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Energy Engagement: Turkish warplanes intercept Israeli jet violating Turkish Cyprus airspace

Energy Engagement: Turkish warplanes intercept Israeli jet violating Turkish Cyprus airspace

TURKEY accused Israel on Thursday of violating the airspace of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus in a controversial oil and gas exploration area.

The Israeli aircraft “violated” the northern Cyprus’s airspace five times in Monday’s incident which saw Turkish fighter jets chase out the intruder, the army command said in a statement.

The airspace violations reportedly occured between 11:05 a.m. and 12:49 p. m., and lasted a total of eigth minutes.

It gave no other details about the incident nor the type of Israeli plane involved in the alleged incursion over the breakaway statelet, which is recognized only by Ankara.

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PLA ships seen testing drones in Pacific Ocean

PLA ships seen testing drones in Pacific Ocean

Japan says more Chinese naval ships have been seen near Okinawa, with some staging drills involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) able to carry missiles and conduct surveillance that analysts say is crucial for China to expand its maritime power.

The Joint Staff Office of the Japanese Defence Ministry said the country’s maritime defence force on Monday morning spotted three Chinese ships – two Type 054A multi-role warships and one Dongdiao 232 electronic surveillance ship – going through the Okinawa Miyako Strait on their way to the East China Sea.

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AllAfrica: Former U.S. official calls for arming South Sudan army

AllAfrica: Former U.S. official calls for arming South Sudan army

The United States should move in to provide anti-aircraft defense systems to South Sudan in order to discourage Khartoum from launching aerial attacks and persuade it into returning to negotiations, former special envoy to Sudan said.

Since South Sudan gained its independence from the north in July 2011, it has accused its northern neighbor of bombarding inside its territories and particularly near the border regions. Some of the bombings were confirmed by UN officials and journalists.

The alleged bombing campaigns intensified particularly after the outbreak of rebellions last year in the border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan by the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N).

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Winds of war between Beijing and Manila blowing across the South China Sea

Winds of war between Beijing and Manila blowing across the South China Sea

In their public statements, Manila and Beijing are seemingly stoking the winds of war blowing across the South China Sea over disputed islands in which other Asia-Pacific nations, including the United States, have a stake.

Beijing warned yesterday that it was ready to respond to any escalation of a tense, month-long standoff with the Philippines at Scarborough Shoal, a reef between Luzon Island and Zhongsha Islands.

“The Chinese side has … made all preparations to respond to any escalation of the situation by the Philippine side,” Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying said after summoning Alex Chua, chargé d’affaires at the Philippines Embassy in Beijing on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Fu made a “serious representation” about the standoff.

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Putin Entices Oil Investors to Bankroll Kremlin Return: Energy

Putin Entices Oil Investors to Bankroll Kremlin Return: Energy

President Vladimir Putin has begun revamping Russia’s petroleum taxes to increase government revenue in his third term and maintain oil and gas flows that underpin his power atop the world’s largest energy exporter.

He proposed the first tax breaks for pumping unconventional reserves such as shale oil at a meeting with energy officials four days before being sworn in yesterday. While shale is booming in the U.S., such harder-to-extract unconventional reserves in Russia provide just 4 percent of total production.

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Petrodollar Warfare: Iran Accepts Renminbi for Crude Oil

Petrodollar Warfare: Iran Accepts Renminbi for Crude Oil

Iran is accepting renminbi for some of the crude oil it supplies to China, industry executives in Beijing and Kuwait and Dubai-based bankers said, partly as a consequence of U.S. sanctions aimed at limiting Tehran’s nuclear program.

Tehran is spending the currency, which is not freely convertible, on goods and services imported from China.

Most of the oil that goes from Iran to China is handled by the Unipec trading arm of Sinopec, China’s second-largest oil company, and through another trading company called Zhuhai Zhenrong, the oil industry executives said.

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Turkish Factor In Leviathan and Aphrodite ‘Energy Wars’

Turkish Factor In Leviathan and Aphrodite ‘Energy Wars’

Leviathan gas field, which is located in the Mediterranean Sea in 135km from the Israeli Haifa, was discovered in 2010 by the American Noble Energy Company, which concluded contract with Israeli government back in 2008 on initiating joint gas and oil exploration in the Mediterranean. The gas reserves found in 2010 can be considered rather impressive as, according to Noble Energy the total natural gas reserves in this field are estimated up to 450 billion m3 which makes it one of the biggest gas fields in the world. The importance of Leviathan for Israel is conditioned by the fact that it will exempt the Jewish state from the energy dependence on Egypt, which imports exports gas to Israel. Taking into consideration that the political processes going on in Egypt since 2011 can bring to power “Muslim brothers”, who are of radical anti-Israeli orientation, discovering and processing of a gas field of its own has become for Israel an issue of paramount national importance.

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Taiwan sets up airborne unit for contested Spratly Islands

Taiwan sets up airborne unit for contested Spratly Islands

Taiwan’s defence ministry said Wednesday that it has formed a special airborne unit capable of scrambling to the contested Spratly islands in just hours, as tensions in the South China Sea mounted.

The unit has been set up under a plan named “airborne fast response and maritime support” which was unveiled for the first time in a report by the ministry to parliament, officials said.

No details of the unit, such as its size, were released to the public, but local media said that if needed, it can arrive on Taiping Island, the biggest in the disputed waters, onboard C-130 transport planes within four hours.

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Kashmir’s blue sapphire mines on spy agency’s radar

Kashmir’s blue sapphire mines on spy agency’s radar

An Indian espionage agency keeping tabs on terrorism modules operating from Pakistan is nowadays “eyeing” Kashmir’s world-famous blue sapphires.

Intercepts of snatches of conversation between unknown persons in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir about mining operations at Padder sapphire mines in Doda district have put these on the spy agency’s radar.

Sketchy conversations are related to the volume of the sapphire mining business and details of domestic and foreign players in the race to win the “golden opportunity” to mine the expensive gemstones, sources told The Tribune.

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Sudan at the brink: Hidden hands behind the oil war

Sudan at the brink: Hidden hands behind the oil war

Sudan is caught in a multidimensional conflict involving weapons trade, internal instabilities, multiple civil wars and the reality of outside players with their own interests.

