2023-12-27 05:39
Violence is the worst in central Nigeria since June 2018 Nomadic herders believed responsible for attacks on farmers Conflict believed based on land rather than ethnic differences President Tinubu yet to spell out how to improve security KANO/ABUJA, Nigeria, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Nigerian mother-of-three Grace Godwin was preparing food on Christmas Eve when her husband burst into the kitchen and ordered her and the children to run and take cover in the bush after gunmen were spotted in a nearby village. Soon they heard gunfire, starting an hours-long attack by suspected nomadic herders who rampaged through 15 villages in central Plateau state on Sunday, killing at least 140 people with guns and machetes, officials, police and residents said. It was the bloodiest violence since 2018 when more than 200 people were killed in Nigeria's central region where clashes between herders and farmers are common. "We returned at 6 the next morning and found that houses had been burnt and people killed. There are still people missing," Godwin said by phone. "There is no one in Mayanga (village), women and children have all fled." It was not immediately clear what triggered Sunday's attacks but violence in the region, known as the "Middle Belt", is often characterised as ethno-religious - chiefly Muslim Fulani herdsmen clashing with mainly Christian farmers. But experts and politicians say climate change and expanding agriculture are creating competition for land, pushing farmers and herders into conflict. Nomadic cattle herders are from northern Nigeria, which is getting drier and becoming more prone to drought and floods. That is forcing them to trek further south, where farmers are increasing production as the population rapidly expands. That means less land for nomads and their cattle, supporting the view among local people that the conflict is based on the availability of resources rather than ethnic or religious differences. "These attacks have been recurring. They want to drive us out of our ancestral land but we will continue to resist these assaults," said Magit Macham, who had returned from the state capital Jos to celebrate Christmas with his family. Macham was chatting to his brother outside his house when the sputtering sound of a petrol generator was interrupted by gunshots. His brother was hit by a bullet in the leg but Macham dragged him to into the bush where they hid for the night. "We were taken unawares and those that could run ran into the bush. A good number of those that couldn't were caught and killed with machetes," he said. Plateau governor called the violence "unprovoked" and police said several houses, cars and motorcycles were burnt. President Bola Tinubu, who has yet to spell out how he intends to tackle widespread security, described the attacks as "primitive and cruel" and directed police to track down those responsible. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-villagers-missing-two-days-after-suspected-nomadic-herders-kill-140-2023-12-26/
2023-12-27 05:04
MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Almost all of Russia's oil exports this year have been shipped to China and India, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday, after Moscow responded to Western economic sanctions by quickly rerouting supplies away from Europe. Russia has successfully circumvented sanctions on its oil and diverted flows from Europe to China and India, which together accounted for around 90% of its crude exports, Novak, who is in charge of the country's energy sector, told Rossiya-24 state TV. He said that Russia had already started to forge ties with Asia-Pacific countries before the West introduced sanctions against Moscow following the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022. "As for those restrictions and embargoes on supplies to Europe and the U.S. that were introduced... this only accelerated the process of reorienting our energy flows," Novak said. He said that Europe's share of Russia's crude exports has fallen to only about 4-5% from about 40-45%. "The main partners in the current situation are China, whose share has grown to approximately 45-50%, and, of course, India...Earlier, there basically were no supplies to India; in two years, the total share of supplies to India has come to 40%," Novak said. Speaking about the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers, Novak said Russia was sticking to its obligations on supply cuts and it saw the Brent oil price at $80-$85 per barrel next year, broadly in line with current levels. The United States last month also declared sanctions against Arctic LNG 2, a liquefied natural gas project led by Russian company Novatek (NVTK.MM). Fearing a backlash from the sanctions, foreign shareholders suspended participation in the project, renouncing their responsibilities for financing and for offtake contracts for the plant, the daily Kommersant reported on Monday. Sanctions also resulted in Novatek declaring force majeure over LNG supplies from the project, industry sources told Reuters last week. Novak said the project's first train has effectively already started producing LNG with the first supplies expected in the first quarter of 2024. Industry sources said the train had produced the "first drops" of LNG, but it will be some time before it reaches its nameplate capacity of 6.6 million metric tons per year. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/half-russias-2023-oil-petroleum-exports-went-china-russias-novak-2023-12-27/
2023-12-27 04:44
MUMBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee weakened on Wednesday, pressured by dollar demand from large foreign banks, even as most of the local unit's Asian peers ticked higher. The rupee was at 83.2475 against the U.S. dollar as of 10:00 a.m. IST, lower by 0.07% compared to its close of 83.1925 in the previous session. The dollar index was little changed in Asian hours at 101.5 but continues to hover close to its weakest level since late July. Most Asian currencies were up between 0.1% to 0.5% on the day. But the rupee weakened slightly due to dollar demand from large foreign banks, likely on behalf of custodian clients, a foreign exchange trader at a state-run bank said. The price action on the rupee is likely to be driven by "merchant flows" as speculative activity remains muted towards the year-end, the trader said. Amid muted volatility "due to the holiday season, the (rupee's) intraday range will be confined to 10-15 paisa," said Amit Pabari, managing director at fx advisory firm CR Forex. India's current account deficit fell more than expected in the July-September quarter, to $8.3 billion, 1% of GDP, from $9.2 billion, or 1.1% of GDP, in the preceding quarter. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of 18 economists was for a deficit of $9 billion. "With the capital account surplus barely edging over the current account deficit, the overall (balance of payments) stayed in a small surplus, but should improve," Barclays said in a note. Meanwhile, rupee forward premiums inched up with the 1-year implied yield rising to 1.78%, its highest in over two months. Forward premiums have been supported by rising bets that the U.S. central bank will soon start easing policy rates. Investors are pricing in a very high probability of a rate cut in March. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-edges-lower-due-dollar-demand-foreign-banks-2023-12-27/
