<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="517" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416545" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-300x189.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-143x90.jpeg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-768x484.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-1536x969.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund &#8211; World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018. Johannes Christo | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON &#8212; The World Bank lowered its annual global growth forecast for 2022 on Monday by nearly a full percentage point, down from 4.1% to 3.2%, citing the impact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having on the world economy.



World Bank President David Malpass told reporters on a conference call that the largest single factor in the reduced growth forecast was a projected economic contraction of 4.1% across Europe and Central Asia, according to Reuters.



Other factors behind the slowdown in growth from January’s forecast include higher food and fuel costs being borne by consumers in developed economies across the world, said Malpass.



These are partly the result of Western sanctions on Russian energy, which have driven up the price of oil and gas worldwide. Supply disruptions to Ukrainian agricultural exports are also cited as contributing factors to pushing prices higher.



Russia has blockaded Ukraine’s major Black Sea ports, making it extremely dangerous for shipping vessels carrying grain and other products to travel the key maritime pathway connecting Ukraine to the rest of the world.



The World Bank is “preparing for a continued crisis response, given the multiple crises,” Malpass told reporters. “Over the next few weeks, I expect to discuss with our board, a new 15-month crisis response envelope of around $170 billion to cover April 2022 through June 2023.”



This Ukraine crisis financing package is even larger than the one the World Bank organized for Covid-19 relief, which topped out at $160 billion.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-imf-chief-says-fed-rate-hike-could-throw-cold-water-on-global-recovery">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/imf-chief-says-fed-rate-hike-could-throw-cold-water-on-global-recovery/">IMF chief says Fed rate hike could ‘throw cold water’ on global recovery</a></h3>



Still, the damage that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused to the global economy pales in comparison to the catastrophic effect it has had on the economy of Ukraine, and to a lesser extent that of Russia.



Earlier this month, the World Bank projected that Ukraine’s annual GDP would fall by 45.1%, an astonishing figure for a country of more than 40 million people.



Before the war, analysts had predicted that Ukraine’s GDP would rise sharply in the coming years.



Russia’s economy is also taking a major hit, largely due to the impact of NATO- and Western-backed sanctions and trade embargoes.



In early April, the World Bank predicted that Moscow’s GDP would fall 11.2% this year as a result of the sanctions.



Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday insisted that Western powers had failed in what he called their “blitz” campaign of economic warfare against Russia.



After falling sharply in the first weeks of the war, the Russian ruble has recovered much of its value. But economists says this recovery is an illusion created by strict internal currency controls imposed by the Kremlin, which have falsely inflated the value of the ruble inside Russia.

106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report

World Bank slashes global growth forecast to 3.2% from 4.1%, citing Ukraine war

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416491" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P64ABSGIEBNHJMWOUR3LEQZUCU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes questions in Parliament, in London, Britain June 23, 2021. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



DUNGENESS, England, April 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Britain could send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda to be resettled under a new partnership, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday as he outlined measures designed to tackle the problem of cross-Channel migration.



&#8220;We must ensure that the only route to asylum in the UK is a safe and legal one,&#8221; Johnson said in a speech on Thursday in Kent, southeast England, where thousands of migrants in small&nbsp;boats landed on Channel beaches last year.



&#8220;Those who try to jump the queue or abuse our systems will find no automatic path to set them up in our country, but rather be swiftly and humanely removed to a safe third country or their country of origin,&#8221; the Conservative prime minister said.



Anyone who had arrived in Britain illegally since Jan. 1 could now be relocated to Rwanda, in central Africa, which would disrupt the business model of people-smuggling gangs, he said.



&#8220;The deal we have done is unmapped and Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead,&#8221; he said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-uk-s-boris-johnson-in-leadership-crisis-accused-of-lying-about-industrial-scale-partying-during-covid-lockdowns">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/uks-boris-johnson-in-leadership-crisis-accused-of-lying-about-industrial-scale-partying-during-covid-lockdowns/">UK’s Boris Johnson in leadership crisis, accused of lying about ‘industrial scale partying’ during Covid lockdowns</a></h3>



The plan drew swift and strong criticism from opposition parties, with interior minister Priti Patel&#8217;s Labour party counterpart, Yvette Cooper, saying it was &#8220;extortionate as well as unworkable and unethical&#8221;.



Johnson said he knew the plan would be criticised and would face legal challenges, but he promised to do whatever it took to deliver it.



The government said Britain would contribute an initial 120 million pounds ($157.55 million) to the partnership.



A government minister said the plan was focused on single young men. &#8220;This is about male economic migrants in the main,&#8221; Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart told Sky News. &#8220;There is a different set of issues with women and children.&#8221;



Patel was in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday to sign the partnership agreement and presented it at a joint press conference with Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta.



&#8220;When we were discussing this partnership, we assessed our capacity to receive migrants and we know that we have the capacity in a place to receive migrants but we are also investing in infrastructure going forward,&#8221; Biruta said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DISTRACTION</h2>



Opposition lawmakers said Johnson was trying to distract from the renewed calls on him to resign after being fined by police on Tuesday for attending a gathering for his birthday in June 2020 when social mixing was all but banned under COVID-19 rules his government had introduced.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WA2LC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Last year, more than 28,000 migrants and refugees made the crossing from mainland Europe to Britain. The arrival of migrants on rickety boats has been a source of tension between France and Britain, especially after 27 migrants drowned when their dinghy deflated in November.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2SF51X&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;Before Christmas, 27 people drowned, and in the weeks ahead there may be many more losing their lives at sea, and whose bodies may never be recovered,&#8221; Johnson said.



&#8220;Around 600 came across the Channel yesterday. In just a few weeks this could again reach a thousand a day.&#8221;



In criticising the plan, the Labour party&#8217;s Cooper cited the cost of Australia&#8217;s policy of holding asylum-seekers in offshore camps, saying Australia Refugee Council figures showed it had cost the equivalent of 1.7 million pounds per person.



The head of a refugee advocacy group said the plan flew in the face of the principle of granting asylum seekers a fair hearing on British soil.



&#8220;I think it&#8217;s rather extraordinary that the government is obsessing with control instead of focusing on competence and compassion,&#8221; Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, told BBC radio.



($1 = 0.7617 pounds)



(Reporting by Michael Holden, Paul Sandle and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Catherine Evans and Tomasz Janowski)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes questions in Parliament, in London

Britain reaches deal to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="555" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-820x555.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413198" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-820x555.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-1536x1039.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>PARIS, FRANCE &#8211; DECEMBER 19: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva is welcomed by General secretary of the presidency Alexis Kohler as she arrives at the Elysee Presidential Palace prior to a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on December 19, 2019 in Paris, France. Kristalina Georgieva is the new Managing Director of the IMF, she took office on October 1, 2019. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Washington, DC:&nbsp;The Heads of the World Bank Group&nbsp;(WBG),&nbsp;International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations World Food Program (WFP), and World Trade Organization (WTO) today called for urgent action on food security. World Bank Group President David Malpass, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, WFP Executive Director David Beasley and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued the following joint statement ahead of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group next week:



“The world is shaken by compounding crises. The fallout of the war in Ukraine is adding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that now enters its third year, while climate change and increased fragility and conflict pose persistent harm to people around the globe. Sharply higher prices for staples and supply shortages are increasing pressure on households worldwide and pushing millions more into poverty. The threat is highest for the poorest countries with a large share of consumption from food imports, but vulnerability is increasing rapidly in middle-income countries, which host the majority of the world’s poor. World Bank estimates warn that for each one percentage point increase in food prices, 10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty worldwide.”



“The rise in food prices is exacerbated by a dramatic increase in the cost of natural gas, a key ingredient of nitrogenous fertilizer. Surging fertilizer prices along with significant cuts in global supplies have important implications for food production in most countries, including major producers and exporters, who rely heavily on fertilizer imports. The increase in food prices and supply shocks can fuel social tensions in many of the affected countries, especially those that are already fragile or affected by conflict.”



“We call on the international community to urgently support vulnerable countries through coordinated actions ranging from provision of emergency food supplies, financial support, increased agricultural production, and open trade. We are committed to combining our expertise and financing to quickly step up our policy and financial support to help vulnerable countries and households as well as to increase domestic agricultural production in, and supply to, impacted countries. We can mitigate balance of payments pressures and work with all countries to keep trade flows open. In addition, we will further reinforce our monitoring of food vulnerabilities and are quickly expanding our multi-faceted policy advice to affected countries guided by the comparative advantages of our respective institutions.”