None of this is enough to excuse the readiness for war on behalf of Khartoum and Juba, but it certainly presents serious obstacles to any attempt aimed at rectifying the situation.

With a single act of aggression, a whole set of conflicts are prone to flaring up. It is the nature of proxy politics, as many armed groups seek opportunities for territorial advances and financial gains.

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Russia creates special Arctic troops

Russia creates special Arctic troops

The Russian authorities have announced the formation of two dozen special border guard units in the Arctic. The strengthening of the Arctic borders will be implemented in the next eight years. The Defense Ministry promised to patch all the holes in the Arctic border formed in the post-Soviet years. The military presence will be strengthened by the ground troops.

Meanwhile, as noted by the Ministry of Defense, the unprotected border areas in the Arctic are frequented by foreign submarines belonging to the U.S. and the UK not particularly friendly towards Russia. Now these foreign visitors will be required to meet the eight new nuclear attack submarines of class “Severodvinsk”. These submarines are the first to join the Northern Fleet.

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Iranian oil ministry hit by cyber-attack

Iranian oil ministry hit by cyber-attack

Iran’s oil ministry has called a crisis meeting after its main website and internal communications system were hit by an apparent cyber-attack that forced authorities to cut off the country’s oil export terminal from the internet.

Local news agencies reported on Monday that a virus had struck the computer and communication systems of Iran’s main oil export facilities on Kharg Island as well as the internal network and the websites of its oil ministry and subsidiary organisations.

The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted ministry officials as saying an investigation was under way. “We are making plans to neutralise this cyber-attack,” said the deputy oil minister in charge of civil defence, Hamdollah Mohammadnejad.

The Kharg Island oil terminal, which exports 80% of the country’s daily 2.2m barrels, was hit by the virus, along with terminals on the islands of Gheshm and Kish.

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Price of “Kurdistan’s” independence – oil agreement for 50 years?

Price of “Kurdistan’s” independence – oil agreement for 50 years?

During a visit of the head of the Kurdish regional government (KRG) in northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, to Turkey the sides discussed a number of issues, including measures against terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which turned into a headache for both sides.

Most of the Kurdish leader’s meetings with officials from Turkey and a meeting with former Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi were held behind closed doors.

On the second day of his visit to Ankara after talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul Barzani made not new, but this time more important statement.

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Tiny Gulf islands rekindle big Arab-Iran dispute

Tiny Gulf islands rekindle big Arab-Iran dispute

here would seem to be enough points of tension to keep Iran and its Gulf Arab rivals fully occupied: Tehran’s nuclear program, accusations of Iranian meddling in Bahrain’s uprising, Iranian threats to block Gulf oil shipping lanes. But it’s all been overshadowed by three contested islands that Iran wants to turn into a tourist draw.

For more than a week, the political temperature has been rising since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a surprise visit to the Gulf outpost Abu Musa, the largest in the three-island cluster controlled by Iran but also claimed by the United Arab Emirates.

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New Cold War for Resources Looms in Arctic

New Cold War for Resources Looms in Arctic

To the world’s military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea-lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.

By Arctic standards, the region is already buzzing with military activity, and experts believe that will increase significantly in the years ahead.

Last month, Norway wrapped up one of the largest Arctic maneuvers ever — Exercise Cold Response — with 16,300 troops from 14 countries training on the ice for everything from high intensity warfare to terror threats.

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Uzbekistan & Tajikistan on the brink of war?

Uzbekistan & Tajikistan on the brink of war?

Without a mediator, the Tajik-Uzbek conflict could lead to another civil war in Tajikistan and to a serious destabilization of the whole of Central Asia. For Russia, this means it has to urgently develop a new strategy.

The relations between Dushanbe and Tashkent have worsened considerably lately and both countries are on the brink of open conflict as a result of this. Uzbekistan, knowing that Tajikistan is completely dependent on it has completely cut off the country from gas and transport. Tashkent claims that the blockade is purely economic: the Tajiks do not pay for the transit of gas and it is therefore more profitable to sell gas to the Chinese.

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UK firms in secret talks on joining Burmese gold rush

UK firms in secret talks on joining Burmese gold rush

British businesses are looking to invest once more in Burma, as Western multinationals prepare for a gold rush inside one of South-east Asia’s least developed – and potentially lucrative – economies.

JCB, Shell, HSBC and Standard Chartered are among the British firms said to be interested in Burma’s potential.

The Independent understands the Foreign Office has held meetings with some British companies that have expressed an interest in investing in Burma. Officially, UK Trade and Investment does not encourage British firms to do business in the country. But a number of key British businesses privately indicate they are considering investing in Burma if reforms are brought in and EU sanctions against the state are lifted.

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Israeli-US Air, Naval Forces Train for Energy War

Israeli-US Air, Naval Forces Train for Energy War

Israeli, Greek and U.S. forces are in the midst of a drill in preparation for a possible war over Israel’s huge off-shore gas discoveries, which also may contain commercializable oil. Lebanon and Hizbullah have claimed the fields are in Lebanese territory and that they will “defend” the area against drilling by Israel.

The week-long drill is simulating air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare and is taking place off the coast of Turkey, possibly signaling it not to interfere with Israeli energy operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The “enemy” forces will be similar to those of the Turkish air force, according to the Defencenet.gr website.

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Flashpoint Falklands: The British destroyer Dauntless goes on alert to the Falklands

Flashpoint Falklands: The British destroyer Dauntless goes on alert to the Falklands

The HMS Dauntless, a powerful Type 45 destroyer, will leave its base in Portsmouth on Wednesday for a six-month deployment in the South Atlantic, a ministry spokesman told AFP.

“It’s going to the South Atlantic, not specifically to the Falklands,” the spokesman stressed, as both Britain and Argentina held events to mark 30 years since the beginning of their brief but bloody conflict over the archipelago.

The spokesman said the warship will reach the islands, which have been controlled by Britain since 1833 but are claimed by Argentina, via western and southern Africa.

