Tag: control of oil

Ecological devastation in Great Game for Russian oil

Urengoy-UzhhorodA $106 billion EU emergency loan is now on its way to Ukraine, following the fall of Hungary's strongman Viktor Orban, who was holding it up. However, as a condition of the loan, Kyiv is obliged to re-open the war-damaged Druzhba pipeline, which sends Russian oil through Ukrainian territory to Hungary, Poland and Germany. Kyiv is cooperating in getting the pipeline operational again—but is meanwhile drone-bombing Russian oil facilities on the Baltic and Black seas, in hopes of diminishing how much petrol Moscow will have to export through that pipeline. The strikes have caused "apocalyptic scenes" in the Black Sea port of Tuapse—air thick with toxic fumes, a huge column of smoke blotting out the sun, black rain falling from the sky. Russia, unwilling to sacrifice its own oil revenues but seeking to punish Europe for backing Ukraine, has announced that it will cut off the flow of oil from Kazakhstan through the Druzhba pipeline. (Image: Soviet postage stamp celebrating oil pipeline. Via Wikipedia)

Houthis threaten to close Bab al-Mandab Strait

YemenYemen's unrecognized Houthi administration warned that they are prepared to close the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, mouth of the Red Sea. This is a second maritime chokepoint for oil from the Arabian Peninsula after the Strait of Hormuz, now effectively closed due to Washington's conflict with Iran. In a post on X, Houthi deputy foreign minister Hussein al-Ezzi said: "If Sana'a decides to close the Bab al-Mandab, then all of mankind and jinn will be utterly powerless to open it." In a speech, Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi subsequently warned, "Sanaa will not remain neutral," framing the current maritime tensions as part of a wider conflict targeting the "Islamic nation." He said that any further military escalation would be met with an "equivalent response," calling for increased coordination among members of the "axis of resistance" (meaning Iran, the Houthis and Hezbollah). (Map via PCL)

Zapatistas: ‘nation-state under attack’

EZLNMexico's Zapatista rebels—who have observed a long ceasefire but still have a zone of control in the back-country of Chiapas state—held an international gathering in the highland city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Featured speaker was a ski-masked "Captain Marcos," presumably the same charismatic spokesman once known as "Subcommander Marcos." He delivered an exegesis entitled "A Peephole into the Storm in the World: Nation-States Under Attack" (Una mirilla a la Tormenta en el Mundo: Los Estados-Nación bajo ataque). Marcos portrayed a supra-national imperialism under Donald Trump, in which "the nation-state has no decision-making power." Marcos decried the "kidnapping" of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, and the US oil blockade on Cuba, noting that Mexico has been effectively barred from shipping oil to the Caribbean island nation. He also asserted that in the US-Israeli war against Iran, the big oil companies are the ones who benefit, as the price of oil rises. "That's what needs to be discussed: who is profiting from these wars?" (Image: Enlace Zapatista)

Uncertain ceasefire in Iran

SyriaAfter five weeks of war, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan. Its basic details, however, and to what extent it will be implemented, are surrounded by uncertainty. A main sticking point is the question of whether Lebanon was included in the deal. Iranian and Pakistani officials are insisting it was, but the US and Israel say that it wasn't. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to carry out devastating attacks on Beirut and other parts of Lebanon. (Image: Pixabay)

Cuba: UN issues urgent call for humanitarian aid

CubaThe United Nations called upon the international community to provide immediate support for Cuba amid a worsening humanitarian crisis compounded by the effects of Hurricane Melissa, which struck the country in October 2025. The UN resident coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichon, said the humanitarian situation has reached a critical point following the US oil blockade imposed in January. He added that the population remains in need of urgent humanitarian aid despite an oil shipment from Russia in late March that the US administration chose not to interfere with. (Photo: Виктор Пинчук via Wikimedia Commons)