“We also urge the international community to help support urgent financing needs, including through grants. This should include financing of immediate food supplies, safety nets to address the needs of the poor, and for small farmers facing higher input prices. We also urge all countries to keep trade open and avoid restrictive measures such as export bans on food or fertilizer that further exacerbate the suffering of the most vulnerable people. It is especially important not to impose export restrictions on humanitarian food purchases by the UN’s World Food Program.”



“It is critical to quickly provide support for food insecure countries in a coordinated manner. We stand ready to work together with our multilateral and bilateral partners to help countries address this urgent crisis.”

French President Emmanuel Macron receives Kristalina Georgieva, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director

Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="563" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE-820x563.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416462" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE-820x563.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Service members of pro-Russian troops ride an armoured vehicle during fighting in Ukraine-Russia conflict near a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works company in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko</figcaption></figure>



LVIV, Ukraine, April 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time that Moscow&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, as President Vladimir Putin said Russia would &#8220;rhythmically and calmly&#8221; continue its operation and achieve its goals.



&#8220;Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting,&#8221; Biden told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One on Tuesday.



Biden has repeatedly called Putin a war criminal, but delivering a speech at an ethanol plant in Iowa earlier on Tuesday the U.S. president escalated his rhetoric to accuse Russia of genocide.



&#8220;We&#8217;ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.&#8221;



Russia has denied targeting civilians and has said Ukrainian and Western allegations of war crimes are fabricated.



Many towns Russia has retreated from in northern Ukraine were littered with the bodies of civilians killed in what Kyiv says was a campaign of murder, torture and rape.



Interfax Ukraine news agency on Wednesday quoted the Kyiv district police chief saying 720 bodies have been found in the region around the capital, with more than 200 people missing.



The General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Wednesday briefing that Russian forces were maintaining rocket and bomb attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Kharkiv region in the northeast and the Zaporizhzhia region in central Ukraine. Reuters could not verify the reports.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/afreximbank-sets-up-4-bln-trade-fund-to-cushion-against-ukraine-related-shocks/">Afreximbank sets up $4 bln trade fund to cushion against Ukraine-related shocks</a></h3>



Moscow&#8217;s nearly seven-week long incursion, the biggest attack on a European state since 1945, has seen more than 4.6 million people flee abroad, killed or injured thousands and left Russia increasingly isolated on the world stage.



The Kremlin says it launched a &#8220;special military operation&#8221; on Feb. 24 to demilitarise and &#8220;denazify&#8221; Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext for the invasion.



Putin on Tuesday used his first public comments on the conflict in more than a week to say Russia would &#8220;rhythmically and calmly&#8221; continue its operation, and expressed confidence his goals, including on security, would be achieved.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mocked Putin in an early morning address on Wednesday: &#8220;How could a plan that provides for the death of tens of thousands of their own soldiers in a little more than a month of war come about?&#8221;



Putin said that on-off peace negotiations &#8220;have again returned to a dead-end situation for us.&#8221;



The Russian leader frequently seemed to ramble or stammer. Only occasionally did he adopt the icy, confident demeanour that has been his trademark fopr 22 years in power.



Putin, who had been ubiquitous on Russian television in the early days of the war, had largely retreated from public view since Russia&#8217;s withdrawal from northern Ukraine two weeks ago.



Russian forces have failed to capture one major city and have suffered heavy losses since launching an invasion in late February.



Russia&#8217;s appointment of Army General Alexander Dvornikov as commander of the Ukraine war shows how Ukrainian resistance and Russia&#8217;s ineffective pre-war planning is forcing it to reassess its operations, British military intelligence said on Wednesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-battle-for-donbas-critical">BATTLE FOR DONBAS CRITICAL</h2>



Russia says it now aims to capture more territory on behalf of separatists in two eastern provinces, known as the Donbas, which includes the besieged port of Mariupol.



The assault on the industrial heartland of Donbas sets the stage for a protracted battle that is certain to inflict heavy losses on both sides and will ultimately define the course of the war, analysts said.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WA4VA&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Ukraine says tens of thousands of civilians have been trapped inside Mariupol with no way to bring in food or water, and accuses Russia of blocking aid convoys.



As Russia redoubles efforts in the east, Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai urged residents to evacuate.



&#8220;It&#8217;s far more scary to remain and burn in your sleep from a Russian shell,&#8221; he wrote on social media.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/ukraine-war-unleashes-battle-for-global-south-hearts-and-minds/">Ukraine war unleashes battle for Global South hearts and minds</a></h3>



Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said he had seen incident reports on possible chemical weapons use in Mariupol but could not confirm them.



The United States and Britain have said they were trying to verify the reports. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it was closely monitoring the situation.



Chemical weapons production, use and stockpiling is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.



Russia&#8217;s defence ministry has not responded to a Reuters request for comment. Russian-backed separatist forces in the east denied using chemical weapons in Mariupol, the Interfax news agency reported.



The United States is expected to announce $750 million more in military assistance, two officials told Reuters, likely including heavy ground artillery systems to Ukraine, including howitzers, in a sign the war is expected to drag on.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WA2AH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Steve Holland, DES MOINES, Iowa, Jeff Mason, WASHINGTON and Reuters bureaus; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Stephen Coates &amp; Simon Cameron-Moore)

Z63TKZLGTFLOXPFQ45DXM3R5TE

Biden says Russia committing genocide in Ukraine

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="780" height="511" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/download-36.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415843" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/download-36.jpg 780w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/download-36-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/download-36-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/download-36-768x503.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of pro-Russian militia walks nest to a military convoy of armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk People&#8217;s Republic (LNR) on a road in the Luhansk region, Ukraine February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, April 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;As Russian troops fought in Ukraine last month and the West sought global support for sanctions against the Kremlin, South African left-wing firebrand Julius Malema told a crowd he and his supporters would never turn on Russia after its support in the fight against apartheid.



Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has intensified a global battle for influence that may prove as important as the fighting. It is a confrontation that has seen the Kremlin look to exploit historic relations with emerging states, while the United States and its allies have sometimes struggled to win over the Global South.



The Kremlin has long worked to cement relations with fellow emerging economies of Brazil, India and China, dubbed the BRICs in 2001 by Goldman Sachs. South Africa was formally invited to join that group in 2010, with current president Cyril Ramaphosa echoing recent Russian talking points in blaming the Ukraine war in part on NATO’s eastward growth.



On March 30, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia’s RT television the BRICS would &#8220;be at the centre of a new world order&#8221; after the war was over. Russian media say U.S. attempts to persuade developing nations to join sanctions against Moscow will backfire.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russias-isolation-intensifies-as-ukraine-fighting-rages/">Russia’s isolation intensifies as Ukraine fighting rages</a></h3>



The reality is more complex – particularly amid growing evidence of casualties in Ukraine and targeting of civilian areas. Balanced against that, however, are years of long-running resentment against Western nations, from the invasion of Iraq to support for repressive regimes and trade policies seen as fuelling hardships.



It is a trend that extends beyond the BRICS across the developing world, with widespread scepticism of the West long a part of China’s game plan as it grows its economic and political power there. Russia is looking to exploit that further.



The realities of the Ukraine war, however, are also having an effect. On Thursday, the UN General Assembly voted to evict Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, a significant victory for Ukraine, the United States and European allies. Brazil, India and South Africa were among those nations to abstain despite Russian pressure for a “no” vote, while China voted against.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">DIVIDED SOCIAL MEDIA</h2>



According to Mahmoud Pargoo, research fellow at the Alfred Deacon Institute in Melbourne, nearly 12 percent of Arabic language Twitter posts discussing Russia and Ukraine between Feb. 22 and March 15 also mentioned Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan or the Palestinian conflict, often alleging some form of Western double standards.



A March poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research found 43 percent of Palestinians blamed Russia for the war with Ukraine, compared with 40 percent who blamed Ukraine. However, 57 percent said they believed Western states applied different standards to judge a conflict in Europe compared to that between Israel and the Palestinians.



In Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the food and fuel price spike caused by disruptions to grain and energy supplies is already yielding an economic and political crisis. With both countries increasingly aligned to China, that has produced criticism of the West – but also allegations that recent problems are down to Russia’s military actions and mounting debts to Beijing.



Increasingly blocked from Western internet and TV audiences since the invasion, Russian outlets have been keen to access and fuel these conversations, particularly building on an already strong reach in the Americas. RT en Español has 3.5 million followers on Twitter and 18 million on Facebook, more than their English language RT equivalents.



According to the Atlantic Council think tank&#8217;s Digital Forensics Research Lab, RT en Español and the also Russian state-owned Spanish-language Sputnik Mundo were among the 15 most-shared domains for Spanish posts about the invasion on Twitter, often amplifying Russian conspiracy theories such as that recent massacres were faked by Ukraine.



Analysis by British think tank Demos suggests Russia may have deliberately attempted to influence social media conversations in multiple languages across the developing world, tracking hundreds of Twitter accounts whose activity intensified on either Feb. 24 – invasion day – or March 3, with a crucial UN vote. Most delivered a mixture of retweeted anti-Western and anti-colonialist content with pro-Russia and pro-invasion material.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-targeting-nationalist-leaders">TARGETING NATIONALIST LEADERS</h2>



Identified feeds were in multiple languages including Urdu, Sindhi and Farsi. Others were embedded in networks supportive of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu Nationalist&nbsp;Bharatiya Janata Party&nbsp;and those of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who like his protégé Malema has been an outspoken supporter of Putin throughout the war.



In India, the war has exposed divisions between older and more right-wing Hindu nationalist demographics more likely to have sympathies with Moscow – in part because of its Cold War support for New Delhi – while younger elements are more likely to back Ukraine.



Diplomatic attention on New Delhi has also been intense. Last week, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics Daleep Singh became the latest senior official to visit India, following in the footsteps of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.



Normally a major buyer of Russian arms but not crude oil, India has made it clear it wishes to continue trading with Moscow despite Western sanctions, reportedly buying up oil cargoes at a major discount. But it has not been immune to sanctions – Air India last week announced it was stopping flying to Moscow because it could no longer get insurance.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/ukraine-ready-to-discuss-adopting-neutral-status-in-russia-peace-deal-zelenskiy/">Ukraine ready to discuss adopting neutral status in Russia peace deal – Zelenskiy</a></h3>



Brazil’s government has also been under pressure, including from within its political establishment. A week before the invasion, President Jair Bolsonaro visited Putin in Moscow, saying that the two nations stood in “solidarity” and praising the Russian leader.



Days later, Vice President Hamilton Mourao denied Brazil could remain “neutral” and that it would support Ukraine’s sovereignty, angering the president. On April 6, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said the nations stood “in solidarity” with civilians killed in Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, although it stopped short of blaming Russia.



On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden made his latest call to South Africa’s Ramaphosa, again pressuring him to join a united front on Ukraine. On Sunday, Ramaphosa told a political rally the tone of the call was “warm” – but there was no shift in policy. The battle for international influence is very far from over, and Washington can ill afford to overplay its hand.



*** Peter Apps is a writer on international affairs, globalisation, conflict and other issues. He is the founder and executive director of the Project for Study of the 21st Century; PS21, a non-national, non-partisan, non-ideological think tank. Paralysed by a war-zone car crash in 2006, he also blogs about his disability and other topics. He was previously a reporter for Reuters and continues to be paid by Thomson Reuters. Since 2016, he has been a member of the British Army Reserve and the UK Labour Party.



(Editing by Nick Macfie)

download-36

Ukraine war unleashes battle for Global South hearts and minds

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned Wednesday that Russia’s attack on Ukraine could cause a major hit to the global economy.



“Russia’s actions, including the atrocities committed against innocent Ukrainians in Bucha, are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront to the rules-based global order, and will have enormous economic repercussions for the world,” Yellen told a House of Representatives panel in a hearing on the world’s financial system.



Along with that dour outlook, Yellen said global organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank are working together to provide aid to Ukraine and sanction Russia.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416332" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on “the State of the International Financial System,” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 6, 2022. Tom Brenner | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



She added the White House believes Russia should be cut off from the global financial system in retribution for its “brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”



“It cannot be business as usual for Russia in any of the financial institutions,” Yellen said.



However, she noted that European nations are still reliant on natural gas from Russia, necessitating the need for licensing of Russia-based companies.



Earlier in the morning, the administration outlined a fresh round of sanctions against Russia, including penalties against President Vladimir Putin’s children and prohibitions on new investment in Russia.



Along with the comments on the war, Yellen reiterated the White House’s commitment to the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, stressing vaccine availability and readiness to address outbreaks.

107042716-16492564222022-04-06t144513z_365174978_rc2qht9pqzx5_rtrmadp_0_usa-treasury-house

Yellen warns that war in Ukraine will have ‘enormous’ global economic impact

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="452" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4-820x452.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416317" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4-820x452.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4-300x165.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4-160x88.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4-768x423.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A security guard walks past a montage of old U.S. dollar bills outside a currency exchange in Kenya&#8217;s capital Nairobi July 23, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Afreximbank said on Wednesday it had set up a $4 billion trade finance programme to cushion economies and businesses on the continent against shocks arising from the war in Ukraine, that demand for financing already exceeds the amount.



Cairo-headquartered Afreximbank said its Ukraine Crisis Adjustment Trade Financing Programme for Africa was approved by its board at the end of March.



It said the fund would extend to areas such as oil and metals buy-back financing, commodity export revenue stabilisation and tourism revenue deficit financing.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-new-african-payments-system-for-cross-border-deals-negotiating-with-more-banks">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/new-african-payments-system-for-cross-border-deals-negotiating-with-more-banks/">New African payments system for cross-border deals negotiating with more banks</a></h3>



&#8220;Given the importance of both Russia and Ukraine as sources of crude oil and gas, raw materials and grains, the outbreak of the conflict has wider repercussions on a global scale, including adversely affecting African economies, especially those that rely heavily on grain, fertiliser and fuel imports,&#8221; it said in a statement.



The two countries account for around 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of world corn supplies and 80% of world sunflower oil exports.



The bank said it had already received financing requests exceeding $15 billion.



&#8220;There is some urgency to meet these requests to avoid catastrophic social conditions across Africa and reduce the risk of their morphing into political challenges,&#8221; it said.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Hereward Holland and David Evans)



<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?categories=BUS_SPO_NEWS&amp;id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2022%3Anewsml_L5N2W42VD%3A941238763&amp;languages=ENG&amp;media-types=T&amp;regions=AFR&amp;sources=RTRS#"></a>

P7D3GU2BGZNHDCNT6DEA6AP3D4

Afreximbank sets up $4 bln trade fund to cushion against Ukraine-related shocks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416306" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People wearing protective face masks wait at a bus stop with a display of the current national debt amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Washington, January 31, 2022. Sarah Silbiger | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — Global sovereign debt is expected to climb by 9.5% to a record $71.6 trillion in 2022, according to a new report,&nbsp;while fresh borrowing is also broadly set to remain elevated.



In its second annual Sovereign Debt Index, published Wednesday, British asset manager Janus Henderson projected a 9.5% rise in global government debt, driven primarily by the U.S., Japan and China but with the vast majority of countries expected to increase borrowing.



Global government debt jumped 7.8% in 2021 to $65.4 trillion as every country assessed saw borrowing increase, while debt servicing costs dropped to a record low of $1.01 trillion, an effective interest rate of just 1.6%, the report said.



However, debt servicing costs are set to rise significantly in 2022, climbing around 14.5% on a constant-currency basis to $1.16 trillion.



The U.K. will feel the sharpest effect on the back of rising interest rates and the impact of surging inflation on the substantial quantities of U.K. index-linked debt, along with the costs associated with unwinding the Bank of England’s quantitative easing program.



“The pandemic has had a huge impact on government borrowing – and the after-effects are set to continue for some time yet. The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine is also likely to pressure Western governments to borrow more to fund increased defense spending,” said Bethany Payne, portfolio manager for global bonds at Janus Henderson.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/imf-chief-says-fed-rate-hike-could-throw-cold-water-on-global-recovery/">IMF chief says Fed rate hike could ‘throw cold water’ on global recovery</a></h3>



Germany has already vowed to ramp up its defense spending to more than 2% of GDP in a sharp policy shift since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with committing 100 billion euros ($110 billion) to a fund for its armed services.



