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US Judge authorizes sale to Elliott of Citgo parent shares
The sale of shares of Citgo Petroleum, the Venezuelan-owned parent company of Citgo Petroleum, to Elliott Investment Management was approved by a U.S. Judge on Saturday. This follows his approval this week of the $5.9 billion offer from the company at a court-organized bid to pay Venezuelan-related creditors. The sale order is a major legal step that wraps up a two-year auction to pay 15 or more creditors for defaults on debt and expropriations. Citgo Holding, Citgo's parent company, was found liable by the Delaware court for Venezuela's debt. This opened the door to over a dozen other creditors joining the auction. A court officer who was overseeing the auction had recommended Elliott's Amber Energy earlier this year, after recommending an offer by Gold Reserve, a rival bidder. This change led to a flood of objections, challenges and complaints against Amber's bid. Judge Leonard Stark in Delaware overruled them. Venezuela and other parties to the case have announced that they will appeal Stark’s decision to confirm Amber's bid. In his order, Judge Stark stated that "the consideration provided by the purchaser under the stock purchase contract is fair, reasonable, and adequate consideration for the PDVH share and constitutes a price adequate for the purchase of PDVH's shares under the Sale Procedures Order." If the transaction is successful, more than a half-dozen creditors will receive the proceeds of the auction. Amber announced earlier this week that the sale would close in 2019 pending regulatory approvals and U.S. Treasury Department approvals. These creditors include ConocoPhillips, Crystallex, Rusoro Mining and industrial conglomerates O-I Glass, Koch and O-I Glass. The judge stated that the buyer would not be liable for Citgo, Venezuelan oil company PDVSA or the Republic after the sale. The judge said that the buyer would not be liable for Citgo's ultimate parent, Venezuelan oil company PDVSA or the Republic.
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How would Venezuela's military react to an attack by the US?
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that on Saturday airspace surrounding Venezuela and above it should be "closed completely", but he did not give any details. Washington is continuing to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Trump has said repeatedly that U.S. attacks on alleged drugs boats in the Caribbean, Pacific and South America, which have claimed the lives of more than 80 people could lead to land action. He has also held a phone call with Maduro, and discussed the possibility of a U.S. trip by Venezuela's president. WHAT ARE VENEZUELA'S MILITARY CAPABILITIES? Six sources familiar with Venezuelan capabilities claim that the U.S. army dwarfs Venezuelan's. Venezuelan forces are crippled by low wages, a lack in training and outdated equipment. Even though Maduro has been in power since 2013 and enjoys military loyalty, rank-and file soldiers only earn $100 per month in local currency. This is less than a fifth of the amount that studies estimate an average family would need to cover its basic needs. According to sources, desertions could increase if the U.S. military attacks. Venezuelan troops have primarily faced unarmed civilians in street protests. Maduro claimed that 8 million civilians were training to be militia members, but a source said only a few thousand intelligence personnel, supporters of the ruling party and militia members would actually participate in defensive action. Lacking is the military equipment, which is mostly Russian and old. Caracas purchased 20 Sukhoi jet fighters in the 2000s. However, they are considered inferior to U.S. B-2s. Venezuela also has outdated Russian helicopters, tanks, and shoulder-fired rockets. How would VENEZUELA respond to an attack? Sources and documents viewed by us show that Venezuela is planning to mount a guerrilla resistance or create chaos if the U.S. launches an air or ground assault. High-ranking officials have referred to the response publicly, but without providing details. They refer to it by calling it "prolonged opposition", which would involve small military groups at over 280 locations committing acts of sabotage or other guerrilla techniques. Venezuela's 5,000 Russian Igla missiles have been deployed. Maduro praised them recently on Venezuelan state television. Sources said that military orders were given for units to disperse in different locations and hide if an attack occurs. Sources say that the second strategy, which is called "anarchization", and which officials are not aware of, uses intelligence services to use armed supporters of the ruling party in order to cause chaos in Caracas, and thus make Venezuela ungoverned. DO YOU KNOW IF THERE ARE OTHER ARMED ACTORS IN VENEZUELA? The National Liberation Army, a Colombian guerrilla force, operates in the western part of Venezuela. This area is also the center for coca cultivation, the main ingredient of cocaine. Often, supporters of the ruling party, collectives or colectivos as they are also called, mobilize on motorcycles in order to face protesters. Sometimes they are armed. Venezuelan opposition groups and NGOs as well as Washington and certain Latin American governments accuse Maduro of having ties with drug trafficking organizations, which are also accused by some of violence. The Venezuelan government denies any such links, and claims that the U.S. wants to change the regime in Venezuela so as to control its vast oil reserves. (Reporting and Editing by Alexander Smith).