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Israeli firms compete in Greece fire sale

Israeli firms compete in Greece fire sale

Several Israeli firms are competing for the purchase of Greek state assets as the debt-stricken country pushes ahead with its world-record 50-billion-euro divestment program.

Mekorot Israel National Water Co. is in informal discussions to purchase the Athens and Thessaloniki water and sewage companies. One Israeli group is among 17 anonymous foreign bidders for natural-gas company DEPA. Another has expressed interest in buying weapons manufacturer Hellenic Defense Systems.

Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund CEO Costas Mitropoulos revealed the above to reporters in Tel Aviv on Sunday, in between meetings with about 50 different potential Israeli investors.

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Myanmar Wants to Be the Next Tiger

Myanmar Wants to Be the Next Tiger

Jim Rogers is bullish on Myanmar. The Singapore-based investor, chairman of Rogers Holdings, last month compared the Southeast Asian country today with China in 1979, just as Deng Xiaoping was launching the economic reforms that helped transform China into the world’s second-largest economy. With Myanmar’s authoritarian government finally starting on the road of reform, Rogers said, there’s no end to the possibilities for the country’s economy. “It’s right between China and India, 60 million people, massive natural resources, agriculture,” Rogers said. “You could feed much of Asia, they have metals, they have energy, they have everything.”

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Greek-Cypriot-Israeli ’energy axis’

Greek-Cypriot-Israeli ’energy axis’

Greece, Cyprus and Israel agreed on Wednesday to deepen their energy cooperation, but stopped short of signing a memorandum to seal their agreement.

The discovery of considerable reserves of hydrocarbons in the Israeli and Cypriot exclusive economic zones in the eastern Mediterranean and estimates of more reserves in Greece have brought the three countries closer together. Israel’s Energy Minister Uzi Landau spoke of “an axis of Greece, Cyprus and Israel and possibly more countries which will offer an anchor of stability.” He was addressing an energy conference in Athens organized by The Economist.

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Greece Joins Israel-USA Military Exercise in Southern Mediterranean

Greece Joins Israel-USA Military Exercise in Southern Mediterranean

At the same time the tripartite energy agreement will be signed between Greece, Israel and Cyprus on Thursday at Kavouri of Vouliagmeni, Athens, in the presence of Richard Morningstar, the special envoy of the US Foreign Affairs Ministry, a large-scale aeronautical military exercise will be taking place in the Southern Mediterranean.

According to defencenet.gr, Greece, Israel and USA will launch their joint military exercise from Crete to Haifa against “virtual enemy forces” that bear great resemblance to the Turkish aeronautical forces in this particular military operation scenario.

“Noble Dina” was initially planned to take place in April just like in 2011. However, it was decided that the military exercise should coincide with the date of the energy agreement signing between the three countries of the Southeastern Mediterranean. Thus, it would underline that the cooperation between Israel, Greece and the US does not only concern energy but military affairs as well.

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Mali Coup a New Step towards Global Resources Grab

Mali Coup a New Step towards Global Resources Grab

The media uniformly stress that Mali is among the world’s poorest countries, which is basically true considering that it ranks 127th in the global GDP listing and 168th (of 179) (6) in terms of the index of human development (7). The ratings, however, should not overshadow the strategic importance and the economic potential of the territory of Mali. It borders seven other countries – Algeria, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Senegal – and sits on considerable natural reserves of gold, uranium, bauxites, iron, manganese, tin, and copper. According to fresh reports, the northern part of Mali is found to be rich in oil and, importantly, contains a usable underground water ecosystem.

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Eni makes ‘giant’ gas find in Mozambique

Eni makes ‘giant’ gas find in Mozambique

Italian energy company Eni estimates there is at least 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in place off the coast of Mozambique.

Eni said it made a “new giant natural gas discovery” in a section of its Mamba North East 1 exploration prospect in the deep waters off the coast of Mozambique. That find, the company said, increases the resource base by at least 10 trillion cubic feet, 8 trillion of which are in so-called Area 4.

“This new discovery further improves the potential of the Mamba complex in Area 4 offshore Mozambique now estimated at at least 40 tcf of gas in place,” the company said in a statement.

The company said it expects to drill at least four wells in the area to assess the potential of the offshore Mamba prospect.

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Sudanese border region sees second day of fighting over oil fields

Sudanese border region sees second day of fighting over oil fields

South Sudan has accused its neighbour Sudan of waging war against it after a second day of fighting in the oil-rich border region – the worst confrontation since the countries split last year.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, appealed for calm between the antagonists, which fought a long civil war before South Sudan gained independence in July last year. Oil is still the main source of hostility between the countries, which continue to spar over the border demarcation and other unresolved issues.

In a trade of claim and counter-claim, South Sudan alleged that Antonov warplanes dropped at least three bombs near oil fields in the town of Bentiu, Unity state, on Tuesday. “They are hovering and dropping over the northern part of town in the oil fields, the main Unity oil fields,” Gideon Gatpan, information minister for Unity, told the Associated Press. Sudan denied any air strikes.

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Kurds say will end oil exports

Kurds say will end oil exports

Iraq’s Kurdistan region threatened on Monday to stop oil exports if the central government does not hand over promised funds which regional authorities say have been withheld for more than a year. The move was the latest in a long-running dispute over energy contracts and revenues between Baghdad and the autonomous region, with the two sides squabbling over payments, revenue-sharing and Baghdad’s refusal to recognise dozens of contracts Kurdish officials have signed with foreign energy firms. “The MNR has reluctantly decided to reduce exports to 50,000 bpd (barrels per day) with a view to possible cessation in one month.

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Tug of War: Strain in the EU-Ukraine-Russia Energy Triangle

Tug of War: Strain in the EU-Ukraine-Russia Energy Triangle

Ukraine’s current tug-of-war with Russia over the pricing of its Russian gas imports should be watched closely by the EU, which receives 20% of its gas supply via Ukraine and which suffered record supply disruptions in 2009, the last time a similar price dispute escalated. After having accepted Ukraine into its Energy Community in 2011, the EU is rightly making further financial and diplomatic support conditional on Ukraine liberalising its domestic gas market. Those reforms, however, run counter the interests of well-connected local business magnates. Coupled, with EU concerns over the jailing of Ukrainian opposition leader Yuliya Timoshenko, Ukraine’s resistance to reforms is cornering it into a difficult negotiating position with Russian Gazprom, which may well gain a stake in Ukraine’s gas transportation system (GTS) in exchange for a discount.

