Gulf States Squeeze Qatar as Solution Proves Elusive
Qatar, major gas exporter, calls for dialogue, diplomacy; evidence of economic pressure mounts, alarming markets. Gulf states cranked up the pressure on Qatar on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump and Kuwait's emir worked to end an Arab row that Qataris say has led to a blockade of their country, an investment powerhouse and supplier of gas to world markets. With Trump offering to help resolve the crisis, possibly with a meeting at the White House…
U.S. Military Marches on Green Energy
President Donald Trump and his top advisors have often scoffed at government support of green energy. But the largest U.S. government agency - the Department of Defense - plans to forge ahead under the new administration with a decade-long effort to convert its fuel-hungry operations to renewable power, senior military officials told Reuters. The reasons have nothing to do with the white-hot debate over climate change. In combat zones, green energy saves lives by…
Turkmenistan seeks IDB, Saudi, Japanese funding for gas link
Turkmenistan is in talks with the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development and Japan's government on financing the construction of a gas pipeline to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, a project official said on Saturday. The TAPI pipeline is supposed to carry 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year from Turkmenistan's giant Galkynysh gas field - a project designed to ease the former Soviet state's dependence on Russia and China.
Indian Consortium Undecided on Afghan Iron Ore
An Indian consortium led by the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has yet to decide how much it will commit to an iron ore project in Afghanistan that was originally supposed to be a $10.8 billion investment, SAIL's chairman said on Monday. India's steel ministry said in December that the group had proposed new terms and planned to invest about $2 billion in three iron ore mines and a steel plant. But SAIL Chairman C.S. Verma said the consortium…
Lights to Go Out in Kandahar When U.S. Aid Ends
When the United States stops funding power generation in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar next year, the lights are set to go out and factories will fall idle, playing into the hands of Taliban insurgents active in the area. Bringing a stable source of electricity to Kandahar, the cradle of the hardline Islamist movement and once a base for its leader Mullah Omar, was a top U.S. "counter-insurgency priority" as Washington pursued its policy of winning "hearts and minds".