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Church leader: Nigerian abductors killed a priest after one month of captivity
The head of the Church of Nigeria confirmed that an Anglican priest who was kidnapped last month in the northwest of Nigeria has died in captivity. This comes as Nigeria is reeling from a wave of abductions and murders which has drawn the condemnation of Washington. Archbishop Henry Ndakuba stated that Venerable Edwin Achi was killed after spending a month as a captive. He had been taken with his wife, daughter and son from their Kaduna home on October 28. In a late-Friday statement, Ndakuba stated: "With deep sorrow, we announce that our beloved priest... was brutally killed after suffering a month long abduction." The church reported that gunmen demanded at first a ransom payment of 600 million Naira (416,00) to release Achi, but later reduced it to 200,000,000 Naira. His wife and his daughter are still in captivity. Police in Kaduna have not responded to any requests for comments. The killing occurs amid a wave kidnappings across northern Nigeria. Armed gangs kidnapped 25 schoolgirls from Kebbi State on November 17, and days later more than 300 students and staff from a Catholic School in Niger State, prompting the closure of schools in several states. Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, ordered the recruitment and cancellation of foreign trips in order to deal with what he termed a "national crisis." These attacks have also caused international concern. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, called Nigeria's situation "a disgrace". He warned that Washington would halt its aid and even take military action against Nigerian authorities if they failed to stop violence against Christians. Ndakuba called on the government and security services to "identify the treacherous sponsors and financiers, and enablers" of the wave of terror and demanded the immediate release Achi's daughter and wife.
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Russian drones and missiles injure 11, kill 1 in Kyiv
Russian drones, missiles, and explosions caused fires in Kyiv's districts early Saturday morning, according to officials. One person was killed and 11 others injured. This was the second attack in four days on the Ukrainian capital. On Tuesday, seven people were killed when Russian forces fired a barrage with drones and missiles. Tymur Tkachenko said that six locations in Kyiv, a city of three million people, were struck by explosions on Saturday. Apartment buildings and other dwellings were also affected. The military administration reported that the remains of a resident were recovered from the rubble in an apartment building which had been set on fire. The same building was also the site of a child's rescue. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of the city of Kiev, said that a strike also caused a fire to start in the lower levels of an apartment building west of the centre. A second fire was also quickly put out in the central district. After 5 am (0300 GMT), a new alert was sent out in the capital for drones approaching. Online pictures showed an apartment building on fire, and emergency crews working in the streets and alongside damaged buildings. (Reporting and editing by Ron Popeski, Diane Craft, Tom Hogue and Chris Reese)
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Rosneft, Russia's oil company reports 70% drop in nine-month net profit
Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, reported a 70% drop in net income from January to September, falling by $3.57 billion or 277 billion Russian roubles. The company attributed the decline to high interest rates and cheaper oil, as well as a stronger rouble. Shell and TotalEnergies have seen their quarterly profits fall due to lower oil prices. Rosneft stated that the increased "anti-terror" security was putting additional pressure on its results. The company didn't elaborate on specific security measures. Ukraine has increased drone attacks against Russia's energy infrastructure. Rosneft reported that its revenues dropped 17.8% to 6.29 trillion rubles in the first nine-month period of the year. The high key interest rate of the Bank of Russia continues to negatively impact the profit. Rosneft also said that non-monetary factors and special events had a negative impact on the indicator's dynamic during the reporting period. EBITDA (earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization) decreased by 29.3% for the period to 1.6 trillion Russian roubles.