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U.S. intelligence sees global water conflict risks rising

U.S. intelligence sees global water conflict risks rising

Fresh water supplies are unlikely to keep up with global demand by 2040, increasing political instability, hobbling economic growth and endangering world food markets, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment released on Thursday.

The report by the office of the Director of National Intelligence said that areas including South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa will face major challenges in coping with water problems that could hinder the ability to produce food and generate energy.

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To the Chinese and the Indians go … the spoils of war

To the Chinese and the Indians go … the spoils of war

The money and blood pit that is Afghanistan – where the United States and Britain have spent more than 2100 lives and £302 billion ($580 billion) – is about to pay a dividend.

But it won’t be going to the countries which have made this considerable sacrifice. The contracts to open up Afghanistan’s mineral and fossil-fuel wealth, and to build the railways that will transport it out of the country, are being won or pursued by China, India, Iran, and Russia.

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Chinese foreign minister on Beijing’s firm foothold in Africa

Chinese foreign minister on Beijing’s firm foothold in Africa

China’s burgeoning influence around the world has reshaped global affairs, not least, the economic and political issues. In a recent interview with more than 500 journalists at the Great Hall of the People, China’s Foreign Affairs minister Yang Jiechi spoke on a wide range of issues and underlined his country’s foreign policy and external relations.

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India-Iran oil corridor part of new great game

India-Iran oil corridor part of new great game

India is making a concerted push into Central Asia by taking charge of a crucial transportation network through Iran into Central Asia and beyond. After getting an enthusiastic thumbs up from 14 stakeholder countries in the region in January, experts from all the countries will meet in New Delhi on March 29 to put final touches to the project known as the International North-South Corridor.

The project envisages a multi-modal transportation network that connects ports on India’s west coast to Bandar Abbas in Iran, then overland to Bandar Anzali port on the Caspian Sea; thence through Rasht and Astara on the Azerbaijan border onwards to Kazakhstan, and further onwards towards Russia. Once complete, this would connect Europe and Asia in a unique way — experts estimate the distance could be covered in 25-30 days in what currently takes 45-60 days through the Suez Canal.

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Oil Rich Eastern Libya declares semiautonomous region‎, pulls away from central government

Oil Rich Eastern Libya declares semiautonomous region‎, pulls away from central government

Tribal leaders and militia commanders declared oil-rich eastern Libya a semiautonomous state on Tuesday, a unilateral move that the interim head of state called a “dangerous” conspiracy by Arab nations to tear the country apart six months after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.

Thousands of representatives of major tribes, militia commanders and politicians made the declaration at a conference in the main eastern city of Benghazi, insisting it was not intended to divide the country. They said they want their region to remain part of a united Libya, but needed to do this to stop decades of discrimination against the east.

The conference declared that the eastern state, known as Barqa, would have its own parliament, police force, courts and capital — Benghazi, the country’s second largest city — to run its own affairs.

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Major events in Caspian countries’ oil and gas industry for last week

Major events in Caspian countries’ oil and gas industry for last week

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and EU to support Southern Gas Corridor

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the EU are preparing two documents that will allow them to take delivery of the Caspian and in particular Turkmen gas to Europe, Azerbaijani Industry and Energy Minister Natiq Aliyev said at a meeting with members of the Caspian-European Integration Business Club (CEIBC). He said Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the European Union are preparing a political document to support the Southern Gas Corridor, as well as an inter-governmental agreement on Trans-Caspian gas pipeline. This should take place before the end of the year.

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Turkish Cyprus might be annexed to Turkey: minister

Turkish Cyprus might be annexed to Turkey: minister

Turkish Cyprus could be annexed to Turkey if ongoing talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots for reunification fail to produce a solution, Turkey’s minister for European Union Affairs has said.

Egemen Bağış, in remarks published in Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kıbrıs, said all options are on table regarding the fate of Cyprus, private news stations NTV reported on Sunday.

“Reunification under a deal that [Turkish and Greek Cypriot] leaders could reach, creation of two independent states after an agreement between the two leaders if they are unable to reach a deal for reunification, or annexation of the [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus] KKTC to Turkey. These are all options on the table,” Bağış said.

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Eurasian Geopolitical Summary: From February 26-28

Eurasian Geopolitical Summary: From February 26-28

CSTO military exercises to take place in Armenia
Organizational activities of CSTO ‘Cooperation 2012’ take place in Yerevan. As the press service of Armenia’s Defense Ministry informs, in order to finalize the plan of military exercises, military-staff session will take place in Yerevan on February 28 and March 1, 2012.

New commander of the Russian military base in Armenia appointed
Under the Russian President’s decree, Colonel Oleg Smiryonov is appointed the new commander of the Russian military base in Armenia.The press service of the Southern Military District reports (SMD) that he was introduced to his personal staff by the Deputy Commander of SMD troops, Major General Andrey Kartapolov.

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Insight – Conflict looms in South China Sea oil rush

Insight – Conflict looms in South China Sea oil rush

When Lieutenant-General Juancho Sabban received an urgent phone call from an oil company saying two Chinese vessels were threatening to ram their survey ship, the Philippine commander’s message was clear: don’t move, we will come to the rescue.

Within hours, a Philippine surveillance plane, patrol ships and light attack aircraft arrived in the disputed area of Reed Bank in the South China Sea. By then the Chinese boats had left after chasing away the survey ship, Veritas Voyager, hired by U.K.-based Forum Energy Plc.

But the tension had become so great Forum Energy chief Ray Apostol wanted to halt two months of work in the area.

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Britain accused of Somali oil grab

Britain accused of Somali oil grab

Britain is engaged in a secret oil grab in Somalia under the guise of humanitarian aid and security assistance, a Sunday newspaper alleged today.

Suspicions have long been held that – as with previous interventions in Iraq and elsewhere – Somalia’s mineral reserves may be the main reason that Western powers have begun to focus so sharply on the situation in the war-torn east African country.

