Category:

Militant Group Says It Attacked Tourist Bus in Sinai

An Egyptian militant group that has carried out months of deadly assaults on the police and the military has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a tourist bus that killed four people in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday. The assertion by the group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, signaled an ominous turn in a battle militants have waged against the government since the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July. The bombing, in the Sinai town of Taba, was the first attack against tourists in years. Three South Korean citizens and an Egyptian bus driver were killed. In a statement posted on jihadist websites late Monday, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said that the bombing was part of an “economic war against this regime of traitors.” It said that one of the group’s “heroes” had carried out the attack, but did not say how. Egyptian officials have said a suicide […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: Bama attack mars victory claims

North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants. Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation". More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists. Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009. ‘Better armed’ Mr Okupe’s statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded. Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Bama attack mars victory claims

North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants. Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation". More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists. Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009. ‘Better armed’ Mr Okupe’s statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded. Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

South Sudan Fighting Resumes Around Oil-Rich State’s Capital

South Sudanese rebels and government forces fought for control of the capital of oil-rich Upper Nile state, the only region in the world’s newest nation that’s still producing crude two months after violence erupted. Both sides claimed control of the town of Malakal after fighting started yesterday in violation of a cease-fire they signed on Jan. 23 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa . Sounds of shelling could be heard from a United Nations compound in Malakal as early as 8 a.m. today, Grace Cahill, a spokeswoman for Oxfam, said by phone from Juba, the South Sudanese capital. Some of the internally displaced people seeking shelter inside the compound have left “because they felt they weren’t protected enough, while others came in to receive treatment last night,” Cahill said. Fighting that started Dec. 15 has left thousands of people dead and forced at least 860,000 more to flee their […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lopez’s Arrest Sends Venezuelan Protests Into Second Week

Venezuela ’s opposition vowed to continue street demonstrations into a second week after National Guard troops arrested leader Leopoldo Lopez following protests that have left four people dead. The opposition Voluntad Popular party called on supporters to rally in downtown Caracas in front of the Palace of Justice at 10 a.m. local time (9:30 a.m. EST). Lopez was forced into a police vehicle yesterday while speaking to supporters after President Nicolas Maduro blamed him for instigating demonstrations over shortages of basic goods and 56 percent inflation in a country with the world’s biggest oil reserves. Related: “We are on the right side of history, on the side of justice, of truth,” Lopez, 42, said in a video that he recorded before his arrest. “Our cause has been and continues to be the departure of this government.” Confronting the biggest challenge to his 10-month-old presidency, Maduro announced plans to import […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Venezuela opposition leader surrenders, protesters flood streets

Venezuelan security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday on charges of fomenting unrest that has killed at least four people, bringing tens of thousands of his angry supporters onto the streets of Caracas. Crowds of white-clad protesters tried to block the vehicle carrying the 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist after he made a defiant speech, said an emotional farewell to his family, and gave himself up to soldiers. Opposition leaders hope Lopez’s arrest will galvanize street demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro, though there is no immediate sign the protests will topple the socialist leader. "I am handing myself over to an unfair justice system," the protest leader told supporters, standing on a platform next to a statue of Cuban poet and independence hero Jose Marti. "May my imprisonment serve to wake the people up." The crowd lifted his wife up to give him a final embrace […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Venezuelan Opposition Chief Surrenders, but Not Without a Rally

A prominent Venezuelan opposition leader surrendered to the authorities on Tuesday in the midst of a large crowd of supporters who tried to block his arrest on accusations that he was responsible for violence that erupted during recent antigovernment protests. Before giving himself up, the opposition politician, Leopoldo López , walked through a sea of thousands of supporters in the largest rally in more than two weeks of growing protests fueled by discontent over runaway violent crime, a stalled economy, government pressure on the news media and other issues. “We are living in a dark time when criminals are rewarded and they want to imprison the Venezuelans who want peaceful, democratic change,” Mr. López said, standing on the base […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

China and Russia at the Altar of Gas

The saga over whether Russia will supply natural gas to China has always resembled rival families negotiating a marriage dowry. For a decade, the two sides have wanted different things. Now a match between the world’s largest gas exporter and one of the world’s fastest-growing gas markets seems within reach. That’s in part because Russia is afraid that the longer it waits, the less it will get in dowry. And if the deal goes through, it has the potential to change the way Asia gets its energy. An outline of a deal hashed out last year would have Russia’s state champion Gazprom supply counterpart China National Petroleum Corporation with 3.75 billion cubic feet a day for 30 years starting in 2018. China’s current daily gas demand is about 16 billion cubic feet, which the government aims to double by 2020. Russia says the two sides have agreed on a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

New crude oil terminal planned for Baton Rouge

– Genesis Energy, which has headquarters in Houston, said it would invest $150 million on a new crude oil import and export terminal in Baton Rouge, La. The company said the terminal will be on a 90-acre plot near the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and connect to existing facilities in the area. Initially, a company statement said, the facility will be able to store approximately 1.1 million barrels of crude oil and refinery petroleum products. The site will have the capability to expand to provide additional services to customers, Genesis said. The company said it had arrangements in place with Exxon Mobil, which has already secured the rights to a portion of the facility’s expected capacity. "We are … pleased with our growing relationship with Exxon Mobil, which has led to the successful development of this new project," Genesis Chief Executive Officer Grant Sims […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

EPA Emission Rules Face Test at High Court

Seven years after a landmark Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for federal regulation of greenhouse gases, the justices will consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency has stretched its powers too far in applying new emissions rules. The stakes are high for both the EPA and the industries it is targeting to help curb pollution. Businesses say a win for the EPA could pave the way for the agency to dictate the design and operation of a wide range of industrial facilities, imposing billions of dollars in new costs. A loss could threaten the EPA’s immediate ability to require greenhouse-gas controls and complicate its broader carbon-emissions agenda. "EPA is under so much political fire that any legal loss will be portrayed as a reason why the agency shouldn’t be doing this," said Harvard University law professor Jody Freeman, who previously served in the Obama White House as a counselor […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple