The coronavirus pandemic and its devastating economic impact on developing countries could fuel fresh interest in so-called diaspora bonds that allow migrants to support their countries of origin, experts from the World Bank and other groups say. Dilip Ratha, the World Bank’s lead economist on migration and remittances, told Reuters …
Read More »Oil price plundge forces Arab, African petro-pegs
Oil’s $30 price plunge this week has sharply increased strains on a number of pegged currencies in energy-exporting emerging markets, above all in Nigeria and Oman where currencies have come under pressure in forward markets. The coronavirus threat to an already fragile global economy and an oil price war between …
Read More »Trump meets with Uighurs in afront to China
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made religious freedom a centerpiece of his foreign policy, met on Wednesday with victims of religious persecution from countries like China, Turkey, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Trump counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters and the State Department is hosting a conference on …
Read More »Lebanese kidnapped by Nigerian gunmen
Gunmen in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers state kidnapped two Lebanese workers helping to build a road, a police spokesman told Reuters on Sunday. The workers were abducted on Friday from a site in the Andoni local government area, Rivers state police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni said. “Some people have been invited for …
Read More »More than 60 killed in Nigeria suicide blasts
Suicide bombers killed more than 60 people at a mosque and a market in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, in a twin attack bearing the hallmarks of Boko Haram and a day after US President Donald Trump pledged greater support to fight the extremists and militants. The blasts, said to have …
Read More »Opec oil cut extended to end of 2018 barring overheating
Opec agreed on Thursday to extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018 as it tries to finish clearing a global glut of crude while signalling it could exit the deal earlier if the market overheats. Non-Opec Russia, which this year reduced production significantly with Opec for the first …
Read More »Blast kills at least 50 at Nigeria mosque
A bombing attack has killed at least 50 people at a mosque in northeastern Nigeria, police say. Police said a teenage assailant detonated his explosives early Tuesday as people were arriving for morning prayers at the mosque in the town of Mubi in Nigeria’s Adamawa State. “So far, we have …
Read More »Suu Kyi silence on Myanmar ethnic cleansing charge draws cool response
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday condemned rights abuses in Rakhine state and said violators would be punished, but she did not address U.N. accusations of ethnic cleansing, drawing cool international responses and calls for action to help minority Muslims. Suu Kyi made the remarks in her first …
Read More »US shale pumping means oil is stuck at $50 for the next two years, wealth manager says
Oil prices are likely to be stuck within a range of $40 to $60 for the next year or more, according to the latest investment forecast from U.K.-based wealth manager Coutts. In its mid-year investment outlook, published Wednesday, the private bank – which is reported to have the U.K. queen …
Read More »Suicide bombers kill two, wound 11 in attack in Niger – U.N.
Bombers killed two people and wounded 11 others at a U.N.-managed camp in Niger housing thousands of people who have fled Boko Haram violence in the first suicide attack in the region in a year, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday. Two women entered the camp in Kabelawa, around …
Read More »Will Boko Haram benefit from Isil allegiance?
By Colin Freeman for THE TELEGRAPH — It may seem unlikely, given their self-publicised appetite for slaughter and mayhem. But like any other high-profile cause, international jihadism is not immune to the charge that standards have slipped over the years. A decade ago, when Osama bin Laden was in charge, he …
Read More »EBOLA CRISIS – Man dies in Saudi Arabia
THE LEVANT – A Nigerian nurse who treated a man with Ebola is now dead and five other people are sick with one of the world’s most virulent diseases after coming into contact with him, the country’s health minister said Wednesday. The growing number of cases in Lagos, a megacity of …
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