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Kenyans protest the death of a blogger and one person is killed
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, saw one death on Tuesday as protests were sparked after the death of a journalist in police custody. The death has sparked accusations of extrajudicial killings committed by security forces. The journalist found the body of the man on the ground, with a head wound that was bleeding. The cause of his death and who he was were not known. Muchiri Nyaga, Kenya's Police spokesperson, said that he did not know of the death. Albert Ojwang, a 31-year old blogger and teacher who died on June 8, was the victim of a protest that began a year earlier when proposed tax hikes sparked it. Kenya's chief of police apologized after an autopsy revealed that Ojwang died from assault. Police fired tear gas as demonstrators marched through the streets of Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday. Unidentified motorcyclists also fought with protesters and dispersed them, a journalist reported. The local broadcaster NTV showed a video of bikers shouting, "No protests." Amnesty International Kenya's chapter posted on X about the presence of dozens motorbikes, with two hooded riders whipping protesters. The bikers could not be identified immediately. William Ruto, the President of Kenya, said that Ojwang died "at police hands" last week. He called this "heartbreaking" and "inacceptable." Stop Killing Us Ojwang's arrest was part of a probe sparked by a formal complaint made by Eliud Lagat. Kenyan broadcaster Citizen TV reported that demonstrations also broke out in Kenya's second-largest city Mombasa, on Tuesday. The channel showed protesters holding placards with slogans such as "Stop Killing Us" and "Ruto Must Stop Killing Us." Last week, hundreds demonstrated in Nairobi against the death of a blogger. Police fired tear gas and set vehicles on fire. Lagat, deputy chief of police, announced on Monday that he has temporarily stepped down pending completion of the investigation into Ojwang’s death. In connection with this investigation, two senior officers, a closed circuit television technician and another officer were arrested. (Additional reporting from Edwin Waita. Humphrey Malalo. Edwin Okoth. Thomas Mukoya. Writing by Elias Biryabarema. Editing by Bernadette B. Baum. Andrew Cawthorne.
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Pictet fined for money laundering by Switzerland
The Swiss Attorney General's Office handed a former wealth management at Pictet Bank an eight-month prison term with a suspended sentence, and fined the bank for money laundering during a Petrobras investigation. Pictet has been ordered to pay $2,5 million for failing to take reasonable and necessary steps to prevent transfers made from a Brazilian official's account to conceal their criminal origin. The Swiss government announced this in a press release. Since years, Swiss prosecutors are working to identify assets in a massive international corruption case involving the Brazilian state-run Petrobras and bringing forward prosecutions. Pictet issued a statement saying, "We confirm this matter has been resolved. It involves several financial institutions." The private bank said that the action "represents neither an admission or an acceptance of responsibility on the part Pictet, and does not relate to its asset-management, asset-service or alternative assets entities." The payments were made from a bank account in the name an offshore company whose owner was a Petrobras worker between June 2010 and may 2013, the Swiss government stated. The government said that the former Pictet Manager approved transfers of assets originating from corrupt payments made for the operation and maintenance of oil rigs. These assets totaled over $4.1 million. The government claimed that Pictet's incompetence was responsible for the alleged aggravated money-laundering. The so-called Car Wash investigation in Brazil, also known as Lava Jato in Portuguese, began with the arrest in 2014 of a currency trader and grew into the biggest corruption scandal in the country, where hundreds of officials, politicians, and executives were convicted.
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China builds up a crude-oil war chest amid Middle East tensions, says Russell
China continues to accumulate crude oil stocks, despite the fact that it refines less crude oil than it can produce or import. The world's largest oil importer can now buy less in the coming months, as prices rise due to Middle East tensions. Calculations based on data from the Chinese government show that the surplus crude in China reached 1.4 million barrels a day (bpd), the third consecutive month where it was above the 1,000,000 bpd mark. Since June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, Tehran has responded with missiles and drones. Brent futures have risen almost 6% in the last week since the end of June, to around $73.58 per barrel on Tuesday. Refineries in China have responded to rapid increases in crude oil prices by reducing their imports or using stored oil. Due to the two-month lag between cargoes being arranged and their delivery, any reduction in China's imports is likely to be noticeable only from August. China's ability to reduce imports and lower prices is not dependent on the crude oil price. China does not reveal the volume of crude oil flowing in or out of its strategic and commercial stockspiles. However, an estimate can still be made by subtracting the amount processed from the total crude available through imports and domestic production. According to data released by the government on Monday, refiners processed 13.92 millions bpd during May. This is down from 14.12million bpd recorded in April, and 1.8% less than one year ago. In May, crude imports fell to 10.97 million barrels per day (bpd) from 11.69 in April. Domestic production rose slightly to 4.35 in May from 4.31 in April. After subtracting the refinery output of 13.92 millions bpd, the total crude oil available for refiners is 15.32 million barrels per day. This leaves a surplus of about 1.4 million barrels per day. The surplus crude was 990,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first five of the year. This is up from 880,000 barrels per day for the first four. China's refiners used up their inventories for the first time since 18 months in the first two-month period of 2025. They processed about 30,000 barrels per day more than they could get from crude imports or domestic production. The massive surpluses of March, April, and May have reversed this earlier draw. Not all this excess crude has likely been stored, as some is processed in plants that are not included in the official data. Even if you ignore the gaps in official data, there is no doubt that since March China has imported crude oil at a rate far greater than what it requires to meet its own domestic fuel needs. Imports, Prices The strong crude imports that LSEG Oil Research expects to arrive in June of 11,72 million bpd is a good indication of the price-sensitive nature of China's refiners. The increase is due to the decline in crude oil prices since the cargoes for June would have been purchased. Brent futures fell from a six week high of $75.47 per barrel on April 2, to a low of $58.50 per barrel, a four year low on May 5. This prompted Chinese refiners sucked up cargoes. The majority of these shipments are expected to arrive in June and early July, giving the impression that China's demand for crude oil is improving. The weak numbers for refinery processing show that China may be storing crude. Due to the high prices due to Middle East tensions it is likely that refiners would also cut their purchases and seek discounted oil from sanctioned suppliers such as Russia and Iran. You like this column? Check out Open Interest, your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of a columnist, who is also an author.
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Wall Street futures fall as Mideast conflict continues
U.S. index futures fell on Tuesday, as the Israel/Iran conflict entered its 5th day. This dampened global investor confidence in advance of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision regarding monetary policy. The air war between Israel and Iran, which began Friday with Israel attacking Iran's nuclear facility, has raised fears that it could cause bottlenecks in oil exports to the oil-rich Middle East. Energy stocks in the United States rose in premarket trade as oil prices continued to rise due to uncertainty. Chevron, Exxon, Occidental Petroleum, and Devon Energy all gained 0.7%. The rise in oil prices coincides with the Fed's decision to maintain interest rates on Wednesday. According to CME Group’s FedWatch, money market traders have priced in 49 basis points in rate cuts by 2025. There is a 59% probability of a rate cut of 25 bps in September. At 7:04 am. At 7:04 a.m. ET, Dow E Minis were 221 points lower, or 0.5%, S&P E Minis were 30.75 points lower, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq E-minis had fallen 120 points or 0.55%. The key data for today includes retail sales by month and import prices, scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The U.S. Senate Republicans released late Monday proposed changes to the President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cut bill, which had passed through the House of Representatives earlier this year. Goldman Sachs strategists wrote in a report that the Senate's tax bill looks similar to the House version, but will likely cost more in the long run. Solar stocks dropped after Senate