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President says Congo will not "auction" mineral resources to US
The Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi stated on Monday that the peace agreement signed in June with Rwanda, mediated by the United States, has not helped calm down fighting in eastern Congo. He thanked President Donald Trump however for his efforts to end this conflict. On June 27, U.S. mediators brokered a peace deal between Congo & Rwanda, aiming to end the support Washington and U.N. expert say Kigali gives M23 rebels. The Trump administration said that it was eager to put an end to the fighting which has claimed thousands of lives this year, and to attract Western investment of billions of dollars to a region with tantalum and gold deposits, as well as cobalt and copper. This month is the deadline for implementing part of the U.S. agreement. Tshisekedi, a reporter in New York told reporters that despite his support for U.S. mediation, "it does not mean we will auction off our mineral resources." He said, "As part of this partnership we will be working on the development of mining sectors, the value chain and infrastructure, with an emphasis on energy." Officials in Congo say that the success of this deal depends on Rwanda ending its support of M23. Kinshasa has accused M23 of committing atrocities against civilians in the east. M23 denies allegations that it has attacked civilians, and Rwanda has denied its involvement in M23 for years. M23's forces are said to be acting out of self-defense. Tshisekedi stated that "Rwanda pretended to withdraw its troops, but in reality, they are increasing support for M23." Qatar facilitated a surprise meeting between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi in March. The two leaders demanded a ceasefire. This led to direct negotiations between Congo and M23. However, the two sides failed to meet their August 18 deadline for a peace deal. M23 wants the prisoners released before any further talks can be held. A Congolese official involved in the negotiations said that prisoners would only be released once an agreement was signed. Tshisekedi stated that there have been positive developments on the possibility of a prisoner exchange. He said, "In fact, we're waiting for the Red Cross approval to move forward with the exchange." (Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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Chile's Corfo agency prepares lithium contracts in advance of SQM and Codelco deal
Corfo, the Chilean agency for economic development, announced on Monday that it had submitted to the comptroller’s office terms of a modified leasing agreement with lithium producer SQM until 2030 and a new lease 2031-2060 for a joint-venture between SQM ad state copper producer Codelco. SQM is expected to complete a partnership with Codelco this year on the Atacama Salt Flat in northern Chile, which will be the first significant foray of the state into lithium production. Corfo, the company that leases mining rights on the Atacama flats, announced in a press release that the board of directors approved the final contracts last week. Included in these contracts are lease payments and contributions tied to the lithium price. Contributions will be given to local governments, Indigenous communities and other organizations to encourage investment and fund developments. The contracts will also include stronger environmental requirements regarding clean energy and water usage. Corfo said it will continue to offer its preferred pricing program to companies who wish to produce lithium products in Chile. Corfo said that it would lead a “monitoring table” for representatives of Indigenous Communities to track the promises made by SQM or Codelco. In a separate press release, Codelco said that the new Corfo contract will ensure continuity of operations, environmental standards, and respect for local communities. After other countries have approved the partnership, China's antitrust regulators must still approve it. This is the final condition for the deal to be completed.
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Sources say 24 people were killed in explosions near the Afghan border. The victims are mostly civilians.
Two government officials and residents of the area said that on Monday, four explosions in the northwestern Pakistan, near the Afghan border, killed at least 24, the majority of them civilians. There are conflicting reports about the explosions. Residents in the area said that Pakistani fighter planes bombed four homes. However, two security officials denied that this had happened, claiming there were explosions at a munitions depot in a militant hiding place. Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, the officials spoke under condition of anonymity. The Pakistani Army's Public Relations wing has not responded to a comment request. The Pakistani Army conducts regular operations in the area to eliminate militants who operate both on the Pakistani and the Indian side of the border. Officials from the Khyber District said that the incident occurred in the Tirah valley, a remote area of the district, where residents protested the event and buried the bodies. According to a press release from his office, the provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said that civilian deaths in such incidents were "tragic and condemnable" and that "civilian injuries as a result of actions against terrorists are unacceptable." The statement didn't specify the type of action or who was involved. Khyber District, located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, is in an unstable region near Afghanistan's border. Islamist militants have long occupied this area. Citing local sources, the officials stated that four militants resided in one of those houses destroyed. They said the rest of those killed were civilians. Mohammad Ali Shinwari, a resident of the area, said that at least 12 children had been killed. He said that residents from nearby villages had reached the area in the middle night and removed the bodies. His office reported that the chief minister had announced a compensation of 10,000,000 Pakistani Rupees ($35.300) per civilian killed in this incident. It did not specify how many civilians were killed. In the region, a number of islamist militant groups are active. Long have the militants fought against state in order to overthrow it and replace it by their own strict Islamic governance system. Recent militant attacks on the army have increased, including two that took place on September 13 and killed 19 soldiers.
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Nigeria's economy records its fastest growth rate in four years
Nigeria's economy grew by 4.23% on an annual basis in the second quarter. This was its fastest pace in four years. The increase in oil production and improved performance in industry and agriculture were major factors. The statistics agency released the data on Monday, the second time that it has rebased the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in order to capture structural changes in the economy of Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria's average daily oil output increased to 1.68 million barrels (bpd), up from the 1.41 million bpd recorded in the same quarter in 2024. The oil sector grew by 20.46% annually. In the second quarter 2025, agriculture grew by 2.82% compared to last year while industry grew by 7.45%. Bismarck Rewane is a prominent economist who said that the increased growth rate this year was partially due to the rebasing process earlier in the year. He said that the rebasing has allowed for the current economic reality to be reflected in the GDP. Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, has tried to boost economic growth and strengthen public finances through cutting subsidies. He announced last month that he would be promoting a new economic growth rate of 7% annually The target is higher than the 6% that he set when he assumed office in 2023. Nigeria's economy grew by 3.13% year-over-year in the first quarter 2025. LSEG data shows that the last time it registered a quarterly GDP growth greater than 4% was in 2021.
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Mutual aid networks are growing as Trump cuts disaster response.
In November, the Trump panel will offer reform recommendations The cities would struggle to replace federal funds Mutual aid networks report a growing response. By Carey L. Biron Her neighbors were also in the same situation - if there were any doors left over after the storm of September 2017, which caused 3,000 deaths and $115 billion worth of damage. Aviles-Vazquez stated that it felt like residents of the U.S. island territory were all alone, but they also had each other. She said, "I could hate the neighbor but we couldn't get through this if we didn’t help one another." Over the next few months, residents built mutual assistance networks and cleared roads, checked up on distant neighbors, and stabilised homes. It became a chain, said Aviles-Vazquez. He is the founder of Agroecology Institut, which empowers farmers. As climate change impacts have increased, hyperlocal responses and preparedness for natural disasters has gained more attention. Now that President Donald Trump is looking to reduce the federal government's role in disaster preparation and response, the focus has increased even further. In his first few days as president, Trump published a critical review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A panel will make recommendations for reforms by November. Experts are worried that the panel may raise the threshold for requesting assistance or eliminate the agency altogether. FEMA employees warned last month that the cuts were already having "cascading" effects on their agency's response capabilities. Abigail Jackson, White House spokesperson, said in an email the FEMA's over-sized role had "created a bureaucratic bloat that disincentivised state investment in resilience." She wrote that Trump wants to empower the "state and local government by enabling them better understand and plan for their citizens' needs, and finally address those needs." "PERIOD of Uncertainty" FEMA's purpose today is in large part a result of Hurricane Katrina, which was the most devastating natural disaster to hit the United States, and when the government response was criticized as being too slow. Sara McTarnaghan co-leads the work on climate change and communities at the Urban Institute. She said that FEMA is now focusing on encouraging local communities to develop pre-disaster preparedness, especially in poorer areas. She said that the future is uncertain. "I have a lot of sympathy for the emergency planners at state and local levels. McTarnaghan stated that we are in an uncertain period and it is not clear yet what responsibilities will be required. McTarnaghan, her colleagues and themselves found that the Trump administration's proposed changes - like halting federal aid for snowstorms- would result in more than 70% disasters no longer receiving presidential emergency declarations. SBP, an organization that assists communities in recovering from disasters and helps them identify their priorities, develop plans, and raise money, works with local governments across nine states. Reese May is the chief strategy and innovation office at SBP. She said that many Americans live in small and medium-sized towns where disasters are a possibility. However, their government has limited resources and cannot go to these communities to get information on their risks. 'LIKE WILDFIRE' Local and volunteer groups report a surge in interest and demand for their services. Team Rubicon was formed to aid in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. It has grown from just a few volunteers to over 200,000 today. Jeff Byard is the senior vice president for operations. "We do lots of hard, physical labor - repairing homes, removing debris," he said. "We want be the last ones out and first ones in." Byard stated that Rubicon has increased its local work to prepare for funding and capacity gaps in the wake of federal reforms. KD Chavez is the executive director of Climate Justice Alliance. This national network, which includes about 100 organizations, has said that communities are becoming more organized and recruiting volunteers as a result of natural disasters. The alliance has developed a "brigade model" to receive disaster warnings directly from the field, and then respond with a surge of resources. Chavez stated that "one of the deepest benefits of the Alliance is that we mobilize a lot of people on the ground when we're in the waiting period." Organizers of another national group, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief say that its decentralized community response network includes hundreds of people who are in communication channels and working groups, and thousands of general volunteers. It has also supported pop-up clinics and community air filter programs. Devin Ceartas is an organizer with Triangle Mutual Aid in North Carolina, who participated in the Hurricane Helene response last year. He said that mutual aid spreads like wildfire when people are passionate about it. It's a magical thing. "People truly come alive." He said that Triangle Mutual Aid saw a surge in interest, with 500 new volunteers joining the organization after new floods hit the state in late July. Ceartas hopes to take advantage of the momentum and make preparations, such as building crews or getting licensed to operate radio communication equipment. Ceartas stated that "there's nothing FEMA can provide that's not already available and that people couldn't give each other."