New sovereign borrowing is expected to reach $10.4 trillion in 2022, almost a third above the average prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest global borrowing report from S&amp;P Global Ratings published on Tuesday.



“We expect borrowing to stay elevated, owing to high debt-rollover needs, as well as fiscal policy normalization challenges posed by the pandemic, high inflation, and polarized social and political landscapes,” said S&amp;P Global Ratings credit analyst Karen Vartapetov.



The ongoing conflict’s global macroeconomic repercussions are expected to exert further upward pressure on government funding needs, while tighter monetary conditions will increase government funding costs, the report highlighted.



This poses a further headache for sovereigns that have thus far struggled to reignite growth and cut reliance on foreign currency financing, and whose interest bills are already substantial.



In advanced economies, borrowing costs are expected to rise but likely remain at a level that will allow governments time for budget consolidation, S&amp;P said, offering governments time for budget consolidation and focus on growth stimulating reforms.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opportunities-for-investors">Opportunities for investors</h3>



Convergence of monetary policy emerged as a theme during the first couple of years of the pandemic, as central banks cut interest rates to historic lows to help support ailing economies.



However, Janus Henderson noted that divergence is now emerging as a key theme, as central banks in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Canada and Australia look to tighten the policy strings to contain inflation, while China continues to try to stimulate the economy with a more accommodative policy stance.



This divergence offers opportunities for investors in short-dated bonds that are less susceptible to market conditions, Payne suggested, highlighting two locations in particular.



“One is China, which is actively engaging in loosening monetary policy, and Switzerland, which has more protection from inflationary pressure as energy takes up a much smaller percentage of its inflationary basket and their policy is tied, but lagging, to the ECB,” she said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/key-people-from-the-fed-just-spooked-the-markets-heres-what-they-said/">Key people from the Fed just spooked the markets — here’s what they said</a></h3>



Janus Henderson also believes shorter-dated bonds look attractive at present relative to riskier long-term ones.



“When inflation and interest rates are rising, it is easy to dismiss fixed income as an asset class, particularly since bond valuations are relatively high by historical standards,” Payne said.



“But the valuation of many other asset classes is even higher and investor weightings to government bonds are relatively low, so there is a benefit in diversifying.”



What’s more, she argued, the markets have mostly priced in higher inflation expectations, so bonds bought today benefit from higher yields than they would have a few months ago.



Correction: The headline on this story has been updated with the correct figure for global government debt.

107009208-16436733072022-01-31t234829z_1095580679_rc2jas9nycao_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-usa

Global government debt set to soar to record $71 trillion this year, new research says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416302" width="820" height="429" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Equinor&#8217;s Johan Sverdrup oilfield platforms and accommodation jack-up rig Haven are pictured in the North Sea, Norway December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins</figcaption></figure>



April 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Cash prices for key crude oil grades produced in the Middle East, Europe and the United States have slumped in recent weeks from record premiums to futures benchmarks, as refiners balk at higher operating costs and major economies get set to release a flood of oil from strategic reserves.



Crude benchmarks traded in spot markets around the world are often predictive of the direction of global futures prices. Right now, declining premiums for grades from the Middle East, the North Sea and west Texas all suggest that the decision from big consumers to release crude reserves is having a dampening effect on prices, offsetting some of the anticipated loss of Russian exports.



In recent days, the premiums for Middle East benchmarks Dubai, Oman and Murban crude have fallen to a third of their early March peak. North Sea&#8217;s Brent and Forties are down 80% to 100% from when the United States banned Russian oil imports after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. U.S. grades like Mars sour are weakening as the U.S. reserve releases more medium heavy sour crude into the market.&nbsp;CRU/MCRU/EBFO-BRT,&nbsp;BFO-FOT



The International Energy Agency has warned that the world may lose 3 million barrels per day of Russian crude and oil products starting in April. Russia exports between 4 and 5 million bpd, making it the second-largest crude exporter behind Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;IEA/M



To cover that loss, the United States announced its largest-ever release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at 1 million bpd for six months from May, or about 180 million barrels, the third such release in six months. Other IEA members agreed on Friday to release oil following a March 1 release.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VY1RT&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VZ01A&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WEAK DEMAND FOR NORTH SEA, AFRICAN OIL</h2>



Since Russia&#8217;s invasion, which it terms a &#8220;special operation&#8221;, world futures markets became increasingly backwardated &#8211; where current prices trade at much higher levels than later-dated futures contracts, a sign of tight near-term supply.



But of late, buyers have balked at paying those record prices, instead drawing down inventories. That has led to an overhang in the West African oil markets, traders said.



&#8220;Refineries are cautious and shopping around to the last minute; SPR certainly makes the market a bit less strained over the next six months and, of course, there are worries of demand destruction,&#8221; a senior European trader said.



West African crude offers slipped again on Tuesday as Asian buyers had largely filled their requirements for the trading cycle and European buyers held off as supply overhangs lingered, traders said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/oil-markets-hit-multiple-milestones-after-russia-sanctions/">Oil markets hit multiple milestones after Russia sanctions</a></h3>



Supplies from top exporter Nigeria were piling up, with an overhang of April and May-loading crude reaching at least 40 cargoes, they said.



Oil for April loading from Africa’s No. 2 oil exporter Angola has yet to sell out along with at least 10 cargoes for May, the slowest sales in years, due to poor demand from top buyer China, traders said. China recently extended a lockdown in Shanghai due to coronavirus infections.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2VV2DB&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2W3044&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



India has turned to cheap Russian Urals crude, reducing its demand for supplies from the Middle East and Africa, they said.



&#8220;It&#8217;s unclear if we are really facing tight supplies because Russian barrels are still flowing,&#8221; a Singapore-based trader said, adding that the United States may export more oil to Asia and Europe after the SPR release.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-medium-sour-pickle">THE MEDIUM SOUR PICKLE</h2>



The U.S. SPR release is expected to pump more medium sour crude into the market, weighing on spot Mars crude, traders said. Mars Sour&nbsp;WTC-MRS&nbsp;is trading at a $3.05-per-barrel discount to U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures&nbsp;CLc1, from a $1.25-per-barrel premium hit in late February.



Rising freight costs, however, are making U.S. exports less attractive, traders said.



Easing crude prices could encourage refiners to increase output to meet peak summer demand at a time when global diesel inventories are at their lowest levels in more than a decade.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VR1VF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Shadia Nasralla, Alex Lawler, Julia Payne and Noah Browning in London, Stephanie Kelly in New York; Editing by David Gaffen, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

KLKFIIU4R5L7BLIL3XRC7LP2MM

Global cash crude prices tumble from record premiums versus futures

If there was any question about where the Federal Reserve stands on the key issue of the day — inflation — two important officials brought even more clarity on Tuesday.



Fed Governor Lael Brainard and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly both issued comments that showed they both envision higher rates and, in the former’s case, an aggressive drawdown of the assets the central bank is holding on its balance sheet.



Investors didn’t particularly like what they heard, sending major averages considerably lower on the day and the 10-year Treasury yield to a new 2022 high.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416294" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Lael Brainard, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“It is of paramount importance to get inflation down,” Brainard said during a Minneapolis Fed webinar. The Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates, “will continue tightening monetary policy methodically through a series of interest rate increases and by starting to reduce the balance sheet at a rapid pace as soon as our May meeting.”



The comments helped knock down a positive opening on Wall Street that ultimately turned into a nearly 1% loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The more aggressive Fed chatter also comes as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate topped 5%, a key threshold which could slow the housing market.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-we-re-not-going-to-let-this-go-forever"><a></a>‘We’re not going to let this go forever’</h2>



Later in the day, Daly said inflation running at a 40-year high “is as harmful as not having a job.” Speaking to the the Native American Finance Officers Association, she assured the group that the Fed is on the case.



“Most Americans, most people, most businesses, hopefully people in tribal nations, you all have confidence that we’re not going to let this go forever,” Daly said. “But if you don’t have that confidence, let me give it to you.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/markets-will-be-looking-for-clues-from-the-fed-ahead-as-historically-strong-month-gets-underway/">Markets will be looking for clues from the Fed ahead, as historically strong month gets underway</a></h3>



She assured those in attendance several times that interest rates are heading higher, though she added that she doesn’t think it will cause a recession.



