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| Corporates cheer as India's oil minister takes charge of green clearances Saturday, Feb 01, 2014 06:26 PM PST  By Frank Jack Daniel and Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Veerappa Moily has two seemingly incompatible jobs. As oil minister, he has overseen India's petroleum and natural gas needs. But now he also runs the environment ministry, where he has issued permits for 100 stalled projects in a month-long spree that has delighted industry but shocked green activists. Since taking the additional environment portfolio on December 24, he has given his go-ahead to projects worth some $40 billion, including Posco's $12.6 billion steel plant and forest clearances for India's first major hydropower projects in the wilderness state of Arunachal Pradesh, near a contested border with China. Full Story | Top |
| Power producer says may cut supplies to India's capital Saturday, Feb 01, 2014 07:26 AM PST India's top power producer NTPC Ltd said on Saturday it might cut supplies to a company that distributes electricity to parts of New Delhi, something that could plunge the heart of India's capital into darkness. State utility NTPC said distribution company BSES Yamuna Power Ltd, which sells electricity in the central and eastern parts of the city of about 16 million people, must clear its dues or else supplies would be cut from February 11. Citing lower tariffs and a shortfall in revenues, BSES Yamuna Power Ltd, an arm of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, has already expressed its inability to pay state-run power generation companies. The row could result in an outage of up to 10 hours a day, exacerbating problems for Delhi's newly-elected Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, elected on the promise of cutting electricity tariffs for millions of Delhi's voters. Full Story | Top |
| Khartoum stops Red Cross activities in Sudan: ICRC spokesman Saturday, Feb 01, 2014 06:26 AM PST Sudan's government has suspended the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the country, the organization said on Saturday without giving details of the reasons. The Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), a government agency responsible for permitting, coordinating and monitoring the activities of aid organizations, told the ICRC on Wednesday its work would be suspended on February 1, Adel Sherif said. "We have stopped our work across all of Sudan," Sherif, spokesman for the ICRC in the country, told Reuters. The United States imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997 over alleged human rights violations and support for "international terrorism", then strengthened the penalties in 2006 over Khartoum's festering conflict with rebels in Darfur. Full Story | Top |
| Yemen's main oil pipeline bombed, crude flow stops: sources Saturday, Feb 01, 2014 03:39 AM PST Armed tribesmen bombed Yemen's main oil pipeline on Saturday, halting crude flow to the country's main export terminal less than a month after it was repaired, oil and local officials said. The attack occurred in the Serwah district in the central oil-producing province of Maarib, they said, and caused a huge fire that prompted the closure of the pipeline and stopped oil flow from the Maarib fields to the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea. Yemen, which relies on crude exports to finance up to 70 percent of its budget, has suffered frequent bombings of its main pipeline in recent years. Such lawlessness is a global concern, particularly for the United States and its Gulf Arab allies, because of Yemen's strategic position next to oil exporter Saudi Arabia and to main shipping lanes. Full Story | Top |
| S.Sudan rebel leader says government derailing peace talks Saturday, Feb 01, 2014 12:14 AM PST  By Goran Tomasevic JONGLEI STATE, South Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar accused the government on Friday of ethnic cleansing and trying to sabotage peace talks, in his first face-to-face interview since fighting erupted late last year in Africa's youngest nation. Dressed in dark green military fatigues and speaking to Reuters in his bush hideout, Machar branded President Salva Kiir a discredited leader who had lost the people's trust and should resign. "Salva Kiir has committed atrocities in Juba, he has engaged in ethnic cleansing and he is still involved in the process," Machar said. His comments highlighted the gulf between the sides, who are meant to resume their troubled peace talks in Ethiopia next week. Full Story | Top |
| India's Rajasthan state bars entry of foreign supermarkets Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:20 PM PST  The government of India's western state of Rajasthan has barred foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector, newspapers said, becoming the second state to block foreign supermarkets from setting up shop. Last month, the newly-elected Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party government in the capital, New Delhi barred foreign supermarkets, opposing the efforts of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attract overseas investment and revive the economy. Singh had thrown open the country's $500-billion retail industry to foreign investors late in 2012, allowing companies such as Wal-Mart Stores and TESCO Plc to own majority stakes in Indian chains for the first time. So far, fewer than half of India's 28 states have agreed to roll out the policy. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to visit Saudi Arabia amid tensions over Iran, Syria: report Friday, Jan 31, 2014 09:53 PM PST  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to travel to Saudi Arabia in March on a mission to smooth tensions with Washington's main Arab ally over U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear program and the civil war in Syria, a newspaper reported. Obama is preparing to meet with King Abdullah for a summit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed Arab officials briefed on the meetings. The United States and Saudi Arabia have been allies since the kingdom was formed in 1932, giving Riyadh a powerful military protector and Washington secure oil supplies. Full Story | Top |
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