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More on the real reason behind high oil prices The US Government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its most recent monthly Short Term Energy Outlook report, concluded that US oil demand is expected to decline by 190,000 b/d in 2008. That is mainly owing to the deepening economic recession. Chinese consumption, the EIA says, far from exploding, is expected to rise this year by only 400,000 barrels a day. That is hardly the "surging oil demand" blamed on China in the media. Last year China imported 3.2 million barrels per day, and its estimated usage was around 7 million b/d total. The US, by contrast, consumes around 20.7 million b/d. That means the key oil consuming nation, the USA, is experiencing a significant drop in demand. China, which consumes only a third of the oil the US does, will see a minor rise in import demand compared with the total daily world oil output of some 84 million barrels, less than half of a percent of the total demand.

Former White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan accuses President Bush of "self-deception." Arab media feels vindicated. Is the U.S. engaged in "political propaganda" and misinformation? Do you...

allAfrica.com: Sudan: Abyei Conflict Threatens to Escalate (Page 1 of 1) : "Renewed fighting in the oil-rich Abyei region over the past two weeks has destroyed the town of Abyei and displaced tens of thousands of local Dinka from their homes. The peace deal signed in 2005 - that incredible achievement ending a decades-long north-south civil war - could unravel in Abyei. The fighting groups, the National Congress Party-controlled Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), are the same parties that signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement three years ago. Starting long before the Darfur crisis ever hit the headlines, this war lasted over 20 years and cost the lives of over two million people. The Agreement created an autonomous southern government that shares a significant portion of the country's wealth. It calls for national elections in 2009, and a southern self-determination referendum in 2011."

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Opposition mounts to US-Iraq security deal : "Tens of thousands rallied in several cities Friday against a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, raising doubts that negotiators can meet a July target to finalize a pact to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires. Although U.S. officials insist they are not seeking permanent bases, suspicion runs deep among many Iraqis that the Americans want to keep at least some troops in the country for many years. 'We denounce the government's intentions to sign a long-term agreement with the occupying forces,' Asaad al-Nassiri, a sheik loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said during a sermon in Kufa. 'Our army will be under their control in this agreement, and this will lead to them having permanent bases in Iraq.'"

Al Jazeera English - News - Iraqis Rally Over Us Security Deal : "Tens of thousands of Iraqi Shia have taken to the streets of Baghdad and other cities to protest against a long-term security deal with the US. The rallies after Friday prayers follow a call by Muqtada al-Sadr for weekly protests against the deal that could lead to more US troops and a long-term US presence."

Al Jazeera English - News - Doha Red Carpet Awaits Sami Al-Hajj : "Sami al-Hajj, an Al Jazeera cameraman released from Guantanamo Bay earlier this month, is set to return to Qatar. Al-Hajj will be accorded a public reception by the news network on arriving in Doha on Saturday. He spent six years in the US detention centre without being formally charged."

Al Jazeera English - News - Somalia's Rivals Launch Peace Talks Somali government officials and exiled opposition leaders are holding talks in an attempt to find a way to resolve one of Africa's most entrenched conflicts. The talks in neighbouring Djibouti on Saturday will include seven members of the transitional government of Nur Hassan Hussein, the Somali prime minister, and seven opposition leaders.