changes to Trump’s tax-cut legislation revealed that solar, wind, and energy tax credit credits would be phased out by 2028. Enphase Energy shares, which make solar inverters fell 16.8%. Solar panel suppliers Sunrun and SolarEdge Technologies both dropped by 28.3%. First Solar lost nearly 12%. The shares of nuclear power companies have risen after the Senate extended credit for nuclear energy until 2036. Oklo and Nano Nuclear Energy both rose by 2.8%. A rise in U.S. Treasuries, as investors seek out traditional safe-havens amid increased geopolitical unrest, has pushed down yields across the curve. The yields on the benchmark 10-year dropped about 4 basis points, to 4.41%. Eli Lilly, among other players, fell 0.9% following its agreement to purchase Verve Therapeutics up to $1.3 Billion. Verve shares soared by 77.1%. T-Mobile dropped 4.8% after Japan’s SoftBank raised $4.8 Billion from the sale of 21,5 million shares of the wireless carrier at $224 per share, according to a Term Sheet Review
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Indonesian Prabowo will hold talks with Putin in order to cement the'strategic relationship'
The Indonesian president Prabowo will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in order to discuss ways to strengthen what their respective foreign ministers described on Tuesday as an expanding strategic partnership. Sergei Lavrov said that during a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono in Moscow, Putin would meet Prabowo on Thursday in St Petersburg. This week, Russia will host its annual economic conference in a northern city. At the forum, Putin gives his keynote address and is usually joined by a foreign leader. Lavrov stated that Russia and Indonesia should work to strengthen their defense, security, maritime and trade ties. He said that Rosatom, the state-owned nuclear corporation of Russia, was ready to assist Indonesia in building an atomic energy station. The two countries could also hold joint military drills. Sugiono, a reporter in English, said: "This is actually a demonstration of how Indonesia views its relationship with Russia strategically and of importance." Sugiono said that Putin and Prabowo have "chemistry," and suggested they deepen and develop their relationship "into a partnership strategic." Lavrov stated that the trade between Russia and Indonesia is worth nearly $4.5 billion per year. He added that both bilateral trade and investments should be increased. Indonesia was admitted as a full BRICS member earlier this year. Indonesia in the last year Report dismissed In Janes, a defence publication, it was reported that Russia asked Australia to base its military aircraft in Papua (its easternmost province) after Australia expressed concern about the issue. Papua lies about 1,200 km north of Darwin, Australia. Guy Faulconbridge (Writing) Editing Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Osborn
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Mali begins construction on a gold refinery backed by Russia
Mali started construction on a new gold refinery, backed by Russia, Monday. The West African nation's military chief said that the project would bring it closer to gaining control of its natural resources. The 200-ton facility will be built by a partnership between the Russian Yadran Group, and a Swiss Investment Company. Mali holds a majority stake in this project. Mali's interim President Colonel Assimi goita stated last year that under a revised code of mining, all mining companies would be required to process gold in-house. He did not provide a deadline. This reflects a wider regional shift that extends across the Sahel. Guinea, Niger, and Burkina Faso all revised their mining codes in order to mandate local processing. They have added value to their exports, and are maximizing the economic benefits from their resources. Goita, at the ceremony to mark the opening of the new plant outside Bamako, said that Mali has exported gold for refinement and sale since 1980. This is a waste of money that could have been used to develop the economy of our country. The government hasn't given a date for completion. It will convert all the gold produced in Mali before export into dore bars. Yadran's President Irek Slikhov echoed the comments of Goita at the ceremony, saying that the refinery would become "a regional centre for processing gold extracted from Mali and neighboring countries, such as Burkina Faso". West Africa, despite being a major producer of gold, lacks a globally certified and functional gold refinery, despite Ghana's efforts to build one, which is the continent's leading gold producer. The refinery is part Goita's mining reforms, which have been implemented since the military leader took power in 2021. Since then he has severed all relations with Western partners. Mali's revised mine code has scared investors, just like the codes of its neighbours Guinea and Burkina Faso. This month, a Malian court placed the Loulo-Gounkoto complex of Canadian gold miner Barrick under temporary state control. The move escalated a dispute between Mali and Barrick over tax claims. Goita stated that the refinery will allow Mali to track its gold exports and production better. Due to the lack of traceability and certified gold refineries, Mali loses billions in gold smuggling. (Reporting and writing by TiemokoDiallo&IdrissaSangare; Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Editing by Jessica Donati & Jan Harvey).