PM David Cameron hosted an international summit in London last week pledging more aid and the use of greater measures to tackle terrorism.

But the Observer said yesterday it had evidence that behind-the-scenes talks were proceeding between British and Somalian officials over the country’s oil.

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Clinton warns Somali ‘peace spoilers’

Clinton warns Somali ‘peace spoilers’

American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday threatened sanctions on anyone blocking reforms intended to end Somalia’s “hopeless, bloody conflict” and counter militant and pirate groups seen as a growing menace to world security.

Addressing a conference aimed at energising attempts to end more than 20 years of anarchy, Clinton also demanded greater efforts to cut funding for al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants fighting Somalia’s weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Al-Shabaab is the most powerful of an array of militias spawned by the conflict in Somalia, where armed groups have a history of wrecking attempted political settlements and perpetuating war, instability and famine.

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Black Drone Down: Western Powers In Place To Secure Somalia’s Resources

Black Drone Down: Western Powers In Place To Secure Somalia’s Resources

All of these countries are on the Indian Ocean side of Africa, which is very likely the last great non-frozen, land-based pool of hydrocarbons on earth.

The global oil major ENI found $800 billion worth of natural gas off the coast of Mozambique last month.

BG Group (BG) found 4 trillion cubic feet of gas there as well. That’s more natural gas than is in Norway.

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CIA carving out new role in Balochistan

CIA carving out new role in Balochistan

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), led by David Petraeus the former Commander, US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), has a strategic, multidimensional interest in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province. In March 2011, The Peninsula, Qatar’s leading English language daily, revealed that the “CIA is indulging in heavy recruitment of local people as agents (each being paid $500 a month) in Balochistan to locate members of the Quetta Shura, a term used by the Americans for Mullah Omar-led Taliban commanders.”

Over the long term, the CIA has an interest in keeping the strategically important Port of Gwadar out of China’s influence. Over the short to medium term, the CIA also has an interest in supporting Jundallah, also known as People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), a violent organization that claims to be “fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.”

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Russia To Deploy 1st Arctic Brigade In 2015

Russia To Deploy 1st Arctic Brigade In 2015

The first motorized rifle arctic brigade will
be deployed in 2015, Russian Ground Forces Chief Col Gen Alexander
Postnikov said on Tuesday, February 21, RIA Novosti reported.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in July 2011 that two
arctic brigades would be established in “Murmansk or Arkhangelsk or
some other place.”

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‘South Stream is something of spoiler to Nabucco’

‘South Stream is something of spoiler to Nabucco’

The implementation of Russian South Stream project will not affect the future Caspian gas supplies to Europe, European energy expert Neil Melvin believes.

Russian Gazprom’s Management Committee chairman Alexey Miller approved the South Stream Construction Charter this week. The South Stream project is implemented to diversify the routes of natural gas supplies to the European consumers and envisages the construction of a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to the South and Central Europe.

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China Reaps Rewards of Central Asian Investment

China Reaps Rewards of Central Asian Investment

For the Central Asian states, the importance of the pipeline goes beyond energy revenues. The first major pipeline from the region that bypasses Russia, it brings a much sought-after diversification of export routes. It secures China as a long-term buyer of Central Asian gas, and one that, unlike European countries, is a growing economy. It also opens up the prospect of sales to Japan and South Korea.

In China, the Central Asian countries have an investor that is willing to bankroll large-scale infrastructure projects – and not just in the energy sector – and that has proved effective in implementing them.

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Israel, Cyprus ink military deal to protect energy resources

Israel, Cyprus ink military deal to protect energy resources

Israel and Cyprus signed a military agreement Thursday, February 16 allowing the former to use the airspace and territorial waters around the eastern Mediterranean island to protect vital energy resources, M&C reported citing DPA.

The search and rescue agreement, signed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Demetris Christofias, will allow the Israeli air force and navy to enter Cypriot space in the case of accidents or actions against oil rigs in their exclusive economic zones.

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Cold Response 2012: NATO tests its forces in Arctic

Cold Response 2012: NATO tests its forces in Arctic

NATO war exercises will take place between the 12th and the 21st of March aiming at promoting cooperation between the navy, the air force, special mission units and marines in the Arctic conditions. According to the official reports the focus is on practicing actions combining diplomatic overtures with military response at high risk of a conflict. Another aim of the exercises is to establish military cooperation between different countries. The exercises have been prepared for many months. A helicopter carrier Illustrious of the British Navy left Portsmouth last week taking course towards the area of the exercises. It carries a company of the 42 Commando Royal Marines, naval helicopters Sea King and Lynx, and military helicopters Apache. NATO’s activities will not be limited to the exercises in the Norwegian waters.

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Resource Rapture: Syria’s Untapped Assets Desired By Allies And Enemies Alike

Resource Rapture: Syria’s Untapped Assets Desired By Allies And Enemies Alike

The numbers and the facts don’t lie. Western Governments aren’t in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan because the falafel and couscous is good. This is a global economic hostile takeover using bombs and bullets. The bean counters and administrators come in later and begin the due diligence process.

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Opposition: Syrian war planes blow up oil pipeline in Homs

Opposition: Syrian war planes blow up oil pipeline in Homs

massive plume of thick, black smoke billowed from the city of Homs on Wednesday, punctuating the chaos that has plagued the opposition stronghold for months.

According to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group, government war planes flew over Homs and blew up an oil pipeline.

The Syrian government did not immediately issue a statement on the situation in Homs.

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Breakdown: Turkish-Israeli battle over Cyprus pipeline

Breakdown: Turkish-Israeli battle over Cyprus pipeline

The government of the Republic of Cyprus plans to protest any exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the politically divided island.

“We are investigating the issue, and have already brought it to the attention of the UN representation in Cyprus,” said Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markouli.

Supported by Turkey’s government, Turkish Cypriots are due to carry out drilling in the Famagusta region in eastern Cyprus, Markouli told local media.

