US oil futures drop below $0 for the first time

US oil prices have dropped to their lowest level in decades as concerns over coronavirus eclipsed a deal to cut output. The May Futures for the benchmark fell to less than $1 a barrel. Global demand has plummeted due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. Early last month, major oil producers met in Vienna to figure out how to keep prices stable

Taliban Oil

The little-known story of secret negotiations between the Taliban and the US to build a pipeline through Afghanistan.

In 1989, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan marked the end of a violent occupation that had started almost 10 years earlier. The Soviet invasion, which had resulted in a protracted war for independence, fragmented the country and changed the political landscape forever.

The sudden power vacuum of the post-Soviet era resulted in an upsurge of fighting as armed factions began to push for more territory.

In the North, people gathered around the Northern Alliance and its leader Ahmed Shah Masood, who was known as the "Lion of Pansjer".

The Battle for Venezuela

The Big Picture examines the present-day crisis in Venezuela by exploring the divisions rooted in its past.

Venezuela is gripped by crisis. Economic collapse and political meltdown have devastated a country that was once the wealthiest in the region, and still, today boasts the world's largest oil reserves.

Latin America's once 'model democracy' now struggles to maintain order and feed a divided people.
But the seeds of its current demise were sewn a century ago, when the events of its formative years ensured that the fate of Venezuela would be written in oil.

As the country developed into a functioning "petrostate", other vital elements of its modernisation were left distinctly under-developed.

Can OPEC still control the oil market?

Cartel members are debating whether to extend a deal to reduce output.

The discussion was held in Kuwait, but its outcome could affect the entire world.

Oil producing countries are considering further cuts in output to try and force prices higher.

Ministers from both OPEC and non-OPEC countries met in Kuwait City on Sunday to review progress on an agreement, made in December, to cut production for six months. 

They are due to meet again in April to decide if they want to extend that deal.

Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates all expect further production cuts.

Will OPEC's deal to cut production work?

OPEC member nations agreed to cut oil output at a meeting in Vienna, which could mean lower supplies and higher prices.

Oil cartel OPEC has agreed to cut production for the first time in eight years.

Analysts say lower supplies will push oil prices higher.

Non-OPEC member Russia has also agreed to reduce its output for the first time in 15 years.

But there was pushback from countries worried about revenues falling in the short term. Therefore, the deal will not affect all OPEC countries equally.

Top producer Saudi Arabia is trimming production by 486,000 barrels a day. 

Its output will now be just over 10 million barrels a day. Iran has agreed to freeze output at close to current levels of 3.8 million barrels a day.

Americans under the gun: NRA and the gun business

As gun ownership rises in the US, we look at how attempts to rein in gun violence are benefiting gun makers.



The National Rifle Association (NRA) is holding its annual convention in the United States. It's both a trade show for conventional shooting and hunting, but also a massive political and social event. In an election year and with more and more shootings happening in the US, it takes on extra significance.

Guns kill 33,000 Americans every year, and yet the number of guns being bought in the US continues to rise. A climate of fear has led to there now being more guns - approximately 300 million - than people in the entire country.

President Barack Obama's efforts to introduce stricter gun control has had little impact, partly because the NRA uses the billions it receives from gun manufacturers to block legislation.