Raising rates “is what is necessary to ensure that again, [you] go to bed at night, you’re not worrying about whether prices will be higher, considerably higher tomorrow,” Daly added.



The Fed already has enacted its first rate hike of the year, a 0.25 percentage point move in March. Markets expect increases at each of the six remaining meetings this year, possibly totaling 2.5 percentage points.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-policy-doves"><a></a>Two policy ‘doves’</h2>



What made the two officials’ comments more striking is that they are considered to be in the camp of Fed “doves” — meaning that they usually favor low rates and less restrictive policies. That they both see a rather urgent need to tighten underscores how seriously the Fed is taking the threat.



Brainard’s voice carries a little extra heft in that she has been nominated to be vice chair of the FOMC, a position that makes her the top lieutenant for Chairman Jerome Powell.



Brainard said she expects the Fed’s $9 trillion balance sheet to “shrink considerably more rapidly” than was the case during the last rundown in 2017-19. In that episode, the Fed allowed $50 billion a month in proceeds from maturing bonds to roll off while reinvesting the rest. Her comments opened the door to what many economists expect to be a monthly roll-off around $80 billion to $100 billion.



Reducing the balance sheet “will contribute to monetary policy tightening over and above the expected increases in the policy rate,” Brainard added.



“Currently, inflation is much too high and is subject to upside risks. The Committee is prepared to take stronger action if indicators of inflation and inflation expectations indicate that such action is warranted,” she added.



Daly echoed the idea that the balance sheet reduction could start in May, adding that the Fed’s commitment to fighting inflation “will mean interest rates go up.”



“But inflation, what people are paying day in and day out is on the minds of everyone, they go to bed at night thinking about it wake up in the morning thinking about rent, transportation, gas prices, food prices, so we as a Federal Reserve are on a path to raise the interest rates,” she said.

107000703-1642089190411-gettyimages-1237699477-SENATE_BRAINARD_THOMPSON

Key people from the Fed just spooked the markets — here’s what they said

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416257" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The stock market is heading into what promises to be a volatile second quarter, but April is traditionally the best month of the year for stocks.



The major indices were higher in March, but they turned in a weak performance for the first quarter, the worst since the pandemic. Investors have been worried about rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine and inflation, which was made even worse by disruptions in commodities exports from both Russia and Ukraine.



Stocks are typically higher in April, and it is historically the best month of the year for the S&amp;P 500. The S&amp;P has been higher 70% of the time and has gained an average 1.7% in all Aprils since World War II, according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. For all months, the S&amp;P averaged a gain of 0.7%.



The S&amp;P 500 was up 3.6% in March, and Stovall said the rally could continue. “I think we get back to breakeven, but then I wouldn’t be surprised if we go through another pullback or correction before we have an end of year rally,” he said.



Market focus in the week ahead will remain squarely on developments around the Ukraine war and on the Federal Reserve. The Fed on Wednesday is scheduled to release minutes from its March meeting, where it raised interest rates for the first time since 2018.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/european-markets-fall-as-investors-react-to-fed-decision-stoxx-600-down-1/">European markets fall as investors react to Fed decision; Stoxx 600 down 1%</a></h3>



There are also a handful of Fed speakers, including Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who speaks Tuesday.



Greg Faranello, AmeriVet Securities head of U.S. rates, said the Fed minutes could be the highlight of the week since the central bank is likely to provide more detail on its plans to shrink its balance sheet. The Fed has nearly $9 trillion in securities on its balance sheet, and a reduction of those holdings would be another step to tighten policy.



“The market is curious. They’re going to be looking for some clues in terms of how quickly, how big, what the caps look like,” said Faranello.



The economic data calendar is light, with factory orders Monday, international trade and ISM services Tuesday and wholesale trade Friday.



Traders will also be watching for any comments from companies ahead of the first-quarter earnings reporting season, which starts in mid-April.



“The first-quarter earnings have actually been improving in the last month, so that’s encouraging,” said Stovall.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farewell-to-first-quarter">Farewell to first quarter</h3>



The Dow was off 4.6% for the first quarter, while the S&amp;P 500 was down 5%. The worst performer by far was the Nasdaq, down 9.1%. In the past week, stocks were barely changed. The Dow was down 0.1%, while the S&amp;P was up 0.1%. The Nasdaq was up 0.7%.



Interest rates also moved dramatically during the quarter, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield temporarily touching a high of 2.55% in the past week, after starting the quarter at 1.51%.



On Friday, the 10-year was yielding 2.37%, while the two-year yield, which most reflects Fed policy, was at 2.45%. The two-year was yielding 0.73% at the beginning of the year.



Faranello said bond yields can keep going higher on inflation concerns, but they could consolidate before another big move.



“I think the market is looking for a new catalyst here,” he said. “I just think the first quarter has been about repricing the market, and we’ve done that&#8230;The Fed came out very hawkish. We made made a dramatic repricing. Now, we need to see more data to see how this is going to evolve in the second quarter.”



Stovall said the S&amp;P 500′s first-quarter performance is one of the 15 worst first quarters, going back to 1945. After those weak quarters, down 3.8% or more, the second quarter was better on average. This year’s first-quarter decline was tied with 1994, which had the 12th&nbsp;worst first quarter.



After those 15 weak first quarters, “we actually climbed 4.8% in the second quarter and rose in price two out of every three times,” he said. But for the full year, the S&amp;P 500 gained just 40% of the time, and was down an average 2% in those years.



But this year is a midterm election year, and in those years the second and third quarters are typically the weakest. “Of those 15 worst quarters, five of them were midterm election years, and of those five, the second quarter was up an average 1%, and it rose in price only 40% of the time,” Stovall said.



Stovall said the market could be higher in the second quarter, but it will face headwinds. “Oil prices are likely to remain up. Interest rates are certainly not coming down,” he said, adding geopolitical pressures are likely to remain. “I see the possibility of a 1% gain. We could probably eke out something good.”



Stocks were held hostage by rising and volatile oil prices in the first quarter, as the world scrambled to make up for Russia’s export barrels. Many customers refused to buy Russian oil for fear of running afoul of financial sanctions on Russia’s financial system.



After wild swings both higher and lower, West Texas Intermediate oil futures gained 39% in the first quarter, the eighth positive quarter in a row and its best first quarter since 1999. WTI was just under $100 per barrel Friday afternoon.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Choppy, volatile market</h3>



Joe Quinlan, head of CIO Market Strategy for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, said he is constructive on the market heading into the second quarter, but he sees some rough spots ahead.



“We’ve got to work through the inflation problem, and the Fed catching up to the expectations of the market,” Quinlan said. “We’ve got to re-anchor inflation. It’s going to be a choppy, volatile year. We’re tilting more toward hard assets, whether it’s commodities, energy and natural gas.”



Quinlan said he leans towards equities over fixed income, which has also been unusually volatile. “We’re using equities as a hedge against inflation,” he said. “Within that framework is more hard assets, fuels, agriculture complex in general and metals and minerals.”



In the second quarter, the stock market will continue to adjust to an aggressive Federal Reserve against the backdrop of what should have been a solid economy. With 431,000 payrolls added in March, jobs data continues to be strong, but there is a fear the Fed will raise interest rates too quickly, derailing the economy and spinning it into recession.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/imf-chief-says-fed-rate-hike-could-throw-cold-water-on-global-recovery/">IMF chief says Fed rate hike could ‘throw cold water’ on global recovery</a></h3>



Traders in the futures market expect the Fed will increase its fire power at its next meeting in early May, hiking interest rates by 50 basis points, or a half-percent. The Fed’s first rate increase was a quarter-point at its March meeting.



The market is pricing in the equivalent of eight quarter-point hikes, and Treasury yields have moved higher with stunning speed as market expectations for interest rates shifted. The two-year Treasury yield rose above the 10-year yield, or inverted this past week, for the first time since 2019. That is viewed by the market as a warning sign for a recession.



Fed officials have signaled they want to move to trim the balance sheet soon. Kansas City Fed President Esther George this past week said the Fed’s balance sheet will need to decline significantly. She said the Fed’s holdings of Treasurys may have depressed the 10-year yield, causing the yield curve to invert.