2023-12-27 03:46
BEIJING, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Two cities in northwestern China, Xian and Yinchuan, advised residents to stay indoors, limited heavy industrial production and halted coal processing, warning of heavy pollution over the coming days with thick fog expected. China's Central Meteorological Observatory also predicted dense haze for the country's north and east from early Thursday to Saturday before a cold wave arrives Saturday afternoon to dissipate the heavy fog. In Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, authorities issued a red alert on Wednesday expecting serious pollution until Friday, and enforced mandatory emergency measures to reduce emissions, including asking the public to take public transportation and firms to allow flexible work arrangements. The city asked companies, institutions, and construction sites that emit pollutants to adjust production schedules and proactively reduce emissions, state television CCTV said. The capital of Ningxia region, Yinchuan, activated measures from Tuesday afternoon to cut emissions of exhaust pollutants by more than 20% while ensuring enterprises continued normal operating conditions. Moderate pollution is forecast until Friday in Yinchuan, which was shrouded in grey, photos from China News Service showed, with a chance of severe pollution on Thursday. The city sought to slow or even stop industrial production, and strengthen pollution controls for key industries such as power stations and petrochemical, chemical, metallurgical and cement plants. Authorities of both cities stopped most earthwork and demolition operations at construction sites, spray and paint work as well production and transportation of bulk materials using heavy-duty trucks at concrete plants, and in coal processing, stone-cutting and mining activities. Both cities expanded restrictions on using high-emission vehicles including diesel vehicles, and advised people to avoid idling their vehicles. The national weather observatory warned of low visibility in dense fog of less than 200 metres in parts of northern and eastern provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui as well as southwestern Chongqing city, potentially disrupting transport and traffic during peak travel before the new year holiday. It cautioned people with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, as the pollution is mainly due to fine particles that can travel deep into lungs and even the bloodstream. Anhui's environment authority issued an orange alert for heavy pollution on Wednesday afternoon, with a level II emergency response, after air quality in six cities reached heavy pollution levels, CCTV reported. China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Pollution diffusion conditions will remain poor in most areas of Anhui in the coming week, CCTV added. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/northwest-china-cities-halt-heavy-industries-curb-pollution-2023-12-27/
2023-12-27 03:33
TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) said it would receive shares in telco T-Mobile US (TMUS.O) worth some $7.59 billion at no additional cost, driving the Japanese conglomerate's shares up 5%. Masayoshi Son's conglomerate said late on Tuesday it had told T-Mobile US to issue 48.75 million shares in common stock to it after conditions set out in an agreement made as part of the merger of SoftBank's U.S. telco Sprint and T-Mobile were met. The transaction bolsters the listed assets in SoftBank's portfolio, doubling its T-Mobile US stake to 7.64% from 3.75% currently, following the blockbuster listing of chip designer Arm in September. "This increases the proportion of listed, measurable equity in hand on (SoftBank Group's) balance sheet, and, even better, proportions of marginable equity relative to indebtedness," Macquarie analyst Paul Golding wrote in a client note. SoftBank's shares were on track for their biggest gain in more than a month. The conglomerate has risen only around 14% year-to-date, compared with an almost 30% rise in the benchmark index (.N225). The group trades at a discount of around 45.5% to the value of its assets, according to Macquarie calculations. Son has been a leading investor in late stage startups but has suffered a series of reversals including the bankruptcy of office-sharing firm WeWork, which was once the most valuable U.S. startup. The T-Mobile US transaction bumps SoftBank's internal rate of return (IRR) on its Sprint investment to 25.5%. Other positives for the company include the recent rally in Arm's shares, which closed on Tuesday around 44% above the initial public offering price. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/softbank-shares-jump-6-after-exercising-t-mobile-option-2023-12-27/
2023-12-27 03:00
MUMBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is likely to open little changed to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday amid an uptick in most Asian currencies and a rally in oil prices. Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open nearly unchanged from the previous close of 83.1925. Brent crude reached a high of $81.72 during the New York session on Tuesday, the highest this month, amid Red Sea vessel attacks. Brent is now up nearly 11% from the mid-December lows. "Well, you can say, oil is a bit of an issue (for the rupee) at the margin," said a forex trader at a bank. Having said that, it is not much of a factor in the current scenario, the trader said, adding a quiet session awaits the domestic currency around the 83.20 handle. The rupee's range has narrowed considerably in the wake of likely heavy intervention by the Reserve Bank of India on both sides. The currency's realised volatility is at a multi-year low. Asian currencies were quoting mostly higher, supported by bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely cut rates at its March meeting. Investors have priced in nearly six rate cuts next year, double of what Fed policymakers have forecast. The Fed outlook has boosted risk appetite with the S&P 500 Index approaching a record high. Indian equities have managed a 6.5% rally in December on the back of foreign inflows worth $9.5 billion. The dollar index was near 101.50, hovering near the lowest since July. The index has declined 1.8% in December, adding to the 3% drop in November. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 83.26; onshore one-month forward premium at 7.75 paisa ** Dollar index at 101.48 ** Brent crude futures at $80.9 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 3.88% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $69.2mln worth of Indian shares on Dec. 22 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $269.1mln worth of Indian bonds on Dec. 22 https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-gauges-rally-oil-prices-broadly-softer-dollar-2023-12-27/