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Report finds that Europe will have over 62 700 heat-related deaths by 2024.
According to a study published on Monday in Nature Medicine, more than 62 700 people will die in Europe due to heat-related deaths in 2024. The majority of these deaths will be women and elderly people. Researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), who collected daily mortality data from 32 European countries and estimated that over 181,000 people would die from heat-related complications during the summer months 2022-2024. The mortality rate between June 1 and 30 September 2024 increased by 23% compared to the same period one year prior, but the number of deaths remained just below 67,900 in 2022, which was the first year studied. Tomas Janos is the lead author. He said, "This number tells us that we need to start adapting our population." The hottest summer on record in Europe According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the summer of 2024 will be the hottest ever recorded in Europe. In Southern Europe, two-thirds were estimated to have died. Italy, with Europe's highest proportion of elderly people, experienced the highest death toll in each summer. The Italian Society for Emergency Medicine reported that emergency room admissions in some regions rose up to 20 percent during the peak temperatures of this year. This indicates that the country still struggles with heat risks for the elderly. Alessandro Riccardi said that patients who were already frail or suffering from multiple illnesses required more hospital care. This increased the pressure on hospital services as it happens during influenza outbreaks. Heat warnings are increasingly issued by European health authorities when temperatures will likely meet the official definitions for a heatwave, which vary from one country to another. Janos said, however, that heat-related deaths are noticeable for some populations at temperatures as low 24 degrees Celsius (75.2degF). Protecting yourself from heat should be a 'essential medicine' Gerardo Sanchez is a member of the World Health Organization expert group that has been rewriting the heat health guidelines. He said the data on heat related deaths should be matched with long-term investments to improve Europe's built-in infrastructure and access cooling. Sanchez said that heat protection is essential for those who need it most. ISGlobal admitted that it underestimated the number of heat-related deaths in 2022 and 2023. The figures were based on weekly records and not daily ones. They revised their estimates upwards. Reporting by Alison Withers, editing by Barbara Lewis
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Ecuador prison riot leaves 14 dead, 14 wounded
According to the local police chief, a prison riot in southern Ecuador caused by gang violence on Monday resulted in 14 deaths and 14 injuries. William Calle, the police chief of Ecuavisa TV, said that prisoners in Machala port town, south from Guayaquil fought with authorities and killed a guard while kidnapping other officers. Calle stated that "from the inside, they were firing, throwing bombs and grenades." He added that 13 prisoners have been captured so far. Calle said that after about 40 minutes the authorities had regained control of prison. In recent years, hundreds of prisoners have been killed in prison riots. The government of President Daniel Noboa has pledged to crackdown on crime and attributes the clashes between gangs fighting for control and territory. (Reporting and writing by Alexandra Valencia, Editing and proofreading by Sarah Morland).