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Noble Energy-Led Consortium Signs $680 Million Natural-Gas Deal in Israel

Noble Energy-Led Consortium Signs $680 Million Natural-Gas Deal in Israel

The U.S.-Israeli consortium developing the Tamar natural-gas field off Israel’s coast said on Sunday it had signed a 15-year deal to supply an Israeli power-plant operator with an estimated $680 million worth of gas.

Isramco Negev, a partner in the exploration group, said the deal was reached with Mashav Initiatives and Development, a subsidiary of Clal Industries that runs a power plant in central Israel.

The latest in a series of agreements the Tamar group has recently announced, the deal is for as many as 0.2 billion cubic meters of gas each year starting in the second half of 2013, when the offshore field is expected to begin production.

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Interview with Thomas P.M. Barnett: Military Strategist and Best Selling Author

Interview with Thomas P.M. Barnett: Military Strategist and Best Selling Author

Thomas P.M. Barnett is a strategic planner who has worked in national security affairs since the end of the Cold War. In 2010, Tom became Chief Analyst for the New York/Tel Aviv/Sidney online consultancy, Wikistrat. He has also operated his own consulting practice (Barnett Consulting LLC) since 1998.

A New York Times-bestselling author and a nationally-known public speaker who’s been profiled on the front-page of the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Barnett is in high demand within government circles as a forecaster of global conflict and an expert of globalization, as well as within corporate circles as a management consultant and conference presenter.

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Oil war in South Atlantic: Great Britain vs. Latin America

Oil war in South Atlantic: Great Britain vs. Latin America

At present a new escalation of tension between Argentina and Great Britain is being intensively discussed in the media. Does it mean that Las Malvinas (the Folkland Islands for Great Britain) may become the theater of war again? In the current situation a new war may become even fiercer – the reserves of the oil and gas fields which were discovered on the shelf of the archipelago are comparable with the reserves of the oil fields in the North Sea. The British experts, who estimate the reserves at 60 billion barrels, are probably lowering the real figure in order not to tease Argentine people.

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Kastelorizo: Mediterranean Flashpoint?

Kastelorizo: Mediterranean Flashpoint?

It is the far-flung, easternmost island of Greece, 80 miles from Rhodes, 170 miles west of Cyprus, but just one mile off the coast of Turkey. Kastelorizo (in Greek, Καστελόριζο; or officially Megisti, Μεγίστη) is tiny, comprising just five square miles, plus some yet smaller, uninhabited islands. Were Athens to claim its full EEZ, Kastelorizo’s presence would make its EEZ contiguous with the EEZ of Cyprus, a factor with great import now, at a moment of massive off-shore gas and oil discoveries. Kastelorizo with an EEZ benefits the emerging Greece-Cyprus-Israel alliance by making it possible to transport either Cypriot and Israeli natural gas (via pipeline) or electricity (via cable) to Western Europe without Turkish permission.

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Position unchanged: No backtracking on Iran gas pipeline, Pakistan says

Position unchanged: No backtracking on Iran gas pipeline, Pakistan says

Islamabad on Wednesday reiterated its position that it will not backtrack on the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project despite Washington’s sanctions against Tehran but at the same time offered to import gas from US-based companies.

“Sanctions imposed by the United Nations do not affect the IP gas pipeline project and therefore Pakistan will continue to pursue it,” Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Dr Asim Hussain told US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, who called on him.

During the meeting, Dr Hussain offered to the US to supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Pakistan by setting up companies like other players currently working on LNG import projects in the country.

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Smaller ‘stans fret at Russia’s dominance

Smaller ‘stans fret at Russia’s dominance

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia’s two smallest economies, are discovering that breaking free of Russian domination is a hard task, particularly when they lack their own hydrocarbon resources and struggle to forge good relations with other neighbors that might make up for that shortage.

Russian oil supplies meet more than 90% of Kyrgyzstan’s and Tajikistan’s oil needs, but Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are rich in hydrocarbon resources and could potentially overtake Russia as the two smaller countries’ main source of petroleum and other fossil-fuel supplies.

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African Union embraces generous Chinese financing

African Union embraces generous Chinese financing

Weakened by chronic infighting and the demise of its long-time financier Moammar Gadhafi, the African Union is turning instead to the embrace of its richest new ally: China.

Col. Gadhafi, the Libyan dictator who was overthrown and killed last year, had been the biggest donor to Africa’s political alliance for years. But at its latest summit this weekend, the AU made it clear that Beijing is its new Libya.

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Research and Markets: Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Report Q1 2012: Potential for Gas Export Bonanza

Research and Markets: Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Report Q1 2012: Potential for Gas Export Bonanza

Turkmenistan could potentially benefit from a gas export bonanza, with a major reserves upgrade at the South Yolotan field alone providing the basis for long-term supply agreements that should transform the economic outlook. There are technical and commercial hurdles to overcome, but timely infrastructure investment and moves to improve international relations should guarantee that Turkmenistan becomes a key player in global gas supply.

Business Monitor International’s Turkmenistan Oil and Gas Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, oil and gas associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Turkmenistan’s oil and gas industry.

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India, Pakistan closer to oil deal import from Turkmenistan

India, Pakistan closer to oil deal import from Turkmenistan

India and Pakistan are closer to agreeing on a transit fee and a joint strategy to develop gas fields and import the hydrocarbon via a pipeline from the Central Asian Republic of Turkmenistan, oil ministers of two countries said.

The statements came during joint press conference by Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister S Jaipal Reddy and his Pakistani counterpart Dr Asim Hussain, after bilateral talks on energy cooperation here.
Turkmenistan has world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas. India & Pakistan are both keen to tap this source through a pipeline via the Central Asian country’s eastern neighbour, Afghanistan.

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India drawn to Iran’s favourable oil terms

India drawn to Iran’s favourable oil terms

India wants to take as much Iranian oil as it can because terms are “favourable”, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy has said.

He made the remarks on Monday after talks between the two sides last week on payment options for $12 billion of crude a year following fresh US sanctions, Reuters reported.

“It will be our endeavour in future to tap the Iran source fully, because the terms are fairly favourable,” Reddy told journalists at an energy conference. He added that India was exploring all options to pay for the crude.

