Latest news
7 May 2014
On 5 May, the US signed a 20-year lease on its military base in Dijbouti, in the Horn of Africa. The focus of the talks between President Obama and the president of Dijbouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, were represented by the critical role played by Camp Lemonnier, a base of 4,000 American service members and civilians. The camp is the only American installation on the continent and represents a hub for training and counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Somalia, thus playing a critical role. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | U.S. Signs New Lease to Keep Strategic Military Installation in the Horn of Africa
7 May 2014
At the trilateral consultations that took place in in Warsaw on 2 May, Yuriy Prodan, the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister, said that his country could not guarantee the storage of necessary amounts of gas during summer for further transit to Europe. (more…)
Source: Reuters | EU should help Ukraine fill gas storage - agencies cite Russian minister
Source: The Voice of Russia | Ukraine has no right to unilaterally revise gas price – Russian energy minister
Source: ITAR-TASS News Agency | Ukraine can’t guarantee gas storage and transit to Europe - Russian minister
3 May 2014
Despite weaker Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan, Al Qaeda’s affiliates in Somalia, Syria, Yemen and West Africa are exerting increasing influence in their regions. According to a US State Department report that was released this Wednesday, this poses new challenges for American counterterrorism officials. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | Qaeda Affiliates Gain Regional Influence as Central Leadership Fades
Source: U.S. Department of State | Executive Summary | BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM | Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 | 30 April 2014
3 May 2014
In a letter to the World Bank, twenty-eight Honduran and international NGOs and civil society groups have expressed their concerns over a proposed USD 15m loan to the commercial bank Davivienda in Honduras by the bank’s private lending branch, the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The proposed investment was classified as ‘medium risk’ by the IFC, even though it was admitted that child labour and land disputes could be potential impacts. (more…)
Source: The Guardian | World Bank loan to Honduran bank comes under scrutiny
1 May 2014
The New York Times reported that on Tuesday, the US blacklisted eight Chinese companies, a Dubai company and two Dubai executives for evading restrictions on transactions with Iran regarding weapons, oil and banking. The eight Chinese companies were used to conduct business with Iran by illicitly moving millions of dollars through US-based financial institutions. Additionally, the Dubai executives were accused of ‘shady and deceptive oil deals with Iran.’ This is the first significant enforcement of Iranian sanctions in three months and dispels the impression that relations between Iran and the US were beginning to normalise. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | U.S. Announces Actions to Enforce Iran Sanctions