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Climate Week NYC: UN Climate Leader urges action to match the promises
Climate Week NYC speakers sent a message loud and clear to world leaders Monday. The global energy transition has begun and is accelerating. The U.N.’s top climate official began a morning session of the annual event with a call for the world to convert promises into concrete solutions. Simon Stiell is the executive secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climate change has become an existential threat for countries like Antigua and Barbuda, so the premier of Antigua-Barbuda called on wealthy counterparts. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua-Barbuda said: "It turns every storm for small islands into a financial catastrophe." Leaders pressed to show climate progress even as aid is cut This week, world leaders will be pressed by the U.N. General Assembly to demonstrate progress in climate change. This is especially true after recent cuts in development aid. Wealthy countries are also juggling war and economic stability. G20 members Japan, Australia, and Britain recently announced new climate plans or Nationally Determined contributions (NDCs). This week, China and other countries will likely share their latest updates. John Podesta - former climate advisor for U.S. president Joe Biden - said, "We look now to China, as the world's largest emitter, to fully embrace the Paris Agreement that it helped to craft by releasing an NDC that charts a realistic path to China's goal of achieving net zero emissions before 2060." This means that by 2035 they will have reduced their emissions by roughly 30%, covering all greenhouse gasses, compared to the peak levels of 2024, as new data shows. BENEFITS FROM CLEAN ENERGY BOO 'NOT SHARE BY ALL.' Stiell took the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the progress made in the past decade, with COP30 being held in November. He said that the clean energy transition was booming in almost all major countries, and it had reached $2 trillion in value last year. But this boom is not even. Stiell stated that the vast benefits of this boom are not distributed equally. Climate disasters continue to hit every economy and society harder. We need to act quickly." He said that a new global program called Build Clean Now will help accelerate the clean-industry shift. On Monday, a group that promotes renewable energy announced plans to invest $7.5 billion into green energy in developing nations, including India. CLIMATE CHANGE IS STILL A "Systemic Risk" WORLDWIDE Climate change is a systemic risk that affects the entire world, regardless of political debates, differences in regulations across markets, deregulations emerging and reports about corporations deprioritizing ESG. This was stated by Omar Ali, EY Global Financial Services Leader. Last week, the High Seas Treaty was ratified by countries, establishing the first legal framework to protect the vast ocean zones that are beyond national jurisdiction. The treaty includes 75 points that cover areas like protecting, caring for, and ensuring responsible usage of marine resources. It also contains a provision requiring environmental impact assessment for economic activities taking place in international waters. Director general of WWF International Kirsten Schuijt described it as a "monumental accomplishment for ocean conservation," and "a catalyst for collaboration in international waters." (Reporting and editing by Bernadette B. Baum; Additional reporting and editing by Valerie Volcovici, Virginia Furness and Simon Jessop)
Gold's record rally: Who's keeping it moving?
Gold prices reached a record of $3,532 an ounce on February 2, extending the rally that has seen them rise by more than 90% since 2022. The demand is expected to be robust for a while due to various factors. The main drivers are central bank purchases, strong investment demand visible in the inflows of physical gold exchange traded funds and the upending of Western Security Policy by U.S. president Donald Trump, as well as his trade wars and concerns over the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Will central banks continue to buy more?
Metals Focus estimates that central banks will buy 900 tonnes of gold this year, double the average annual purchase of 457 tons between 2016-2021. After Western sanctions frozen half of Russia's foreign currency reserves by 2022, developing countries are looking to diversify away from the dollar. According to World Gold Council, a trade body, the official numbers reported to the International Monetary Fund represent only 34% the total central bank gold consumption estimate for 2024.
In 2022-2025 they will account for 23% of the total annual demand for gold, which is double the share in the 2010s.
Will the drop in the jewellery sector continue? According to the WGC, demand for gold jewellery, which is the primary source of physical consumption, dropped 14% in the second quarter 2025 to 341 tonnes, its lowest level since the pandemic-ravaged third quarter of 2010. High prices discouraged buyers.
WGC estimates that high prices were the main cause of the decline. The majority came from China and India, whose combined share of the market fell below 50% only for the third time in five years. Metals Focus estimates that gold jewellery production will fall 9% in 2024 to 2,011 tonnes and experience a 16% decline this year.
DO PEOPLE STILL PURCHASE SMALL GOLD COINS AND BARS?
The retail investment market has seen a significant shift in consumer preferences, but overall purchases remain strong. According to the WGC's report, investment demand for gold bars increased 10% by 2024 while coin purchases fell 31%. This trend is expected to continue into this year.
Metals Focus anticipates a 2% increase in net physical investment this year, to 1,218 tonnes. The demand for metals remains strong in Asia amid positive expectations about prices.
Can gold ETFs attract more inflows?
According to the WGC, gold ETFs are now a major source of demand. They recorded inflows of 397 tonnes in the period between January and June, which is their biggest first-half inflow since 2020.
The total gold ETF holdings at the end June reached 3,615,9 tons, the highest since August 2022. Five years ago, their record was 3,915 tonnes. Metals Focus anticipates a net investment of 500 tons in ETPs by 2025, after seven tons inflows in the year 2024.
(source: Reuters)