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Russia’s South Stream winning pipeline war vs. EU-US Nabucco

Russia’s South Stream winning pipeline war vs. EU-US Nabucco

Gazprom’s South Stream gas pipeline, designed to ship Russian gas directly to Southern Europe circumventing Ukraine, looks to have stolen a march on the rival EU/US-backed supported Nabucco pipeline.

Construction of the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea to Europe will start in December 2012, and not 2013 as previously planned, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said January 20. At the same time, two key backers of Nabucco – US energy envoy Richard Morningstar and German energy giant RWE – expressed doubts about the feasibility of the project, which is designed to ship Caspian basin and Middle East gas direct to Southern Europe, bypassing Russia.

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Danger Waters: The Three Top Hot Spots of Potential Conflict in the Geo-Energy Era

Danger Waters: The Three Top Hot Spots of Potential Conflict in the Geo-Energy Era

In the years to come, the location of energy supplies and of energy supply routes — pipelines, oil ports, and tanker routes — will be pivotal landmarks on the global strategic map. Key producing areas, like the Persian Gulf, will remain critically important, but so will oil chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca (between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea) and the “sea lines of communication,” or SLOCs (as naval strategists like to call them) connecting producing areas to overseas markets. More and more, the major powers led by the United States, Russia, and China will restructure their militaries to fight in such locales.

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Philippines Protests New China ‘Intrusion’ in Disputed Water

Philippines Protests New China ‘Intrusion’ in Disputed Water

The Philippines protested a new “intrusion” by China in waters it claims to be Philippine territory, a move that threatens to revive tensions over areas of the South China Sea that may contain energy reserves.

Two Chinese vessels and a military ship were spotted on Dec. 11 and 12 “at the vicinity” of Escoda Shoal, which is within Philippine territory, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The department on Jan. 5 “conveyed to the Chinese Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires its serious concerns over recent actions” in the South China Sea, it said in the statement.

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China, Oil and Ethnic Cleansing in Horn of Africa

China, Oil and Ethnic Cleansing in Horn of Africa

In 2007 matters blew up, literally, when a Chinese oil exploration crew and their Ethiopian military bodyguards were attacked by fighters from the ONLF with a half a dozen Chinese nationals amongst the hundred or more Ethiopian soldiers killed in the attack.

Since then the Chinese have been much lower key about their plans to continue energy exploitation in the Ogaden.

2011 saw reports of Chinese oil company personnel in Ethiopian army uniforms doing exploration work back where all the trouble broke out in 2007 and once again in the midst of fighting with the ONLF.

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Special Report: Energy giant hid behind shells in “land grab”

Special Report: Energy giant hid behind shells in “land grab”

Late in the summer of 2010, hundreds of farmers in northern Michigan were fuming.

All had signed leases with local brokers permitting drillers to tap natural gas and oil beneath their land. All were demanding thousands of dollars in bonuses they had been promised in exchange. But none knew for certain whom to go after.

That’s because the company rejecting their leases hadn’t signed them to begin with. In fact, the company issuing the rejections wasn’t much of a business at all. It was a shell company – a paper-only firm with no real operations – called Northern Michigan Exploration LLC.

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Minerals: The Blood Diamond of Afghanistan

Minerals: The Blood Diamond of Afghanistan

Last year in June, the United States discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond what was previously estimated. The mineral wealth of Afghanistan was no secret for Afghans. They knew Afghanistan was an intact mineral reservoir, and for centuries they used crude tactics to extract accessible resources. This recent discovery indicates that Afghanistan has a rich prospect ahead, and the country could be raised by its own bootstraps with the revenue from the mining industry. However, the real question is if the Afghan government is ready – and has the tools – to responsibly develop these deposits.

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Violence Spreads to a Second Oil Town in Kazakhstan

Violence Spreads to a Second Oil Town in Kazakhstan

Violence between striking workers and the authorities in western Kazakhstan spread over the weekend, bringing the death toll to 14, the country’s general prosecutor announced on Sunday.

The clashes began Friday in the city of Zhanaozen, where police officers opened fire on striking oil workers who had occupied a city square for six months demanding better wages. The authorities said that 13 people were killed and 86 were wounded. Relatives and some witnesses have said that the death toll is much higher.

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Iran’s Caspian Discovery Could Change the Regional Gas Game

Iran’s Caspian Discovery Could Change the Regional Gas Game

Iran’s recent announcement that it has found a huge new gas field in the Caspian has been touted as a major event, which will “will change the energy and political balance around the Caspian Sea”, according to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. With estimated reserves of 1.4 trillion cubic metres of natural gas and 8 billion barrels of oil, the find is undoubtedly significant, but perhaps not for the reasons which Iran means.

First is the legal issue. Iran has not yet revealed the exact location of the field, which is unusual.

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Crude And Cruelty: Kazakhstan army expected to interfere to end uprising in oil rich town

Crude And Cruelty: Kazakhstan army expected to interfere to end uprising in oil rich town

At least 10 people were killed Friday in violent clashes between police and demonstrators in an oil town in western Kazakhstan where workers have been protesting for higher wages, authorities said.

Prosecutor General Askhat Daulbayev said in a statement that the mayor’s office, a hotel and vehicles were set afire in Zhanaozen, a city of 90,000 in the far southwestern corner of the energy-rich Central Asian nation.

The clashes appear to be some of the largest unrest to hit the former Soviet republic since it gained independence in 1991.

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Russian oil the winner from Syria, Iran sanctions

Russian oil the winner from Syria, Iran sanctions

Russia is emerging as the winner from international sanctions against Syria and stands to benefit even more if the European Union bans imports of Iranian crude, keeping Russia’s Urals crude at stiff premiums for months more.

Urals crude already has been fetching premiums over the North Sea Dated Brent benchmark since mid-October, the longest period ever.

“The strength of Urals relative to Brent in recent weeks is due to a combination of factors: uncertainty over the impact of sanctions on Iran and the loss of Syrian production and exports,” Roy Jordan with consultancy Facts Global Energy said.

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China to open its first military base abroad in Indian Ocean

China to open its first military base abroad in Indian Ocean

In a move that may cause unease in India, China on Monday announced that it will set up its first military base abroad in the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles to “seek supplies and recuperate” facilities for its Navy.

