Nigeria’s oil curse

Posted by Matt in June 1st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Africa, Oil, African Man, Audience, Blood Diamond, Cinema, Curse, Diamonds, Government Forces, Lagos Nigeria, Laughter, Leonardo Dicaprio, Leonardo Dicaprio Film, Oil Wealth, Old Man, Photos, Rebels, Sierra Leone, Surveys, Vicious Civil War, Violence

The story in photos behind the fight for Nigeria’s oil wealth.
During a scene in the Leonardo DiCaprio film “Blood Diamond,” an elderly African man surveys a village destroyed in Sierra Leone’s vicious civil war and laments the violence tearing his country apart as rebels and government forces fight for control over access to diamonds and [...]

Corrupt Countries

Posted by Matt in July 6th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Russia, general, Argentina, Brazil, Corrupt Countries, Corruption, Greece, Index Scores, India, Mexico, Number Of Countries, Pakistan, Percentage Terms, Persistent Poverty, Political Instability, Rampant Corruption, Russia, Saudi-Arabia, Surveys, Thailand, Transparency International, Watchdog Group

Corruption continues to intensify in two-fifths of the world’s nations, nurtured by persistent poverty, political instability and crime.
In percentage terms, the number of countries perceived to be corrupt fell slightly, according to recent surveys by Transparency International, an international watchdog group. But that’s only because the sample size of its annual study has gotten larger [...]

The Arctic: poles apart

Posted by Matt in May 27th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Americas, Russia, U.S., Arctic, Biological Life, Commercial Interests, Denmark, Exploit, Greenland, High Level Conference, Hydrothermal Vents, Neighbours, Norway, Russia, Russian Move, Surveys

Russia’s Arctic neighbours saw the exploit as a blatant land grab, an attempt to pre-empt any new agreement on sharing the undersea resources among the littoral powers. They have already begun moves to stake their claims: Norway and Denmark are carrying out surveys and the US is organising an expedition ostensibly “in search of hydrothermal [...]