East Asia

Japan, Taiwan ships clash with water cannon

Japanese and Taiwanese patrol ships blasted each other with water cannon as a fishing fleet from Taiwan mobilized a protest flotilla to the contested East China Sea islands.

East Asia

East China Sea flashpoint for Sino-Japanese war?

Leon Panetta warned that the latest escalation over islands disputed by China and Japan could lead to war—even as he arrived in Tokyo to inaugurate a new anti-missile system.

The Caribbean

PDVSA oil spill fouls Curaçao

An oil spill at a refinery operated by the Venezuelan parastatal PDVSA on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao threatens a nature reserve which is a critical flamingo habitat.

The Andes

Venezuela: refinery disaster politicized

Venezuela’s opposition accused the state oil company of negligence after the deadly refinery explosion at Amuay, while the government says foreign subversion undermined safety.

Planet Watch

Keystone vs Enbridge: race or stratagem?

As work commences on TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, it emerges that  TransCanada’s supposed rival Enbridge is quietly but rapidly expanding its own US pipeline network.

Planet Watch

Chevron fire: how many more?

From Richmond, Calif., to the Gulf Coast, to the Niger Delta to the Ecuadoran Amazon—how many more disasters until a public seizure of the oil industry is finally at least broached?