The Andes
Colombia: protest, rebel attacks depress oil output
Colombian crude production sank to a 20-month low of 935,000 barrels per day as guerilla attacks and protests by impacted indigenous communities curbed output.
Tag: control of oil
Southern Cone
Latin America: protests target Monsanto, Chevron
Activists across Latin America participated in international protests against Monsanto and Chevron—but some "pink tide" governments continue to cozy up to Chevron.
Greater Middle East
Russia blocks ICC action on Syria, heightening ‘anti-war’ contradiction
"Anti-war" voices in the West have called for International Criminal Court action in Syria as a substitute for military intervention. Will they protest now that Moscow has blocked it?
The Amazon
Ecuador nixes vote on Yasuni oil drilling
Ecuador's National Electoral Council turned down a petition for a referendum on plans to open Yasuni National Park to further oil exploration—as activists protest "fraud."
Europe
Cold War time warp in Ukraine coverage
While claiming to withdraw troops from Ukriane's borders, Russia conducted military maneuvers that included nuclear missile tests—as NATO sends a special delegation to Kiev.
Europe
Transcarpathia: next Ukrainian flashpoint?
In Ukraine's eastern region of Transcarpathia, ethnic Hungarians and Ruthenians are agitating for autonomy, with the encouragement of Moscow and Budapest.
Oceania
Rival trade pacts vie for Pacific hegemony
China is proposing a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) in a race with the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.
Africa
South Sudan rebels engaged in ethnic killings: UN
The UN Mission in South Sudan charged that rebels engaged in ethnically targeted killings during a raid on the northern city of Bentiu in a drive to seize local oil fields.
East Asia
China and Japan can’t stop fighting World War II
China impounds a Japanese vessel over an unpaid wartime debt, as Japan builds a military base near the disputed Senkaku Islands. This World War II nostalgia is getting too real.
Mexico
Mexico: HP fined in latest Pemex scandal
Hewlett-Packard is being fined for bribing oil company officials in Mexico; meanwhile, the US is investigating possible corruption in Citigroup's Mexican operations.
Mexico
Mexico: bidding set to start on energy sector
As expected, Mexico's "energy reform" will provide a big opening for multinationals, along with more fracking, more deep-sea drilling, and more carbon dioxide.
Europe
Ukraine, austerity and gas
The IMF imposes austerity on Ukraine as Russia jacks up gas prices. Meanwhile, the global industry exploits the crisis to fast-track exports of fracked gas as a "lever against Russia."