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Petrobras cost-cutting could affect new wells in the Equatorial Margin Region
Petrobras' CEO stated on Friday that the company could reconsider some of its 15 planned wells in the "Equatorial Margin" because Brent oil prices will likely remain low for the next few years. Petrobras has cut its investment plans for the period 2026-2030 by $500 million up to $2.5 billion. Magda Chambriard, Petrobras' Chief Executive Officer, said at a recent press conference that "we had a large number of wells in the Equatorial margin; some were prioritised, while others were, say, deprioritized based on the Brent crude oil price." She did not specify how many wells would be examined. Petrobras is drilling in an environmentally sensitive region off the coast Amapa, known as Foz do Amazonas. Fernando Melgarejo, the Chief Financial Officer of Petrobras, told journalists that the company's cuts would also affect the extraordinary dividends paid to shareholders. He said the likelihood of distributing extra cash is low in the future. Chambriard stated that despite the cuts, Petrobras will maintain its oil production around 2.6 or 2.7 millions barrels per day up until 2034, after ramping it back up in 2027. Petrobras' new business plan expects it to reach a peak oil production level in five years. Reporting by Fabio Téixeira and Marta Nogueira from Rio de Janeiro, writing by Andre Romani and editing by Kyrry Madry and Paul Simao
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Silver sets new record for silver; gold heads to fourth consecutive monthly gain
Gold spot rose 1% on Friday to a new two-week-high, amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in the coming months. Silver also hit a record high. Gold spot was up by 1.3% at $4,210.94 an ounce as of 03:11 pm EST (20:11 GMT) after hitting its highest price in November 13 earlier this morning. Bullion is expected to rise 5.2% for the month and 3.6% for the week, marking a fourth consecutive increase. Silver reached a new record high at $56.78 an ounce. This is up 6.1% in the session, and 16.6% over the course of the month. After an outage that lasted for several hours at CME, trading in foreign exchange, commodities and futures, including Treasuries, stocks, and Treasuries, resumed around 8 a.m. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery settled 1.3% higher, at $4.254.9 an ounce. INVESTORS FOCUS ON FED Bart Melek is global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. He said that some investors are returning to gold because they believe the Federal Reserve will cut rates. Gold is more likely to perform well when interest rates are low. The recent dovish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, and New York Fed president John Williams, coupled with the softer economic data after the recent U.S. Government shutdown, has strengthened expectations that central bank rates will be cut next month. The traders now see 87% of a chance that the rate will be cut in December. This is up from 50% just last week. Jim Wyckoff is a senior analyst at Kitco Metals. He said that "the technical charts have become more bullish over the last week or two, which has encouraged chart-based investors to bet on the long side of silver." This week, gold demand in major Asian markets was muted as high prices slowed retail purchases despite the beginning of India's festive season. The removal of the tax exemption for gold purchases in China has slowed consumer demand. Palladium gained 0.8%, to $1450.16, and is set to gain 5.6% for the week. Platinum rose 4%, to $1672.50. (Reporting from Bengaluru by Pablo Sinha; Additional reporting by Sarah Qureshi, Editing by Rod Nickel and Paul Simao; Vijay Kishore).
