Gahara, Rwanda | AFP | Inside a metal shed in southeastern Rwanda, Nicholas Hitimana brandished a plastic container holding a green liquid: geranium essential oil, freshly distilled and ready for export at more than $200 (175 euros) a kilo. The pioneer of essential oils in Rwanda, Hitimana said he understood …
Read More »Total to sign Iran gas deal, biggest since sanctions lifted
Tehran, Iran | AFP | French energy giant Total will finally sign its multi-billion-dollar agreement to develop an Iranian offshore gas field on Monday, the oil ministry said, in the biggest foreign deal since sanctions were eased last year. “The international agreement for the development of phase 11 of South …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Skepticism over oil bonus probe report
THIS WEEK: Skepticism over oil bonus probe report A number of people have expressed skepticism over the recommendations of the parliamentary oil bonus report in as far as reining in 42 government officials who received a cash bonus totaling Shs6bn for their role in defending Uganda against two British oil …
Read More »Blow for Kenyatta as Kenya delays early oil export by three months
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya has delayed plans to export its first oil in June by three months to better negotiate revenue sharing with the local community, the country’s energy minister said Thursday. The announcement comes after reports in local media of security challenges in the arid northwestern Turkana …
Read More »PAKISTAN: 123 dead, more than 100 injured in oil tanker fire
Ahmedpur East, Pakistan | AFP | At least 123 people were killed and scores injured in a fire that erupted after an oil tanker overturned in central Pakistan early Sunday and crowds rushed to collect fuel, an official said. The tragedy came less than a day before Pakistan was due …
Read More »Katuntu Committee recommends refund of sh6bn ‘Presidential Handshake’
I suggest that on top of refunding the money, the Presidential Handshake beneficiaries each make a public apology – Anna Adeke Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Uganda’s Parliament has overwhelmingly approved recommendations from its Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises requiring 42 public officials to refund Ushs 6 billion shared out …
Read More »Saudi king’s son named crown prince: royal decree
Saudi king’s son named crown prince: royal decree Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi King Salman on Wednesday named his son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince, completing a gradual removal of powers from the previous prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, who has been fired. According to a royal …
Read More »Full stalls, empty markets as South Sudan’s economy crumbles
Aweil, South Sudan | AFP | “I sell the small bottle of cooking oil for 140 SSP. Six months ago, it was 70. The customers complain,” said James Deng, an 18-year-old stallholder in Aweil, South Sudan. In this regional market in the country’s northwest — just as at the main …
Read More »Macron in Morocco to discuss Libya, Qatar
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron was in Morocco Wednesday on a 24-hour visit for talks on battling terrorism as well as the Libyan conflict and Qatar’s dispute with its Gulf neighbours. As he stepped off the plane for his first visit to Morocco since his election …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Scramble for Shs900bn oil deals
Ugandan firms in fight against foreigners Uganda’s nascent oil and gas sector is entering an intense three-year development phase, or what everyone is calling phase II since it follows phase one of exploration. As excitement builds, so does anxiety. “I hope to approach this phase differently. It is much …
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