The naval fleet may seek supplies or recuperate at appropriate harbours in Seychelles or other countries as needed during escort missions, Chinese defence ministry announced here.

China has already cemented its foothold in the Indian Ocean by signing contract with the UN backed International Seabed Authority to gain rights to explore polymetallic sulphide ore deposit in Indian Ocean over the next 15 years.

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Peru declares state of emergency to end protests over gold mine

Peru declares state of emergency to end protests over gold mine

The president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, has declared a 60-day state of emergency in a northern region wracked by protests against a highlands gold mine.

The state of emergency restricts civil liberties such as the right to assembly and allows arrests without warrants in four provinces of Cajamarca state that have been paralysed for 11 days by increasingly violent protests against the $4.8bn Conga gold and copper mining project. US-based Newmont Mining Corporation is the project’s majority owner.

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Papuan village torched in unrest

Papuan village torched in unrest

Reports from West Papua claim Indonesian anti-terrorist police have torched a remote village in the Papuan highlands amid clashes with guerrilla rebels in the region.

Activists say civilians have fled into the jungle in response to the unrest and there are now grave fears for their safety.

Media is strictly controlled in the region, making reports hard to verify, but it is claimed that Indonesia’s Gegana Brimob police unit attacked the village of Wandenggoback, in the Papuan highlands, in response to the shooting deaths of two police officers on December 3.

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Africa, Iran gangs muscle in on SE Asia drug trade, including Malaysia, says UN

Africa, Iran gangs muscle in on SE Asia drug trade, including Malaysia, says UN

International drug gangs from Africa and Iran are muscling in on Southeast Asia’s booming methamphetamine business which has shown a staggering increase and is spreading through the region, the United Nations said in a report today.

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), including amphetamine and methamphetamine, have become the drugs of choice in many parts of Southeast and East Asia since the 1990s, replacing plant-based drugs such as heroin, opium and cannabis, the UN drugs office said.

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Major events in Caspian countries’ oil and gas industry for last week (Nov. 21-26)

Major events in Caspian countries’ oil and gas industry for last week (Nov. 21-26)

Azerbaijan, EU discuss cooperation on energy prospects

Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natiq Aliyev received a delegation headed by the European Commission’s Vice-President in charge of transport Siim Kallas. Both sides discussed the prospects of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU, Baku’s role in the EU energy security and of importance the recently signed agreement on transit of Azerbaijani gas through Turkey. The two sides also discussed the possibility of transiting Azerbaijan’s infrastructure on energy transportation from the east coast of the Caspian Sea to Europe.

Turkmenistan and China sign agreement on additional gas supplies

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Kazakhstan now world’s largest uranium miner

Kazakhstan now world’s largest uranium miner

KAZAKHSTAN’S international energy image is now that of one of the world’s rising oil exporters, an extraordinary feat given that, two decades ago its hydrocarbon output was beyond insignificant when the USSR collapsed. The vast Central Asian nation, larger than Western Europe, has now quietly passed another energy milestone.

Kazakhstan produces 33 percent of world’s mined uranium, followed by Canada at 18 percent and Australia, with 11 percent of global output. Kazakhstan contains the world’s second-largest uranium reserves, estimated at 1.5 million tons. Until two years ago Kazakhstan was the world’s No. 3 uranium miner, following Australia and Canada.

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US overtures may lure Myanmar from China

US overtures may lure Myanmar from China

he first visit to Myanmar in a half-century by the top U.S. diplomat opens a door for that nation’s military-dominated government to reduce its international isolation and dependence on a staunch but mistrusted ally: China.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Dec. 1-2, to meet with government and opposition leaders. It is the culmination of a two-year effort to engage with a repressive regime the U.S. had long shunned.

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Pakistan has 1,339.25 tonnes of gold reserves in Balochistan

Pakistan has 1,339.25 tonnes of gold reserves in Balochistan

Pakistan has 1,339.25 tonnes of gold reserves situated in Balochistan with 63.50 tonnes at Saindak and 1275.75 tonnes at Reko Diq, sources told Daily Times on Monday.

These two major gold reserves are situated in district Chagi, Balochistan. The sources further said the Saindak Copper-Gold Project, Balochistan is the only project in the country, which is producing gold/silver as a by-product in a normal quantity. The gold production was 7.891 tonnes and silver 11.293 tonnes during five years from 2005 to 2009.

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OPEC faces new Iran-Saudi clash

OPEC faces new Iran-Saudi clash

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could face another clash between Saudi Arabia and Iran as the cartel’s oil production rises to a three-year high.

The 12-member cartel’s output for September is expected to average 30.25 million barrels per day, up from 30.15 million bpd in August, the highest level for three years, as Iraq’s exports increase and Libyan crude starts flowing again.

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USGS Finds ‘World-Class’ Gold, Iron Deposits in Afghanistan

USGS Finds ‘World-Class’ Gold, Iron Deposits in Afghanistan

The war-ridden country of Afghanistan can take comfort from a U.S. Geological Survey report demonstrating a wealth of mineral resources that could boost its economy if peace ever returns.

USGS, working with its Afghan counterpart and the Department of Defense, conducted a 2009-2011 survey that found “volumes of information about areas of high mineral potential in Afghanistan, including rare earth elements, gold, iron and copper.”

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Water Is the New Weapon in Beijing’s Armoury

Water Is the New Weapon in Beijing’s Armoury

While China’s fondness for epic hydro-engineering projects has enormous repercussions within its own borders, the consequences are further complicated when dams are built upstream of other countries.Hundreds of millions of people from Afghanistan to Vietnam depend on rivers originating within the PRC, a reality to which Chinese policy makes little concession, and one which raises the possibility of aggressive interference in river flows in the future. From Brahma Chellaney in the Financial Times:

Getting this pre-eminent riparian power to accept water-sharing arrangements or other co-operative institutional mechanisms has proved unsuccessful so far in any basin. Instead, the construction of upstream dams on international rivers such as the Mekong, Brahmaputra or Amur shows China is increasingly bent on unilateral actions, impervious to the concerns of downstream nations ….

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