Africa

Sudan's army claimed that its anti-aircraft system intercepted drones on Wednesday, which were targeting the largest naval base of the country in Port Sudan, the country's wartime capital. There were explosions heard in the city. It was not immediately known if they were near Flamingo's base. Port Sudan was the target of days of attacks, including drone strikes reported by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. These assaults have destroyed the country's largest fuel depots as well as its main humanitarian aid gateway. Port Sudan has enjoyed relative peace since the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023 between the...

The International Court of Justice dismissed Sudan's claim that the United Arab Emirates were fueling genocide by supplying arms to paramilitary groups in Darfur, saying they lacked jurisdiction. Sudan complained to the U.N.'s highest court that the UAE violated the Genocide Convention in Darfur by supporting paramilitary groups, but the UAE said it should be dismissed. The court agreed with the UAE arguments on Monday, rejected Sudan's demand for emergency measures, and ordered that the case be removed. A summary of the ruling stated that due to the lack jurisdiction, "the court's statute prohibits it from taking any positions on...

Two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday that eight OPEC+ nations will meet on July 7 to decide whether they want to increase oil production by a greater amount or if they prefer to do it at a slower pace. Originally, the meeting was scheduled for Monday. The reason for the early start was not immediately apparent. Saudi Arabia demanded a higher-than-planned increase in output from the eight member countries for May. This decision helped to lower oil prices below $60 per barrel, reaching a four-year low. The group now expects to increase output by 411,000 barrels a...

The International Monetary Fund announced on Thursday that it expects the Middle East and North Africa economy to grow only 2.6% by 2025, as uncertainty stemming a trade war in the world and lower oil prices are weighing on this region. The new projection was a significant downgrade from the October projection, which predicted 4% growth. This comes at a time when the region is grappling with geopolitical tensions and a softer external market. In an interview, Jihad Azour said, "Uncertainty can impact real economy, consumption and investment... All these elements have led to a softerening of projections." The direct...

Angola runs stress tests to assess the impact of a drop in oil prices on the government's finances, said Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa on Friday. She added that this situation makes a request for a loan program from the IMF more likely. After U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs, Brent oil futures briefly fell below $60. This was the lowest level for four years. The contract closed at $66.91 per barrel on Friday. Daves de Sousa said in an interview at the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington that "we are rolling out stress tests...

Sudan informed the International Court of Justice that the United Arab Emirates violated the Genocide Convention on Thursday by supporting paramilitary groups in Darfur. The UAE, however, argued that the case should not be heard as the court lacks jurisdiction. Sudan requested that the judges issue an emergency order to prevent the attacks of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other Arab militias in West Darfur in 2023, which were documented by. The United Arab Emirates are complicit in the genocide of the Masalit, according to Sudan's acting Justice Minister, Muawia osman. The UAE have repeatedly dismissed Sudan's case...

The major Gulf stock markets rose early on Tuesday following gains in Asian stocks, recovering from a global selling off on hopes that the United States would be willing to negotiate its high import tariffs. Saudi Arabia's benchmark Index advanced 2% on track to extend gains made in the previous session. This was led by Al Rajhi Bank's 2.3% increase and Saudi National Bank's 2.1% rise. Saudi Aramco, the oil giant, rose by 1.2%. The Saudi index fell 6.8% on Sunday, its largest one-day drop since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. A survey revealed that the non-oil...

South Sudan has refused to accept its repatriated nationals. Many in Africa are concerned that the country may return to civil conflict. The Trump administration in the United States has taken aggressive steps to increase immigration enforcement. This includes repatriating people who are deemed to have entered the U.S. unlawfully. The Administration has warned countries who do not quickly return their citizens to face sanctions, such as visa restrictions or tariffs. South Sudan failed to adhere to the principle of? South Sudan had failed to respect the principle that? ? Rubio stated that the United States Department of State will...

In a video message released on Saturday, Sudanese Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said that he would crush the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. He reaffirmed the commitment of the military to restore national unity and stability. Burhan said that fighters who "repent of the truth" and lay down their weapons, especially those in rebel-held regions, could still receive amnesty if they do so. On Saturday morning, the army announced that it had taken over a large market in Khartoum’s twin city, Omdurman. The RSF had used the market to launch attacks against civilians during the devastating war of two years...

The reported house-arrest of Riek Makar, the former bush leader who later became South Sudan's first Vice President, marks a new chapter in the turbulent relationship between him and his rival President Salva Kiir after a five year civil war. Both men are now in their 70s. In 2013, they launched a war that resulted in hundreds of thousands deaths as the newly-independent nation was split along ethnic lines, with Kiir leading Dinka forces and Nuer fighters who were allied with Machar. The war was ended in 2018 with a peace agreement, but the bitter rivalry between them cast a...

Investors are waiting for clarity about U.S. president Donald Trump's policy on trade ahead of the looming tariffs. Trump's recent comments have given traders hope that trade policies can be flexible. He hinted on Monday that not all tariffs will kick in until April 2, and that certain countries may receive exemptions. However, he did not provide any details. Trump escalated his trade conflict by introducing secondary tariffs of 25% on countries who buy oil or natural gas from Venezuela. The move caused oil prices to rise initially, but its impact was mitigated later by the relief brought about by...

According to a summary shared by a source in the market, Nigeria's Dangote refinery released a tender Tuesday for 128,000 metric tonnes of residual fuel oil to be sold in April. Summary showed that the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd), Dangote refinery, will close its tender on Wednesday, 1200 GMT. It is looking for buyers of 88,000 tons low-sulfur straight run fuel oil, and 40,000 tonnes of slurry for loading between April 10-12. The refinery didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. According to IIR, Dangote's 204,000 barrels per day gasoline production unit will be shut down for 30...

Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Mining, said that the Canadian company spends $15 million per month to run its Mali mine. He also stated that he doesn't know where the Mali government keeps the gold they confiscated from Barrick. Bristow, in an interview with the authorities of the West African country, said that the government had reneged on an agreement at least three times and referred to the imprisonment of Barrick workers in the nation as a violation of human rights. Bristow stated, "You have four senior executives from Western companies incarcerated. This can only be described as a human...

Two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday that Guinea had begun a process of withdrawing Emirates Global Aluminium’s mining license in the West African country. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), which is owned equally by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala, and Dubai sovereign fund Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), operates one of Guinea's largest bauxite mining operations through its Guinea Alumina Corporation subsidiary. The company is in a dispute over the customs duty with the Guinean government since October of last year, when the authorities suspended its bauxite mining and export operations. We have withdrawn the mining license of...

Two people who were familiar with the incident said that the attack took place over the weekend in the Kayes area. The convoy was transporting heavy equipment from Bamako, the capital of Mali, to Allied Gold Sadiola Mine. The attack highlights the increased security risks and costs that mining companies in Sahel-led states, which are struggling to contain Islamist militants groups, face. Attacks on mining equipment are rarer than attacks on government or military convoys in Mali. Fortuna, a Canadian gold mining company, announced this month that it had recently decided to leave Burkina Faso's neighbor Mali due to increased...

Fortuna Mining, a Canadian company, is looking to expand into Guinea, after leaving Burkina Faso where it was plagued by regulatory instabilities and high security costs due to jihadist threats. Ganoza stated that Fortuna is currently not established in Guinea but is actively looking for gold-mining opportunities. They are conducting site visits, meeting with the authorities and visiting mining sites. Jorge Ganoza, in a video call, said: "We would consider investing in Guinea today." He said that a portion of the growing exploration budget of the mining firm will be allocated to Guinea, where there is "a lot of space...

The U.S. Department of Defense has transferred control of an artificial intelligence program created by the U.S. Government that predicts the supply and prices of critical minerals to a non profit organization, which is assisting miners and manufacturers in striking supply deals. The Open Price Exploration for National Security AI Metals program, launched by the U.S. Department of Defense in late 2023, is an effort to counter China’s sweeping control of critical minerals, as reported last summer. Rob Strayer is the president of the Critical Minerals Forum, which includes more than 30 mining firms, manufacturers, and investors, including Volkswagen. They...

Sumitomo Corp, a Japanese trading company, forecasted a record-breaking net profit of $4 billion for the current fiscal period and set aside financial buffers to protect against any negative effects of U.S. Tariffs. Sumitomo reported a net profit of 562 billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March. This was up 45.4% compared to a year ago and beat analysts' expectations, which were 554.2 billion. The strong performance in non-mineral resource segments, including real estate, is credited with this. Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s company, is a major minority shareholder of Sumitomo, as well as other Japanese trading companies, such...

A government agency announced on Wednesday that Ghana had reached an agreement with nine additional mining companies for the purchase of 20% of their production. The deal is part of a larger gold purchase program to increase Ghana's gold reserves as well as stabilize its currency. In 2022, the Central Bank of Ghana signed an agreement to buy 20% of annual production from Gold Fields, Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Asanko Mining, members of an industry group including Gold Fields. The central bank of Ghana settles all purchases in Ghanaian cedis. Bank of Ghana gold reserves rose from 8.77 tons to...

The West African nation's gold trading regulator announced on Tuesday that three Indian nationals were arrested on suspicion of running a gold smuggling ring. Authorities believe the gang has been smuggling tons of gold out of Ghana for more than a decade. GoldBod spokesperson said that the three plead guilty to their charges and will be held in custody until May 12th, when a hearing is scheduled. Smuggling is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars worth of gold in Ghana and other African countries every year. In March, the country created a new government agency called GoldBod to...

The rebel-appointed governor of South Kivu Province said that at least 10 people died in the collapse of a goldmine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Since January, M23 rebels have taken control of the two largest cities in east Congo. This is an intensification of a longstanding conflict that has its roots in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the struggle to control Congo's vast minerals resources. In a joint statement, the Congolese government and M23 made a commitment Released on Wednesday After talks in Qatar, there is a glimmer hope that the violence will stop. Douglas Dunia Masumbuko...

In a Thursday statement, the U.S. Trade Rep Jamieson Greer said that he and his Vietnamese counterpart had a productive meeting in which they both agreed to make rapid progress in reciprocal trade. Greer and Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Han Dien spoke Wednesday and "instructed [their] teams to engage in technical discussion in the coming days in order to discuss efforts on expanding market access and addressing unfair trade practices," according to the statement. The statement stated that "Both sides agreed it is important to make rapid progress toward reciprocal and equal trade between the United States...

Eramet, a French mining company, maintained its full-year production targets on Thursday despite lower manganese and Nickel volumes which contributed to flat sales in the first quarter. The company reported quarterly sales adjusted to 742 million euros (842 million dollars) and said that sales volumes at its manganese mining in Gabon were down 15% on an annual basis due to a strike by workers and logistical issues at Owendo Port. Eramet, the Indonesian nickel ore miner, attributed this decline to destocking of local processing plants. The Chairwoman and CEO Christel Bories also attributed the "more difficult" than expected first quarter...

Sources from both camps said that the delegations representing Congo's Government and Rwanda-backed M23 Rebels left Qatar without immediate plans to return after failing to make significant progress in a ceasefire. M23's unprecedented march since January has seen it seize the two largest cities in eastern Congo and raise fears of a regional war. Qatar mediated a surprise meeting between the Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi, and Rwandan president Paul Kagame last month. The two leaders demanded a ceasefire during this unexpected sit-down. The goal was to have direct talks between M23 and the Democratic Republic of Congo this month. Sources...