Faranello said interest rates could still head higher on inflation worries, but rates could consolidate after their recent run higher. The yield curve could also remain inverted.



“We can stay like this for a year-and-a-half. Everyone’s screaming a recession is coming&#8230;I don’t think the yield curve is telling us a recession is just about to happen,” Faranello said.

107032202-2022-03-17T164942Z_1471390645_RC2D4T99QL6E_RTRMADP_3_USA-STOCKS

Markets will be looking for clues from the Fed ahead, as historically strong month gets underway

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416185" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>BONNY ISLAND, NIGER DELTA, Nigeria: A ship loads liquefied natural gas from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas plant October 12, 2004 on Bonny Island, Nigeria. Jacob Silberberg/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



With the U.S., EU and U.K. looking to phase out Russian gas imports, Western leaders could look to liquified natural gas projects in sub-Saharan Africa to soften the landing.



Russia and the West remain at odds over payment for natural gas exports, on which Europe, in particular, is heavily dependent, with Moscow insisting “unfriendly” countries pay for gas deliveries in Russian rubles, a demand G-7 nations have rebuffed.



The divergence comes in the wake of an unprecedented and coordinated barrage of international sanctions leveled against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.



The U.S. has declared a complete ban on Russian oil, gas and coal imports, while the U.K. intends to phase out Russian oil by the end of the year and the EU aims to cut its reliance on Russian imports by two-thirds.



Russia accounts for around 40% of the EU’s natural gas exports, with Germany and Italy particularly exposed. Germany issued an “early warning” on Wednesday that natural gas rationing could be required if a full supply shortage ensues.



The EU has struck a deal with the U.S. for an additional 15 billion cubic meters of LNG, though former U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said Monday that this would not be enough to fill the Russian shortfall.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/ukraine-and-russia-what-you-need-to-know-right-now/">Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now</a></h3>



Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio told CNBC on Tuesday that over the past month, he had traveled to countries such as Mozambique, the Republic of Congo and Angola in a bid to forge new LNG supply partnerships.



“Energy security is fundamental for countries that are global manufacturing powers like Italy and many others, and we must be able to diversify our energy sourcing,” Di Maio said.



“We are diversifying away from our dependence on Russia to avoid any eventual threats from Russia on our gas supply and to continue our green transition with new and different energy sources.”



In a research note last week, Africa analysts at political risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft said that while the continent cannot fill the void left by Russian natural gas imports, it could help to shore up supply.



Oil majors BP, TotalEnergies and Eni have all established a presence on the African subcontinent from which to build, along with U.S. oil majors such as Exxon Mobil.



Verisk Maplecroft noted that BP is furthest along in efforts to bring online a major LNG project in sub-Saharan Africa and could double down on these, particularly at the Tortue gas fields straddling the border between Senegal and Mauritania.



Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi announced earlier this month the Italian giant is able to provide Europe with an additional 14 trillion cubic feet of gas between now and 2025 from assets situated around the world, including in Angola, Congo, Nigeria and Mozambique. Angola and Congo have already agreed to boost gas exports to Italy, with Eni serving as an intermediary.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-huge-potential-significant-obstacles">Huge potential, significant obstacles</h3>



Analysts Alexandre Raymakers, Maja Bovcon and Eric Humphery-Smith highlighted that Senegal, Mauritania, Nigeria and Angola are best placed to increase production, though the bulk of new supply will not arrive until the second half of the decade.



“The political and fiscal stability in Senegal and Mauritania mean that projects are well placed for LNG development, while the likely re-election of the MPLA in Angola in August 2022 will also enable an uptick in investment,” Verisk Maplecroft said.



Mozambique is also host to colossal natural gas reserves, with several European energy giants establishing facilities in the country, but it is beset by a violent Islamist insurgency that has forced shutdowns at some of these facilities in recent years.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="421" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-3-820x421.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416186" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-3-820x421.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-3-300x154.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-3-160x82.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-3-768x395.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-3.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People wait for friends and relatives as a ship carrying more than 1,000 people fleeing an attack claimed by Islamic State-linked insurgents on the town of Palma, docks in Pemba, Mozambique, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Emidio Jozine NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>



There is also room for expansion among other major LNG players in the Gulf of Guinea, Verisk Maplecroft suggested, such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.



“An improved gas price environment could swing the balance of profitability for a number of projects in Nigeria, allowing for additional supply for existing and planned LNG projects,” the report said.



“For instance, the Ukraine crisis will likely increase the attractiveness of the long-planned Nigeria LNG Train 7 that is expected to come online in 2026 and will require an additional 1,200mmcfd of gas supply from Nigerian gas projects.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/as-presidents-meet-ukraine-refugees-just-want-fighting-to-end/">As presidents meet, Ukraine refugees just want fighting to end</a></h3>



The analysts also noted the beginnings of a revival of interest in the dormant Fortuna FLNG project in Equatorial Guinea.



However, a rise in piracy in the region, including opportunistic attacks on LNG tankers in recent years, may prove a deterrent.



Ultimately, Verisk Maplecroft estimates that even if all known greenfield LNG projects in sub-Saharan Africa were active and operating at maximum capacity, they would still only account for approximately half of Russia’s gas supply to Europe.



“The improved gas demand and price environment means sub-Saharan Africa region can help fill some of the gap left by embargoed Russian gas supplies, but it can’t solve the problem alone,” the report concluded.

107038803-1648636321753-GettyImages-51887083

Putin’s isolation from Europe could usher in natural gas opportunities for Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416112" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv, Ukraine February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko</figcaption></figure>



LVIV, Ukraine, March 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Ukraine is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia but such a pact would have to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in remarks aired on Sunday.



Zelenskiy was speaking to Russian journalists in a 90 minute video call, an interview that Moscow authorities had pre-emptively warned Russian media to refrain from reporting. Zelenskiy spoke in Russian throughout, as he has done in previous speeches when targeting a Russian audience.



Zelenskiy said Russia&#8217;s invasion had caused the destruction of Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine, with damage worse than the Russian wars in Chechnya.



&#8220;Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point,&#8221; Zelenskiy said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/top-russian-ukrainian-diplomats-meet-for-first-time-since-invasion/">Top Russian, Ukrainian diplomats meet for first time since invasion</a></h3>



Zelenskiy said Ukraine refused to discuss certain other Russian demands, such as the demilitarisation of the country.



Speaking more than a month after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Zelenskiy said no peace deal would be possible without a ceasefire and troop withdrawals.



He ruled out trying to recapture all Russian-held territory by force, saying it would lead to a third world war, and said he wanted to reach a &#8220;compromise&#8221; over the eastern Donbas region, held by Russian-backed forces since 2014.



Russia says it is conducting a &#8220;special military operation&#8221; in Ukraine with the aim of demilitarising its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies call this a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humanitarian-catastrophe">&#8216;HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE&#8217;</h2>



Zelenskiy focused on the fate of the eastern port city of Mariupol, under siege for weeks. Once a city of 400,000 people, it has undergone prolonged Russian bombardment.



&#8220;All entries and exits from the city of Mariupol are blocked,&#8221; Zelenskiy said. &#8220;The port is mined. A humanitarian catastrophe inside the city is unequivocal, because it is impossible to go there with food, medicine and water,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t even know who the Russian army has ever treated like this,&#8221; he said, adding that, compared to Russian wars in Chechnya, the volume of destruction &#8220;cannot be compared&#8221;.



Russia has denied targeting civilians in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for a failure to open humanitarian corridors.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/ramaphosa-says-south-africa-has-been-asked-to-mediate-russia-ukraine/">Ramaphosa says South Africa has been asked to mediate Russia-Ukraine</a></h3>



Zelenskiy pushed back against allegations from Moscow that Ukraine had curbed the rights of Russian speakers, saying it was Russia&#8217;s invasion that wiped Russian-speaking cities &#8220;off the face of the earth&#8221;.



He also dismissed as &#8220;a joke&#8221; allegations made by Russia that Ukraine had nuclear or chemical weapons.



Russian prosecutors said a legal opinion would be made on the statements made in the interview and on the legality of publishing the interview. [<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N2VD0DW&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>]



Commenting afterwards, Zelenskiy said Russia destroyed the freedom of speech in its own country.



&#8220;The Russian censorship agency came out with a threat,&#8221; Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. &#8220;It would be ridiculous if it weren&#8217;t so tragic.&#8221;



(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Oleksandr Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Writing by Matthias Williams and Lidia Kelly;Editing by Pravin Char and Stephen Coates)

VCWQ53OTVBLIZOSKZVIP25V7PM

Ukraine ready to discuss adopting neutral status in Russia peace deal – Zelenskiy

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416108" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — China’s biggest city Shanghai began a two-stage lockdown Monday as authorities attempt different strategies to maintain growth, while trying to control the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began.



Shanghai, a city of 26 million people on the southeastern coast of China, is a hub for finance and international business in the country. The city is also home to the world’s largest container-shipping port.



The lockdown measures include orders to work from home as well as the suspension of public transit and ride hailing, Shanghai city announced Sunday night. Previously, only specific neighborhoods had faced temporary lockdowns to control pockets of outbreaks.



The initial phase will run from Monday to Friday morning and apply to the eastern part of the city where the financial center is, the city said. The second phase will apply to the western part of the city, and run from Friday morning to the afternoon of the following Tuesday, April 5, municipal authorities said.



“The lockdown and mandatory testing district by district in China’s largest city, key transportation hub and financial center are highly likely to disrupt the city’s commercial activity,” said Bruce Pang, head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russia-seeks-military-equipment-from-china-after-ukraine-invasion-reports/">Russia seeks military equipment from China after Ukraine invasion -reports</a></h3>



“We think that in the near term, China will stick to its zero-tolerance approach, pursuing [its] zero-Covid position as one of the world’s strictest virus elimination policies,” Pang said.



Tesla, whose Shanghai factory is located in the area covered by the first stage of the lockdown, reportedly halted production for at least a day on Monday, according to Bloomberg, citing sources. The electric car company did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.



The emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant has made controlling outbreaks harder and increased uncertainty for business operations. Local governments across China have attributed the latest wave of cases to the omicron subvariant BA.2.



China has stuck to a strategy of lockdowns and quarantines to control Covid outbreaks, while maintaining economic growth. The policy helped the country rebound from the initial shock of the pandemic in early 2020, with relatively few infections and deaths compared with other parts of the world.



This time around, economists don’t expect lockdowns that last only a week or so to have a major impact on the national economy for the full year. Travel restrictions and stay-home measures affect consumer spending and services more than factory production, since workers can often stay on-site at industrial parks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-targeted-measures"><a></a>Using targeted measures</h2>



In Shanghai, officials have emphasized in the last few weeks how the city would not lock down and instead use a neighborhood-specific approach. Even in Sunday’s announcement, the city claimed the two-part lockdown was for conducting virus tests in batches.



Shanghai International Port Group, which manages the city’s ports, said in an online statement Monday that other than for extreme weather, production units maintained 24-hour operations.



And rather than a blanket ban on travel in and out of Shanghai during the two-stage lockdown, authorities said people in the city wanting to leave — by highway, train or airplane — will need a negative virus test within 48 hours of departure.



Shanghai’s two airports, including one focused on international travel, and three train stations are still operating normally, the municipal transportation authority said Monday morning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Surge in cases with no symptoms</h2>



New confirmed cases in the city have remained elevated, with even higher numbers of asymptomatic cases.



Shanghai reported 3,450 asymptomatic cases for Sunday, the most for any province-level region in mainland China. The city reported 50 new confirmed Covid cases for that same day.



All 3,500 affected individuals are in isolated treatment or isolated medical observation, the city said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/u-s-warns-china-not-to-help-russia-as-anti-war-protest-disrupts-state-tv/">U.S. warns China not to help Russia as anti-war protest disrupts state TV</a></h3>



The latest update on March 15 to the national policy for Covid prevention and control said mild and asymptomatic cases can be managed at quarantine centers, rather than needing hospital care which would add to China’s already stretched health-care system.



Nationwide, the northern province of Jilin accounts for most of the new confirmed locally transmitted cases — 1,086 of the 1,219 reported for the mainland on Sunday. Although the latest Covid wave has touched provinces across China, the number of new confirmed cases a day in most regions is below 10.



The capital city of Beijing reported no new locally transmitted confirmed cases or asymptomatic cases for Sunday.



In an indication of how authorities are trying to limit cross-country travel, China’s national railway operator announced Saturday that travelers would not be able to book tickets for April 8 or future dates. Sales for those later times are set to resume April 2, the railway operator said.

107029829-16472598662022-03-12t061542z_467857733_rc290t9vnin1_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-china

China is shutting down Shanghai in two phases to control Covid

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/48605395292_2412794aa7_b-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402446" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/48605395292_2412794aa7_b-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/48605395292_2412794aa7_b-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/48605395292_2412794aa7_b-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/48605395292_2412794aa7_b.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>President Joe Biden
Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



President Joe Biden on Saturday said Russian leader Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” ratcheting up international pressure and further uniting NATO allies against Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.



“A dictator, bent on rebuilding an empire, will never erase the people’s love for liberty,” Biden said at the end of a sweeping speech in Poland. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.”



“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said.



Biden has hurled invective at Putin throughout the crisis in Ukraine, labeling him a “murderous dictator” and a “war criminal,” but has previously stopped short of calling for his removal from power.



Later Saturday, a White House official attempted to clarify that Biden “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” but rather was making the point that Putin “cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”



The president’s address at the Royal Castle in Warsaw marked the grand finale of a three-day trip to Europe. While in Poland, Biden met with Ukrainian refugees who had fled Russian aggression, as well as with U.S. troops stationed in Rzeszow, near Ukraine’s border.



In his speech, Biden urged democracies around the world to unify against Russia and commit to a historic battle against authoritarian aggression.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-biden-says-u-s-will-sanction-russian-banks-sovereign-debt-and-individuals-after-ukraine-invasion">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/biden-says-u-s-will-sanction-russian-banks-sovereign-debt-and-individuals-after-ukraine-invasion/">Biden says U.S. will sanction Russian banks, sovereign debt and individuals after Ukraine ‘invasion’</a></h3>



“In this battle, we need to be clear-eyed,” he said. “We need to steel ourselves for the long fight ahead.”



Biden directly and repeatedly condemned Putin throughout the speech, accusing the Russian president of “using brute force and disinformation to satisfy a craving for absolute power and control.”



Biden slammed Putin for invoking Nazi imagery as a pretext for an invasion, calling it an “obscene” lie. And he said it is “Putin who is to blame” for the mountain of international sanctions that are crushing Russia’s economy and its currency, noting that the Russian ruble has been reduced to “rubble.”



Biden also spoke past Putin, attempting to deliver an appeal to whichever Russian citizens may be able to hear the speech.



“This is not the future you deserve for your families and children,” Biden said. “I’m telling you the truth, this war is not worthy of you, the Russian people.”



Biden’s message to Ukraine was more direct: “We stand with you. Period.”

48605395292_2412794aa7_b

Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ in sweeping speech on Russian invasion of Ukraine

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416083" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People and children walk at the border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, in Medyka, Poland, February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel</figcaption></figure>



PRZEMYSL, Poland, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ukrainian refugee Viktoria Lysykh had one message for world leaders after she crossed&nbsp;the border into Poland on Friday: &#8220;I want the war to end as soon as possible &#8230; In what way exactly? By any means.&#8221;



The 35-year-old arrived in Przemysl railway station with her teenage daughter and their two pet cats, as U.S President Joe Biden was preparing to visit the same frontier region to discuss the conflict with his Polish counterpart.



Asked what she hoped the high-level meeting would achieve, Lysykh laughed. The best hope was that the conflict would end &#8220;in the best way possible for Ukraine&#8221;. But above all, she just wanted to go back to her home in the Donetsk region.



&#8220;Let’s cease (fire) so that all of this will be over. In what way exactly this will be achieved doesn’t matter at all.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/russia-seeks-military-equipment-from-china-after-ukraine-invasion-reports/">Russia seeks military equipment from China after Ukraine invasion -reports</a></h3>



It had taken Lysykh and her daughter 19 hours to get to the frontier. She was planning to travel to Warsaw and then on to Germany where she was hoping to find work &#8211; her background is in human resources with a sideline as a beautician.



There were no friends or family waiting at their destination to take them in.



