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Iran sanctions eased, but pinch still felt

The sanctions relief offered to Iran by the U.S. and five world powers has begun to get the gears of commerce slowly turning again in an economy that remains in shambles. The Obama administration estimates relief from some sanctions in exchange for a temporary pause in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program will amount to just $7 billion. That’s a meager amount for the economy of a nation of nearly 80 million people – it’s less than one month’s worth of Iran’s oil production and just 7 percent of Iran’s overseas cash that remains frozen under the sanctions. Still, Iranians see the move as a much needed step toward a more normal economy after years of crippling inflation and job losses. “Markets operate on a psychological basis,” says Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and former […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Implications of nuclear agreement with Iran

This afternoon, one of my correspondents asked me the following question: What’s your put on the new Iranian agreement, can the weapon program be capped and verification assured? Here was my response: I am happy that there is an interim agreement. It indicates that some people are starting to recognize that Iran is probably telling the truth when it says that it wants to maintain the capability to enrich uranium to provide an independent capability to provide fuel for a growing domestic nuclear energy program. It will be a great benefit to all of us if tensions ease and Iran regains its ability to engage in international business, especially exporting oil and gas. By my calculations, the world has been paying an Iranian sanctions premium of at least $15 per barrel of oil for at least the past six months and perhaps even the past year. That has resulted […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Execution-Style Killings in Iraq Raise Fears of Return to Sectarian Violence

A family of five killed in their home. A group of men shot dead in a field. Eight bodies, tied up in cable, discovered on a farm, each with a bullet in the head. More than 300 Iraqis have been killed this month in bombings and shootings in markets, along roadsides, near schools and mosques, and in bakeries. On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council condemned the recent spike in violence in Iraq and the deliberate targeting of places where civilians congregate. But on Wednesday, the daily tally of violence took on an air of pinpoint deliberation with the execution-style killings of several groups of civilians, a grim reminder of the worst days of sectarian warfare in the country. While major bombings have become common, the killings reintroduced the prospect of a resurgence in the type of violence that rattled Iraq in 2006 and 2007. The bodies […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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A year after Benghazi attack, killings continue

Who lit the fire that claimed the lives of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and another American at the U.S. diplomatic mission here just over a year ago? Who launched the mortar rounds that killed two CIA contractors that same night? Or, for that matter, who bears responsibility for the 2011 torture and killing of Abdul Fattah Younis, the Gaddafi-era military commander who defected to lead the rebels? “Do you live on Mars?” asked Hashem Bishr, the hard-line Salafist leader of a powerful Tripoli militia. To understand Libya’s unsolved murder mysteries, understand this, Bishr said: “It’s just not a good time.” What he meant is that there are people who know the answers — they’re just not willing to share. Nor is the fragile, post-revolution government prepared to mete out justice, many Libyans and rights groups say. Tripoli’s weak authorities have promised to investigate the killings. “But until now, there […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Egypt jails girls over pro-Morsi demonstration

A court in Egypt has sentenced 21 female supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to 11 years in prison. They were found guilty of multiple charges, including belonging to a terrorist group, obstructing traffic, sabotage and using force at a protest in the city of Alexandria last month. Seven are under 18 years of age and will be sent to a juvenile prison. Human rights groups criticised the sentences, with one campaigner describing the verdict as madness. The women and girls had taken part in an early morning demonstration in support of Mr Morsi. Relatives say it was the first protest by the group, called the 7am movement, and that it was peaceful. One family told the BBC their 15-year-old daughter was only passing by on her way to school. A defence lawyer said the women expected to be sentenced to a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Construction of S Sudan's First Oil Refinery to Start Before Year-End

The construction of South Sudan’s delayed first oil refinery is due to start before the end of the year, its government said Thursday, as the country seeks to end chronic fuel supply disruptions. The information ministry said in a statement that construction of the 5,000 barrel-a-day Bentiu Refinery in the Unity state was originally expected to begin in July but had been delayed, mainly due to bad road conditions that hindered equipment delivery. South Sudan took the majority of Sudan’s oil production when it became independent in 2011 but has no refineries of its own and has had to import fuel from Sudan or other neighboring countries. The Bentiu Refinery is key in helping the country to control escalating fuel prices caused by inflation, a weakening currency and disruptions along the main import route through Uganda caused by flooding. The plant […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Construction of S Sudan’s First Oil Refinery to Start Before Year-End

The construction of South Sudan’s delayed first oil refinery is due to start before the end of the year, its government said Thursday, as the country seeks to end chronic fuel supply disruptions. The information ministry said in a statement that construction of the 5,000 barrel-a-day Bentiu Refinery in the Unity state was originally expected to begin in July but had been delayed, mainly due to bad road conditions that hindered equipment delivery. South Sudan took the majority of Sudan’s oil production when it became independent in 2011 but has no refineries of its own and has had to import fuel from Sudan or other neighboring countries. The Bentiu Refinery is key in helping the country to control escalating fuel prices caused by inflation, a weakening currency and disruptions along the main import route through Uganda caused by flooding. The plant […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China's World: Why the Electric-Car Market Is Low Wattage

Even for a foreign visitor to Shanghai, renting an electric car is easy. All that’s required is a valid driver’s license and a passport. And it’s surprisingly cheap: eHi Car Service Ltd. charges the equivalent of just $25 a day for a Chinese-built Roewe with a range of about 90 kilometers. But having completed the paperwork, picked up the keys and eased silently into Shanghai’s chaotic traffic, the first-time electric car driver in the city quickly notices that nobody else appears to be driving one. In fact, there are at most 500 electric cars in Shanghai out of a total of about one million passenger vehicles, according to Zhang Dawei, the founder of EV Buy, a Shanghai company that sources and services electric cars for individuals and corporate users. In fairness, electric cars have met consumer resistance everywhere, not just in China. Carmakers around the world have struggled to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China’s World: Why the Electric-Car Market Is Low Wattage

Even for a foreign visitor to Shanghai, renting an electric car is easy. All that’s required is a valid driver’s license and a passport. And it’s surprisingly cheap: eHi Car Service Ltd. charges the equivalent of just $25 a day for a Chinese-built Roewe with a range of about 90 kilometers. But having completed the paperwork, picked up the keys and eased silently into Shanghai’s chaotic traffic, the first-time electric car driver in the city quickly notices that nobody else appears to be driving one. In fact, there are at most 500 electric cars in Shanghai out of a total of about one million passenger vehicles, according to Zhang Dawei, the founder of EV Buy, a Shanghai company that sources and services electric cars for individuals and corporate users. In fairness, electric cars have met consumer resistance everywhere, not just in China. Carmakers around the world have struggled to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China to Curb Disorderly Growth of Coal Industry

China plans to accelerate reform of its coal industry, shutting smaller mines to consolidate domestic production and experimenting with tariff levels to encourage higher-quality imports, the State Council said in a draft proposal published Thursday on the central government’s website. Citing falling coal prices and industry losses, China’s equivalent to a cabinet said it aimed to “curb the disorderly growth of coal production.” It said it would stop construction of new coal mines with less than 300,000 metric tons of annual output and gradually eliminate coal mines producing 90,000 tons or less a year. It would continue to shut unsafe coal mines and investigate mines that were illegally built or illegally exceeded approved dimensions. The government will also increase the punishment for those caught flouting the rules, though it said precise punishments would only be announced at a later date. It would also explore differentiating coal […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple