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| China tests anti-smog drone aircraft Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 07:01 PM PST SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China tested a domestically-produced drone aircraft designed to disperse smog on Saturday, official media reported, in an important step for the country's domestic aviation industry. At the opening of an annual parliament meeting last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China will "declare war on pollution. Almost all Chinese cities monitored for pollution last year failed to meet state standards. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korean-flagged tanker loads oil at seized Libyan port: officials Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 01:55 PM PST A North Korean-flagged tanker has started loading oil at a Libyan port seized by rebels in the east of the country, port and oil officials said on Saturday. The Libyan government threatened earlier on Saturday to bomb the vessel if it tried to ship the cargo out of Es Sider port. The rebels want to sell the oil to bypass the government and get a greater share of the country's oil wealth. "The loading has started," a port worker told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Libya threatens to bomb North Korean tanker if it ships oil from rebel port Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 01:54 PM PST  By Ulf Laessing and Feras Bosalum TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya threatened on Saturday to bomb a North Korean-flagged tanker if it tried to ship oil from a rebel-controlled port, in a major escalation of a standoff over the country's petroleum wealth. The oil dispute is just one facet of the deepening turmoil in the North African OPEC member, where the government is struggling to control militias who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but kept their weapons and now challenge state authority. A local television station controlled by protesters showed footage of pro-autonomy rebels holding a lengthy ceremony and slaughtering a camel to celebrate their first oil shipment. The station said the ceremony took place in Es Sider. Full Story | Top |
| Central Europeans want U.S. gas to cut dependence on Russia Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 12:02 PM PST By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - Four central European countries have asked the U.S. Congress to make it easier for them to import natural gas from the United States and reduce their dependence on supplies from Russia, the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The Visegrad 4 group including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia is looking to diversify supplies to eliminate the danger Russia could use its control of gas and oil flows to exert political pressure on the former Soviet satellite states. Supplies were briefly disrupted in 2009 during a dispute between Russia and Ukraine, through which much of the Russian gas is piped, and central Europeans fear they could be under threat again due to an escalation of tensions between Russia and the West over Russia's seizure of Crimea. Full Story | Top |
| Libya says will bomb North Korea-flagged tanker if it ignores orders Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 08:44 AM PST Libya will bomb a North Korea-flagged oil tanker trying to load crude at an eastern port controlled by armed protesters if the vessel fails to follow orders from the navy, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Saturday. "The tanker will be bombed if it doesn't follow orders when leaving (the port). Full Story | Top |
| Russia won't switch off gas supply to Europe: Oettinger in magazine Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 06:38 AM PST European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger does not expect Russia to switch off gas supplies to Europe over the Ukraine crisis, he told German magazine Wirtschaftswoche in an interview published on Saturday. "I don't believe it would be in Russia's interests," Oettinger was quoted as saying. Russian gas export giant Gazprom issued a thinly veiled warning on Friday that it could stop shipping gas to Ukraine over unpaid bills. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says restarts nuclear fuel transit to Europe via Ukraine Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 06:13 AM PST Rosatom, Russia's state energy corporation, said on Saturday it would resume nuclear fuel shipments to Europe via Ukraine after Kiev lifted a ban imposed during anti-government protests earlier this year on transporting the hazardous material. The ban was introduced on January 28 by the government of now-deposed President Viktor Yanukovich, who fled the country last month after a popular uprising. Rosatom said the ban ended on Thursday and the first rail shipment of nuclear fuel in 2014 via Ukraine to eastern Europe was expected next week. Full Story | Top |
| Libya port rebels say have started exporting oil, bypassing govt Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 03:24 AM PST Armed protesters who have seized oil ports in eastern Libya said on Saturday they had started exporting oil, bypassing the Tripoli government, with their first shipment going to a North Korean-flagged tanker. Officials at state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) confirmed earlier on Saturday that the tanker was docked at the Es-Sider port, which is under the control of a rebel group demanding autonomy and a greater share of Libya's oil wealth. This is our first shipment," said a spokesman for the protesters, who have seized Es-Sider and two other ports. "We have informed the government and the defence ministry so they can take action," the official said, adding that the tanker's crew "are trying to buy oil illegally." There was no immediate word from the government, but Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and the justice minister scheduled news conferences in the afternoon. Full Story | Top |
| E.Libyan port rebels say have started exporting oil, bypassing government Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 02:26 AM PST A group of armed protesters who have been seizing oil ports in eastern Libya said on Saturday they had started exporting oil, with their first shipment going to a North Korean-flagged tanker. Oil sources confirmed earlier on Saturday that the tanker was docked at the Es-Sider port, which is under the control of the group which is demanding autonomy and a greater share of Libya's oil wealth. Full Story | Top |
| Panel says Guinea should strip BSGR, Vale of rights to iron deposit Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 12:13 AM PST By Silvia Antonioli, David Rohde and Saliou Samb LONDON/CONAKRY (Reuters) - A technical committee in Guinea has recommended the government strip BSG Resources (BSGR) and its partner Vale of the rights to exploit a giant iron ore deposit because the panel alleges BSGR obtained the concession through corruption, sources close to the matter said. The latest development in a saga surrounding one of the world's largest mining deposits casts uncertainty over the future of the sought-after Simandou, a mine that could help one of Africa's poorest countries to prosper. BSGR vigorously denied the allegations of wrongdoing and said it believes the committee's procedure is part of a predetermined and orchestrated plan to expropriate the company's mining rights. "The review has been conducted throughout without any respect for basic due process and procedural fairness," a BSGR spokesman said on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Eni CEO says Libya needs to guarantee safety at plants Saturday, Mar 08, 2014 12:10 AM PST  By Stephen Jewkes MILAN (Reuters) - Libya needs to guarantee safety at oil and gas production sites, Italy's Eni SpA said on Friday, at a time when some companies are rethinking their strategy in the north African country due to growing instability. State-controlled Eni is the biggest foreign energy operator in Libya and accounts for half of the country's output. Three years of turmoil since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and tough contract terms have prompted some oil firms to reassess their positions in Libya and several have said they would postpone projects or scrap them altogether. Eni said its Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni had met with Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan and assured him Libya remained a strategic area for the company and an important source of gas for Italy, but needed to properly safeguard production plants. Full Story | Top |
| China says to work with Afghanistan to fight terrorism Friday, Mar 07, 2014 10:50 PM PST China said on Saturday that it will work with Afghanistan to fight terrorism, after it blamed a deadly train station attack on extremists from its western Xinjiang region, which shares a short border with the war-torn nation. Beijing has become increasingly concerned about security in restive Xinjiang, where it says Muslim extremists receive help from militants in neighboring countries. China says separatists from the region, home to a large Muslim Uighur minority, launched a terrorist attack in the southwestern city of Kunming last week, killing at least 29 people and injuring about 140. China will work with the international community for political reconciliation in Afghanistan and support reconstruction, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press briefing during an annual session of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament. Full Story | Top |
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