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Fico, Fico: Slovakia close to deal with US Westinghouse nuclear reactor
Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, said that a deal is being finalized with Washington to build a nuclear reactor by Westinghouse in central Europe. Slovakia plans to increase its nuclear energy capacity over the next few decades in order to meet increasing demand. Last year, the government approved plans for a state-owned unit that will be operational by 2040. Fico said at a press conference that an agreement was being drafted between the Slovak government and the U.S. government and that his Government was awaiting the U.S. final position. He said that as long as the agreement is signed, the American company Westinghouse can build a nuclear power unit for the Jaslovske bohunice nuclear plant. It is a big investment. "We are talking about a brand new unit that has a 1,250 megawatt output." He didn't say how much the contract would be worth. The Slovakian economy ministry estimated last year that costs could reach 10 billion euro ($11.57 billion). Slovenske Elektrarne has completed Unit 3 of the Mochovce nuclear plant, which is a 472 MW unit. By 2023, Slovakia's annual electricity consumption will surpass its production. Slovenske Elektronne is owned by Czech holding company EPH, with the state owning 34%. The company is currently constructing another reactor on the same site, and operates two 505MW units at its Bohunice facility. $1 = 0.8645 Euros (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton in Prague)
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Gunmen kill 100 people in Nigeria, leaving behind charred corpses and shattered lifes
Fidelis Adidi was chased out of Yelwata, a village in central Nigeria by gunmen who attacked at night. He returned the next morning to find one of his wives and four children charred. The two had been living together in a room that he had rented at the market to protect them from the clashes in the Middle Belt area of the country between farmers and cattle herders. Amnesty International reports that the attack, which began Friday night, resulted in around 100 deaths in the Benue town. The 37-year old told the audience that his body was weak and that his heart kept racing as he stood in the hallway, assessing the damage. "I lost five members of my family." In a separate room, the blackened remains of farm equipment and food were piled up next to bodies that had been burned beyond recognition. The authorities have been struggling to control the violence, which has simmered over years due to competition for land and ethnic and religious divisions. Bola Tinubu, the president of Nigeria who has been in office for two years, is scheduled to visit Benue tomorrow. The National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria said that it worked with aid agencies to assist at least 3,000 people who were displaced due to the violence on a border area where the predominantly Christian north meets the majority Muslim northern part. When the attackers arrived on Friday night, Talatu Agauta fled to Markudi, the capital of the state, and was pregnant with her second baby. She returned home over the weekend and found that 40 bags of rice had been burnt. The blow was devastating, but it wasn't enough to make her leave her home. She said, "I'm glad I came back. I don’t care if I die in this place." (Writing and editing by Andrew Heavens; MacDonald Dzirutwe)
WGC survey: Central banks prefer gold to dollar as reserves
A survey by the World Gold Council showed that central banks expect to see their gold reserves as a percentage of their reserve increase in the next five year while their dollar reserves will be reduced.
Gold demand has increased significantly in the last three years, despite gold's price record-breaking rally. Gold reached an all-time record price of $3,500.05 per ounce in April. This is up 95% from February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
WGC's survey was conducted between February 25 and may 20 and 73 central banks responded. 76% expect their gold to be higher five years from now compared to 69% last year.
Nearly three quarters of respondents expect dollar-denominated reserve levels at central banks to fall in five years, compared with only 62% last year.
WGC stated in a press release that "gold's performance during crisis times, portfolio diversification and the hedging of inflation are some key themes" driving plans to acquire more gold in the next year.
WGC reported that central banks had accumulated over 1,000 metric tonnes of gold each of the past three years. This was a substantial increase from the average of 400-500 tons in the previous decade.
WGC stated that "this marked acceleration of the pace of accumulation occurred against a background of geopolitical uncertainty and economic insecurity".
WGC's survey shows that 95% of respondents believe central bank gold reserves will rise over the next year. This is up from 81% in the previous survey. The Bank of England continues to be the most popular place for gold reserves.
The survey revealed that 59% of the central banks surveyed cited potential trade conflicts and tariffs as being relevant to their management of reserves.
The council stated that a greater percentage of respondents came from developing and emerging economies (69%) than those who responded from advanced economies (40%)
(source: Reuters)