Above: The Mahdi Army has taken control of Basra. Crude oil prices rose to $107.58 a barrel (up 1.68) in New York, after a pipeline explosion in Iraq cut one of the main supplies to the country's main oil export terminal. The Zubair-1 pipeline is one of two that transport oil to the Basra terminal. Although the Iraqi oil ministry is still not certain as to what caused the explosion, they pretty much have a concrete idea. The ongoing clashes in the area between ... Read More

Above: Map of Heglig location Crisis avoided in Sudan as the former Southern Rebels, Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) agreed to enter back into discussions with the government, the split was brought about in October, when the SPLM accused Khartoum ( Khartoum (الخرطوم ) is the capital of Sudan and of Khartoum State ) of stalling a peace treaty agreed in 2005. The SPLM leader Salva Kiir met President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and worked out the main issues that were holding the ... Read More