Abel once got so furious, he smashed his 11-year-old's Nintendo DS. It wasn't his son's fault; it was the…


Conflict Minerals: Tesla Motors Outlines Difficulties In Tracking Conflict Minerals In Its Supply Chain

Jun 3, 2014 | Angelo Young, International Business Times

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) said this week in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it’s having difficulty determining the source for some of the…


Conflict Minerals: HP and IBM List North Korea as a Supplier in Conflict-Mineral Reports

Jun 3, 2014 | Ian King, Bloomberg Businessweek

A new rule requiring U.S. companies to report information about their suppliers was designed to discourage them from doing business with mines controlled by armed…


Myanmar: Shan State Villagers Barred From Farming Land by Military

Jun 2, 2014 | Nang Mya Nadi, Democratic Voice of Burma

The Burmese military on Thursday rejected a request from local farmers in southern Shan State to continue farming on more than 200 acres of land…


Myanmar: JICA Said Funding Myanmar Evictions

Jun 2, 2014 | Mizuho Aoki, The Japan Times

Villagers in Myanmar forced from their homes by an industrial development project funded by the Japanese and Myanmar governments submitted a formal complaint to the…


Russia/Ukraine: Russia Gives Ukraine More Time to Pay for Natural Gas

Jun 2, 2014 | Andrew E. Kramer, The New York Times

MOSCOW — Russia’s state-controlled energy giant, Gazprom, on Monday pushed back by a week its ultimatum to Ukraine to pay in advance for natural gas…


Conflict Minerals: Initial Conflict Minerals Filings Highlight Lack Of Supply Chain Transparency

Jun 2, 2014 | Insurance News Net

CARLSBAD, Calif., June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The deadline for public companies' first disclosure to the SEC on conflict minerals has finally arrived, and one…


Conflict Minerals: Companies Detail Use of 'Conflict' Metals

Jun 2, 2014 | John Kester and Maxwell Murphy, The Wall Street Journal

A dozen companies including Google Inc., J. Crew Group Inc., and Deere & Co. acknowledged they or their suppliers may have obtained metals from mines…


South Sudan: South Sudan Earns $1.9b from Oil as Output Boost Pledged

Jun 2, 2014 | Standard Reporter and Bloomberg

South Sudan said it earned $1.9 billion from oil sales in the 12 months through May as the country seeks to restore output lost in…


Sudan: 41 Killed in Sudan Clashes Over Oil-Rich Land

Jun 2, 2014 | Global Post

At least 41 people have been killed in clashes between rival Sudanese clans over the ownership of land being explored for oil in West Kordofan…


South Sudan: S. Sudan Generated $3.5 Billion from Oil Over a Year: Ministry

Jun 2, 2014 | Sudan Tribune

June 2, 2014 (JUBA) – A total of $3.5 billion was realised by South Sudan from its crude oil sales between June 2013 and May…


Conflict Minerals: Companies Turn Awareness to Avoiding Use of Conflict Minerals

May 31, 2014 | Chris Fleisher, Trib Live

Sam Bennardo spends a fair amount of time figuring out where his company gets gold and tin.The two metals are used in a fraction of…


Sudan: Poverty, Social Crisis Worsen Amid Economic Collapse

May 31, 2014 | Abohoraira Ali, Green Left Weekly

Sudan’s people are bearing the brunt of the country’s deepening economic crisis.

According to Bella Bird, World Bank director for Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, half…


Liberia: Communal Violence Impedes Investment

May 30, 2014 | AllAfrica

Communal violence by groups of people demanding benefits from concession companies is impeding investment, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has warned.

"Community issues relating to land and benefits…


Liberia: Liberia-EU Sign Forest Governance and Trade Agreement

May 30, 2014 | Al-Varney Rogers, AllAfrica

Monrovia — A joint agreement between Liberia and the European Union, which intends to put in place a system to verify the legality of Liberia's…


Iraq/Syria/Turkey: A New Turkish Aggression Against Syria: Ankara Suspends Pumping Euphrates’ Water

May 30, 2014 | Suhaib Anjarini, Al-Akhbar English

The Turkish government recently cut off the flow of the Euphrates River, threatening primarily Syria but also Iraq with a major water crisis. Al-Akhbar found…


Conflict Minerals: The Conflict Minerals Reports Are Trickling in, and They Show Progress

May 30, 2014 | Lily Hay Newman, Slate

ou wouldn't want anything sinister lurking in your smartphone. But the tin, gold, and other potential "conflict minerals" in there could have a checkered past…


Conflict Minerals: 'Conflict Minerals' Deadline Looms for Technology Firms

May 30, 2014 | Dave Lee, BBC News

Companies manufacturing products that use "conflict minerals" must submit a plan to deal with the problem to US regulators by Monday.The term applies to raw…