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Europe, Africa oil markets tighten, lending support to futures

Europe, Africa oil markets tighten, lending support to futures

RED Sea shipping delays and OPEC+ supply cuts are tightening physical oil markets in Europe and Africa as well as the Brent crude market structure, lending further support to oil futures prices, according to traders, LSEG data and analysts. A sustained rise in crude prices would lift energy, transportation and manufacturing costs and threaten to unwind some of the recent falls in global inflation, just as major central banks are expected to begin cutting interest rates. On Thursday, the benchmark Brent crude futures market structure hit its most bullish since October. The premium of the first-month contract to the six-month…
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Russian emigres gather across Europe to mourn Navalny, denounce Putin

Russian emigres gather across Europe to mourn Navalny, denounce Putin

HUNDREDS of protesters, many of them Russian emigres, gathered in cities across Europe and beyond to express their outrage over the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Often gathering outside Russian embassies, they chanted slogans critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom they blamed for the activist's death, holding up signs calling him a "killer" and demanding accountability. Putin's most formidable domestic opponent, Navalny fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, prison authorities said. In Berlin, a crowd of 500 to 600 people, according to police estimates,…
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How an election-packed 2024 could swing world markets

How an election-packed 2024 could swing world markets

COUNTRIES making up over 60% of the world's economic output and more than half of its population hold elections this year. Markets face a "ballot box bombshell", financial services group Morningstar says, adding: "Prior experience of this kind of event risk shows big changes can cause sell-offs". Here's a look at the elections that matter for markets, in roughly chronological order for the coming year. 1/ TAIWAN Date: Jan 13 Back story: Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is competing mainly with the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) for the presidency and legislature. A DPP win would be the third consecutive victory for a…
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African fruits exports boom

African fruits exports boom

AFRICA is enjoying increased fruit exports to Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia, helping to fill a growing supply gap occasioned by low harvests in those markets, helped by increased production methods and yields across the continent. According to the EU Citrus Semi-Annual Report, the production of citrus fruits in Europe is expected to decrease by 10% in the 2022/23 season, with Spain experiencing the largest decline, and African producers are stepping in to fill the gap. The combined impact of insufficient spring rains, a warmer summer and drought experienced up to May 2023, the report said, have compromised the…
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Pope, in Hungary, warns of rising nationalism in Europe, appeals for accepting migrants

Pope, in Hungary, warns of rising nationalism in Europe, appeals for accepting migrants

POPE Francis, starting a trip to Hungary, pointedly warned of the dangers of rising nationalism in Europe and told the Budapest government that accepting migrants along with the rest of the continent would be a true sign of Christianity. In a hard-hitting speech to government leaders including Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has had a series of run-ins with the European Union, Francis also urged a rejection of "self-referential forms of populism" and strictly nationalist interests. Francis called for a return to the "European soul" envisioned by those who laid the groundwork for modern Europe after World War Two, saying…
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Europe outsourcing asylum to African countries is a terrible idea – there are alternatives

Europe outsourcing asylum to African countries is a terrible idea – there are alternatives

FOR 40 years, western governments have entertained ideas of outsourcing asylum processing and refugee hosting to the global south. It is not a new idea. And neither are the controversies that have accompanied it. Denmark and the UK have been in the news over this issue recently. In January 2023, however, after fierce domestic criticism, the new Danish government announced it had paused its negotiations with Rwanda to bilaterally “transfer” all asylum seekers out of Denmark. Instead, it suggested building an EU alliance to do the same. This step appeared at odds with the criticism of the Danish plans from…
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Europe eyes Africa as ‘future source of cheap green hydrogen’

Europe eyes Africa as ‘future source of cheap green hydrogen’

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AFTER Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 set off a rush for gas resources worldwide, Europe picked Africa as an alternative supply market for natural gas, European energy ministers and other political leaders toured North African countries and gas initiatives in both East and West Africa received renewed support. Now, Europe is setting its sight on Africa’s yet-to-be-developed green hydrogen industry, in what appears to be an early race to build up clean energy resources, part of a major, continued transition away from fossil fuels. European Union and individual countries and companies have begun…
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West African footballers battle to fit in while making it in Europe – two share their ups and downs

West African footballers battle to fit in while making it in Europe – two share their ups and downs

GROWING up, many young Africans nurse the ambition of playing football professionally in Europe and becoming superstars. The BBC reports that about 260 million people in Africa follow the English Premier League. Dreams, for some, do come true, and a few have succeeded in making the journey to Europe. According to Football Benchmark, African players – most of them from west Africa – make up about 6% of the total player base of the 11 most prominent leagues in Europe. But it’s a difficult road, with ups and downs. Author IKECHUKWU EJEKWUMADU, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Sports Science, University of…
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Africa looks to football to accelerate tourism, grow talent in Africa

Africa looks to football to accelerate tourism, grow talent in Africa

BIRD STORY AGENCY MORE African countries are seeking to leverage their tourism potential while simultaneously developing sports by partnering with football clubs across Europe. Malawi is the latest country to strike deal with a European club, signing with Spanish Segunda División club, CD Leganes, to make the country a rotating main sponsor for the club. Under the partnership, officially launched on January 22 before a match against Levante UD at the Butarque Municipal Stadium, "Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa" will appear on the front of the first team's kits during matches and in media backdrops. According to CD Leganes…
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Wildfires rage in France and Spain as heatwaves sear Europe

Wildfires rage in France and Spain as heatwaves sear Europe

LAYLI FOROUDI and SERGIO GONCALVES WILDFIRES raged in southwestern France and Spain, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe. More than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday morning as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, regional authorities said in a statement. "We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde, told a news conference. Wildfires have torn through France in…
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