Peru: pipeline failure triggers nationwide gas shortage

MegantoniPeru has been hit with a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (GLP) and compressed natural gas (GNV) following a "deflagration" on the Camisea pipeline in Megantoni district of Cuzco department. The explosion and fire caused major property damage in the rainforest settlement of Megantoni, according to Transportadora de Gas del Perú (TGP), the company responsible for the pipeline connecting the Camisea gasfields to a processing plant at Pisco on the coast. The incident resulted in an immediate rise of GNV and GLP prices, in turn leading to an internal energy crisis, with citizens nationwide standing in endless lines for a gas cylinder or a gallon of fuel. Taxi drivers and urban transport operators have raised fares and threatened a nationwide strike, demanding a government subsidy to continue working. (Photo: Ministerio de Defensa del Perú via Wikipedia)

WFP: mass food insecurity if Mideast conflict continues

WFPThe World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the escalating hostilities in the Middle East could lead to record levels of food insecurity, and the largest disruption in the global economy and humanitarian efforts since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the heavy reliance of food and aid distribution on energy, the skyrocketing price of oil has placed heightened strain on already vulnerable aid supply lines. WFP chief operating officer Carl Skau said: "If this conflict continues, it will send shockwaves across the globe, and families who already cannot afford their next meal will be hit the hardest." Skau urged the international community to mount an adequately funded humanitarian response. Sudan and Somalia were named as particularly vulnerable. (Photo: Alex Blokha via Wikimedia Commons)

‘Black rain’ falls on Tehran amid US-Israeli strikes

TehranUnited Nations officials said that US and Israeli airstrikes on fuel depots in Tehran have released large amounts of toxic pollutants, producing acidic "black rain" across parts of the capital. Officials from the World Health Organization warned that the burning of depots has released hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides, and nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere. The released pollutants have caused darkened skies in Tehran, prompting authorities to advise residents to remain indoors due to respiratory risks and potential water contamination. (Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons)

UN demands civilian protection amid Middle East escalation

MinabThe United Nations urgently called for civilian protection amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East—and particularly in regard to the ongoing US and Israeli military operations against Iran. The UN urged a thorough investigation into a deadly strike on a girls' school in Iran, and requested the disclosure of all relevant information. The attack in the southern coastal city of Minab reportedly killed 168 people. According to Iran's Ministry of Education, the overwhelming majority of the slain were schoolgirls aged seven to 12. The strike came on the first day of coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes officially targeting Iranian infrastructure and military facilities. (Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons)

Global commitment crucial for Ukraine justice: Amnesty International

Russian embassyOn the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Amnesty International called on the international community to maintain a steadfast commitment to hold Russia accountable under international law for its crimes and aggression. The statement noted diminishing pressure on Russia, raising concerns about rights protections and prospects for peace in Ukraine. Amnesty's senior director for research and advocacy Erika Guevara-Rosas commented that "commitments to justice and human rights are weakening as powerful actors grow emboldened to disregard international law and further erode the rules-based order." (Photo of Russian embassy in London: Kwh1050 via Wikimedia Commons)

US preparing to strike Iran?

IranThe Trump White House appears close to launching military strikes on Iran. The US is amassing a large strike force in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers, over a dozen warships, and advanced fighter jets, suggesting preparations for a prolonged war. After first threatening military action in January during a protest crackdown in Iran that killed thousands, US officials now say a decision could come within days or weeks, depending on the outcome of now-stalled negotiations over Iran's uranium enrichment and missile development programs. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said any deal must dismantle both programs. Iran's leaders may view forfeiting these means of deterrence against foreign intervention as more dangerous than a war. (Map: PCL)

Pakistan’s Baloch students are vanishing

BalochPakistan's Balochistan just witnessed one of the province's deadliest episodes: a wave of attacks and clashes across several cities that left dozens of civilians, fighters and security personnel dead, with official tolls as high as 200. It marked the latest escalation in decades of conflict between separatist groups and the Pakistani state in Balochistan, where the central government has long been accused of exploiting rich resources while marginalizing the local population. But before the recent violence, public attention was focused on the abduction of a young Baloch student, a case that has reignited simmering anger over enforced disappearances. For more than 6,000 days, activists have maintained a protest camp in Quetta, the provincial capital, demanding answers for hundreds of missing Baloch citizens believed to have been abducted and killed by the security forces. "The very existence of the Baloch is perceived as a threat to the state," said Sabiha Baloch, head of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a local rights organization. "The more educated, conscious, and politically aware the Baloch become, the more threatened the state feels." (Image: BYC)