After a number of accidents, attacks by militants, and political scandals, is Shell’s honeymoon with Nigeria coming to an end? Some recent events and transactions indicate a shift in the Dutch company’s strategy in the country, opening a window of opportunity for new operators.

It is said in Tbilisi that if many share the same dream, it has the potential to become a reality. Today, Georgia stands at the doorway of that achievable ‘dream’ in that it seems clear tangible change is on the way. Such change is brought to us by Bidzina Ivanishvili and his newfound ‘Georgian Dream [...]

Foreign policy used to be a craft practised by diplomats and statesmen. No longer.

Sir Richard Branson recently denied a report in a leaked US embassy cable that he bankrolled a diplomatic effort to sweeten the exit of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, writes Alex Duval Smith in the Independent. A confidential memo released by Wikileaks says that in July 2007, Branson was due to hold a secret meeting with South [...]

North American natural gas producers are facing tougher scrutiny and regulation from government, with the U.S. industry warning that new rules proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could dampen the shale gas boom.

Despite a drop-off of instability in the Delta today, oil exploration in Nigeria has slumped to the lowest in a decade after producers including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA backed away from investment until the country’s petroleum law is finally passed. Just one exploration well was drilled in Nigeria over the past two [...]

Amnesty International and a conglomeration of human rights activists have stated that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union have betrayed the people of Zimbabwe by ignoring human rights abuses by President Robert Mugabe’s supporters while paying lip service to implementation of political reforms. Amnesty International Africa director Erwin van der Borght [...]

Xinhua reports that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) office cautioned the Ugandan media on Wednesday to avoid inciting the public during the general elections slated to begin on February 18th. Birgit Gerstenberg, UNHCHR representative in Uganda, told reporters here that although the media should fully exercise the right of freedom of [...]

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono has warned multinational banks currently operating there that they would suffer consequences if they refuse to write loans to ZANU-PF officials or others on Western sanctions lists in another fantastic example of civility in the face of foreign fiscal trepidation. In a monetary policy statement posted to the [...]

This year, China overtook the United States to become Brazil’s largest investor. In the first six months of 2010, FDI flows reached an estimated $10 billion, up from literally $83 million in the same period last year. The surge to many is hardly surprising given that China became Brazil’s largest trade partner in 2008. But [...]