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Silver sets new record for silver; gold heads to fourth consecutive monthly gain
Gold spot rose 1% on Friday to a new two-week-high, amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in the coming months. Silver also hit a record high. Gold spot was up 1.6% at $4,222 an ounce as of 01:44 pm EST (18.44 GMT), the highest price since 11 November. It was also set to gain 3.9% per week. Bullion is on course to record a 5.5% increase this month and is set for its fourth monthly gain. Silver reached a new record high at $56.52 an ounce. This is a 5.5% increase for the session, and a 16% gain for the entire month. After an outage that lasted for several hours at CME, trading in foreign exchange, commodities and futures, including Treasuries, stocks, and Treasuries, resumed around 8 a.m. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery settled 1.3% higher, at $4.254.9 an ounce. INVESTORS ARE FOCUSED UPON THE FED Bart Melek is the global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. He said that some investors are returning to gold because they believe rates will be cut by the Federal Reserve. Gold is more likely to perform well when interest rates are low. The recent dovish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, and New York Fed president John Williams, coupled with the softer economic data after the recent U.S. Government shutdown, has strengthened expectations that central bank rates will be cut next month. The traders now see 87% of a chance that the rate will be cut in December. This is up from 50% just last week. Jim Wyckoff is a senior analyst at Kitco Metals. He said that "the technical charts have become more bullish over the last week or two, which has invited chart-based investors to be on the long side of silver." This week, gold demand in major Asian markets was muted as high prices curbed the retail buying of the precious metal despite India's wedding season. The removal of the tax exemption for gold purchases in China has slowed consumer demand. Palladium rose 0.5%, to $1.445.20, and is set to gain 5.2% for the week. Platinum was up 3.2% at $1,659.83. (Reporting from Pablo Sinha, Bengaluru Editing done by Rod Nickel and Paul Simao)
Three people killed in wildfires across southern Europe; thousands forced to evacuate
On Thursday, hundreds of firefighters battled against wildfires in southern Europe. Some of the fires are believed to be deliberately set by arsonists. They were also stoked due to an extended heatwave that gripped the region.
The European Union has sent reinforcements to Greece and Spain in order to combat fires that have caused the deaths of three firefighters and destroyed homes, buildings, and large areas of farmland and forest. This forced thousands of people from their homes.
In the Mediterranean, hot and dry summers are common. Scientists say that wildfires, fanned and accelerated by heat and wind, are becoming more destructive and difficult to control.
Firefighters from Portugal, Spain, Albania, and Greece all struggled to contain the towering walls that threatened life and property. According to the European Forest Fire Information System, the Iberian Peninsula alone accounted for about half the EU's total burned area this year of around 500,000 hectares (1 931 square miles).
More than 200 firefighters in Greece were assisted by 11 aircraft to put out a fire near the western Peloponnese port city of Patras. Temperatures that were high fueled tinderbox conditions.
Giannis Kefalogiannis, Minister of Civil Protection and Climate change in Greece said that a single spark can cause a fire to quickly spiral out-of-control.
A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that three people were arrested for allegedly deliberately starting wildfires in the area of Patras. They are expected to appear Thursday before a prosecutor.
This year, Greece made available to the public a record-breaking number of firefighters.
RAGING INFERNO
Three people in Spain, including volunteer firemen, were killed in wildfires in the midst of a heatwave that lasted for 11 days, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius in some places.
Local media reported that Jaime Aparicio was the 37-year old victim who had suffered burns on 85% of his entire body. He and another volunteer firefighter were trapped while they tried to create firebreaks using brush cutters.
On Thursday, eleven large fires threatened developed areas. This forced authorities to evacuate more than 9,000 residents and cut off the roads and rail service.
Nearly 1,000 firefighters in Portugal battled a fire near the picturesque mountain village of Piodao. Crews were able to control a wildfire that had been burning in the mountains of Vila Real for 11 days, the longest fire this season.
Soldiers, firefighters and volunteers in Albania, backed by helicopters and a Canadair firejet, fought to control separate fronts between Delvina & Gjirokastra, after days of raging blazes damaged dozens homes and burned agricultural land.
Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Egypt, said that 137 arsonists had been identified and arrested since June.
Clirim Conku is a 61 year old farmer from southern Albania who lost his vineyards, his olive groves, and all of his livestock to a wildfire. He was only relieved that he and his dog had survived.
"I used everything to put out the fires. This napkin saved my life by fighting the smoke. "I put some water on the napkin, but it was more wet with sweat," said he.
Some were angry that their lifetime's work had been wiped out in a matter of minutes.
Dimitris daskas, Dimitris's restaurant owner, who owned a business near Patras and broke his arm trying to save it, was without power or water as the fires approached.
He said: "My wife called (emergency service) to tell them we were on fire, but they didn't pick up." Reporting by Louiza Viradi in Patras; David Latona, in Madrid; Andrey Khalip, in Lisbon; Fatos Bityci, in Tirana. Additional reporting by Daria Sucic, in Sarajevo. Writing by Angeliki Kooutantou. Editing by Bernadette B. Baum.
(source: Reuters)