Vol 54 No 15 | SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE 'Piracy' row with Sweden 17th July 2013 The public cheered its coastguard’s seizure of two ships accused smuggling. Stena Oil calls it piracy Swedish firm Stena Oil accuses São Tomé of staging a show trial after it gaoled two ships’ masters for three years for smuggling and seized their vessels. This...
Vol 54 No 15 | NIGERIA The Delta catches fire again 11th July 2013 Rampant oil theft, spills and a pipeline shutdown focus attention on Shell’s operations as a political crisis looms The Niger Delta faces a new round of turmoil as politicians and their business allies jostle for power at the centre of the country's oil industry. On 10...
Vol 54 No 15 | NIGERIA The Bodo spill hits companies and politicians 11th July 2013 The aftermath of the fire could result in costly litigation for Shell and further erode President Goodluck Jonathan's presidency The latest fire and pollution incident at Bodo may leave Royal Dutch Shell open to hugely costly damages. A landmark United Nations Environment Programme report in 2011 estimated...
Vol 54 No 14 | NIGERIA Inside the presidential fight 5th July 2013 Opponents – within and outside the ruling party – are undercutting President Jonathan’s authority as he prepares for the 2015 elections Two factors – rampant factionalism in the governing People’s Democratic Party and a coherent opposition alliance are changing the calculus in Nigerian politics. For the first time in... READ FOR FREE
Vol 54 No 14 | NIGERIA The governors and the insurgency 5th July 2013 Quieter streets along with fewer attacks and bombings suggest the declaration of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states is holding back, for now, the momentum of...
Vol 54 No 14 | SENEGAL Presidential wobbles 5th July 2013 The Obama visit was a welcome distraction for an increasingly shaky President Macky Sall, who is finding political support hard to maintain President Macky Sall needs money. On his recent travels to Qatar, Gabon and Northern Ireland, where he attended the Group of Eight Summit in June as head of...
Vol 54 No 14 | SENEGAL The gay elephant 5th July 2013 Homosexuality is illegal and subject to aggressive public hostility in Senegal, and with the United States having so recently legally enabled gay marriage, it was an elephant in...
Vol 54 No 14 | GUINEA Dodgy dialogue 5th July 2013 The UN-sponsored mediation between the bitterly opposed parties over elections proceeds in fits and starts, much like the mining situation Saïd Djinnit, the Algerian United Nations Special Representative for West Africa, is just about keeping the political dialogue on track between the government, its supporters and the opposition....
Vol 54 No 14 | GUINEA Keeping Simandou on track 5th July 2013 The key missing element in the Simandou project is not good will but a strong market for steel and finance to support the Trans-Guinea Railway President Alpha Condé’s advisor and friend, the financier and philanthropist George Soros, hosted a meeting on 17 June to celebrate agreement that the development of the Simandou iron...
Vol 6 (AAC) No 9 | GHANACHINA Miners out but no funds in 2nd July 2013 Accra-Beijing relations are tested by growing concerns about illegal gold mining and a slowdown in finance for the Chinese-built gas plant Ghana’s expulsion of some 200 Chinese accused of involvement in illegal gold mining and more delays in disbursements from the China Development Bank for the gas plant in...