Around her in the station, more women and children kept arriving, loaded with bags. Around 32,500 refugees crossed into Poland on Thursday alone, border authorities said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-they-closed-the-sky">&#8216;IF THEY CLOSED THE SKY&#8217;</h2>



In all, Poland has taken in more than 2.23 million people,&nbsp;according to Poland&#8217;s border authority, more than half the refugees who fled Ukraine since Russia invaded.



Poland&#8217;s deputy education minister, Marzena Machalek, said on Friday around 700,000 Ukrainian children would be looking for places in local schools.



Biden was due to meet refugee organisations and sit down with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the town of Rzeszow, about&nbsp;80 km&nbsp;(50 miles) from the station.



His visit comes a day after he and other Western leaders put on a show of unity against what Russia calls its &#8220;special military operation&#8221; in Ukraine.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/african-students-wonder-what-next-after-ukraine-war-upends-education/">African students wonder what next after Ukraine war upends education</a></h3>



At an unprecedented triple summit in Brussels, NATO announced plans for new combat units in four eastern European countries near Ukraine, while the United States and Britain increased aid and expanded sanctions.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VR03A&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Biden annouced more plans on Friday, saying the United States will supply more liquid natural gas to the European Union to help it cut its reliance on gas supplies from Russia.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VO03P&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Back at Przemysl, a 52-year-old refugee called Alla said there was only one thing that would stop the fighting quickly &#8211; something that Western powers have repeatedly ruled out &#8211; an NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Ukrainian territory.



&#8220;If they closed the sky, then they would stop bombing our cities &#8230; and then the war would end fast,&#8221;&nbsp;she said as she waited to get on another train deeper into Poland.



(Reporting by Anna Koper in Przemysl, Felix Hoske in Gdansk, Luiza Ilie in Bucharest, Robert Muller and Jan Lopatka in Prague, writing by Krisztina Than; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

WUYUY6XQ7FMIFBJ3JLHKTIOTZM

As presidents meet, Ukraine refugees just want fighting to end

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MYS3QSEAHFILLDMUWDPI2V7TJM-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416059" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MYS3QSEAHFILLDMUWDPI2V7TJM-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MYS3QSEAHFILLDMUWDPI2V7TJM-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MYS3QSEAHFILLDMUWDPI2V7TJM-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MYS3QSEAHFILLDMUWDPI2V7TJM-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MYS3QSEAHFILLDMUWDPI2V7TJM.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Nkateko Muyimane a medical student who was studying in Ukraine before the war looks on during his interview with Reuters in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 18, 2022. REUTERS/Shafiek Tassiem</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nkateko Muyimane and six fellow African students hid in a subway while Russian shells pounded Kharkiv, before fleeing on a train to Budapest they very nearly failed to board.



Now their main concern is how to salvage the degrees they sacrificed so much to start.



South African Muyimane, 24, and classmate Mandisa Malindisa, 25, were both studying medicine with a year to go before graduating. Now, they say, there is no university left.



&#8220;It&#8217;s been bombed out and turned to rubble,&#8221; Muyimane said at his brother&#8217;s apartment in a northern Johannesburg suburb. &#8220;Even if we do continue online, medicine is practical: you need to be physically there with the patient.&#8221;



They are among tens of thousands of African students whose studies were upended by Russia&#8217;s war on its neighbour, many of whom were drawn to Ukraine&#8217;s world class educational facilities available at a fraction of the cost of Western universities.



Ukraine&#8217;s history of attracting Africans to its academies dates back to the Cold War, when Soviet states wooed students from newly independent African nations with the promise of a subsidised education.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/ramaphosa-says-south-africa-has-been-asked-to-mediate-russia-ukraine/">Ramaphosa says South Africa has been asked to mediate Russia-Ukraine</a></h3>



Like many parents, Malindisa&#8217;s mother, a nurse, and father, a civil engineer, tightened their belts, saved and borrowed to put her through Ukraine&#8217;s Kharkiv National Medical University.



&#8220;It was a big sacrifice for the school fees, and the apartment she was renting,&#8221; her mother Zandile told Reuters.



Malindisa&#8217;s anxiety about losing her qualification, after all her parents had invested, had kept her in Ukraine, but as war approached, she decided to fly out rather than risk staying.



Her mother booked her three tickets; all got cancelled. She, Muyimane and the five other African classmates endured days of bombardments before fleeing to Pivdennyi Vokzal station. There, they said, they had to fight to get on a train including against a passenger who bit one of them to try to prevent her boarding.



Compared with that horror, finding her a new school seems less daunting.



&#8220;I haven&#8217;t lost hope,&#8221; Zandile said. &#8220;Something will come up for her.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-online-option">ONLINE OPTION</h2>



Malindisa worries that she has no certificate to show prospective universities what she has accomplished &#8211; getting her transcripts from what is now a war zone isn&#8217;t going to be easy.



Her fears are shared by many students who returned from Ukraine in recent weeks.



Muyimane&#8217;s mother is a doctor, and she was proud to have a son follow in her footsteps, he said, adding: &#8220;I must make a plan: medicine is my dream&#8221;.



At her house in Ghana&#8217;s capital on March 5, 23-year-old medical student Maame Akousa Addo stood over two small duffel bags containing the few things she&#8217;d managed to bring back with her to Accra and wondered whether she would be able to go back after the war.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/south-africa-sees-food-inflation-opportunity-from-russia-ukraine-war/">South Africa sees food inflation, opportunity from Russia-Ukraine war</a></h3>



&#8220;We&#8217;re just waiting to hear from our schools,&#8221; she said. &#8220;To see if they will establish a sort of online option.&#8221;



For Nigerian student Joshua Adebowale, 32, the hope is that things will calm down soon so he can return to Kyiv Medical University, which his parents and brothers were paying for. &#8220;Otherwise these will be wasted years and money,&#8221; he said.



But for compatriot Jasper Ahamefula, 19, who had just started a business studies course, a degree no longer seems an option. He plans to try and start up a business &#8212; tailoring perhaps &#8212; without a qualification.



&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter,&#8221; he said. &#8220;My parents, yes it&#8217;s a lost investment, but they care that I&#8217;m alive. That&#8217;s great, I guess.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Sisipho Skweyiya in Johannesburg, Cooper Inveen in Accra and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

International

World Bank slashes global growth forecast to 3.2% from 4.1%, citing Ukraine war

Britain reaches deal to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda

Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security

Biden says Russia committing genocide in Ukraine

Ukraine war unleashes battle for Global South hearts and minds

Yellen warns that war in Ukraine will have ‘enormous’ global economic impact

Afreximbank sets up $4 bln trade fund to cushion against Ukraine-related shocks

Global government debt set to soar to record $71 trillion this year, new research says

Global cash crude prices tumble from record premiums versus futures

Key people from the Fed just spooked the markets — here’s what they said

Markets will be looking for clues from the Fed ahead, as historically strong month gets underway

Putin’s isolation from Europe could usher in natural gas opportunities for Africa

Ukraine ready to discuss adopting neutral status in Russia peace deal – Zelenskiy

China is shutting down Shanghai in two phases to control Covid

Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ in sweeping speech on Russian invasion of Ukraine

As presidents meet, Ukraine refugees just want fighting to end

African students wonder what next after Ukraine war upends education

News Tips

Advertise With Us

International

World Bank slashes global growth forecast to 3.2% from 4.1%, citing Ukraine war

Britain reaches deal to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda

Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security

Biden says Russia committing genocide in Ukraine

Ukraine war unleashes battle for Global South hearts and minds

Yellen warns that war in Ukraine will have ‘enormous’ global economic impact

Afreximbank sets up $4 bln trade fund to cushion against Ukraine-related shocks

Global government debt set to soar to record $71 trillion this year, new research says

Global cash crude prices tumble from record premiums versus futures

Key people from the Fed just spooked the markets — here’s what they said

Markets will be looking for clues from the Fed ahead, as historically strong month gets underway

Putin’s isolation from Europe could usher in natural gas opportunities for Africa

Ukraine ready to discuss adopting neutral status in Russia peace deal – Zelenskiy

China is shutting down Shanghai in two phases to control Covid

Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’ in sweeping speech on Russian invasion of Ukraine

As presidents meet, Ukraine refugees just want fighting to end

African students wonder what next after Ukraine war upends education

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters