African Union suspends Gabon after military coup ousts President Ali Bongo
Military officers ousted President Ali Bongo on August 30, just minutes after Gabon’s national electoral body proclaimed the incumbent as the winner of the August 26 general elections. Bongo was placed under house arrest as hundreds of people took to the streets in Libreville to celebrate the ouster of a family that has ruled Gabon for 56 years
Saudi Arabia and Iran normalize ties in China-brokered deal
The normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia represents a shift in diplomatic leadership towards the Global South, away from US hegemony
After 3 years under Guaidó’s control, Colombia returns state-owned petrochemical company to Venezuela
Colombian government ratifies Caracas-appointed board; decision ends Guaidó’s control over company
Central Asia struggles with the consequences of Russia’s war
The Central Asian republics depend heavily on Russia for grain, oil, and commerce and have already been negatively impacted by the war
Maduro announces reactivation of dialogue with the opposition after meeting with US government
The dialogue process between the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition had been suspended since October 2021. Meanwhile, the diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the US had been suspended since January 2019
By trying to sanction the whole world, Washington backs itself into a corner
As the US loses Russia as a key supplier of oil, poor relations with energy giant Venezuela have a strong chance of backfiring
South Africans protest Shell’s plans to explore for oil off the Wild Coast
Despite massive opposition by locals and indigenous communities, a high court in South Africa has allowed Shell to carry out seismic surveys to explore for oil and gas off South Africa’s environmentally sensitive Wild Coast.
PetroCaribe and Haiti’s lost opportunities
Haitian activist and economist Jean Jores Pierre argues that the mismanagement of the PetroCaribe agreement and funds by the Haitian government first and foremost affects the people of Haiti who still do not have access to basic goods and services
IndustriALL questions violations of worker rights by Shell in Nigeria
82% of oil giant Shell’s workforce in Nigeria is sourced through labor contractors. As per IndustriALL, the workers “live in poverty with no job security, poor healthcare and little regard for health and safety.”
Canadian federal police restrict access to Wet’suwet’en Indigenous land
The move is the latest repressive measure in order to push forward the construction of the Coastal GasLink oil pipeline and silence Indigenous opposition
America Escalates Its “Democratic” Oil War in the Near East
Michael Hudson discusses the underlying factors driving the US aggression against Iran
Nigerian elections postponed hours before voting
The outcome of the election, now scheduled on February 23, has a lot on stakes, including the state’s control over Nigeria’s oil.
