2023-12-23 15:19

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Moise Katumbi, one of the main opposition candidates in Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election has added his voice to calls for the Dec. 20 vote to be annulled because of "massive fraud," a statement from his campaign said on Saturday. Katumbi's campaign added in the statement that the head of Congo's national election commission should resign because the commission had participated in a planned "electoral fraud." "In this face of this unacceptable situation, we are calling for the immediate annulment of this chaotic election tainted by massive fraud," the statement said. Katumbi's statement came as another group of opposition candidates who had called for a rerun of the election on Wednesday, wrote to the governor of the capital Kinshasa to say they will hold a joint protest next week over the election. Katumbi is not among those who called for the protest, but his team told Reuters earlier on Saturday they support any constitutional initiative aimed at resisting another electoral robbery in Congo. Election disputes often fuel unrest in Democratic Republic of Congo and risk further destabilising a country with globally important reserves of cobalt and copper, and which is battling widespread poverty and an eastern security crisis. In a sign of growing concern over the aftermath of the election, 13 embassies in Kinshasa, including those of Germany and France, released a joint statement on Saturday calling for restraint. "As the vote counting continues, we urge all stakeholders, especially political actors, candidates and their supporters, to exercise restraint, allow the process to unfold, and raise their concerns peacefully," they said. Delays during Wednesday's election led to an extension of voting, which some opposition candidates and independent observers said compromises the credibility of the vote. Five presidential candidates plan to hold the protest in the capital on Dec. 27, according to a Dec. 22 letter to the Kinshasa governor shared on social media platform X by Jean-Marc Kabunda, a representative of candidate Martin Fayulu. The letter said they would protest alleged irregularities during the vote and the extension, which "sufficiently demonstrate that on Dec. 20, 2023, the elections were a sham." Congo's election commission known as CENI, has acknowledged there were delays on Dec. 20 that meant some polling stations failed to open, but denied the credibility of the election was compromised by extending some voting. Full provisional election results are expected by Dec. 31, with daily updates released from Saturday. These results will determine whether incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi or one of his 18 challengers won the vote. The chaotic election day capped a fraught campaign in which at least 19 people were killed in election-related violence and the opposition and observers warned of widespread issues they said would enable fraud. CENI and the presidency denied this. In a sign of further electoral setbacks, local authorities in eastern Lubero territory told Reuters voting had still not taken place in five small centres that are accessible only by air or foot, because rain had delayed the delivery of election materials. Voting there is now expected to be held on Sunday if couriers walk through the night, said Paluku Maker, an official for Bapere sector. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-opposition-candidates-plan-presidential-election-protest-2023-12-23/

2023-12-23 13:31

NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - An Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck by an uncrewed aerial vehicle off India's west coast, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Saturday, in the first such known attack so far away from the Red Sea since the Gaza war. A fire on the Liberian-flagged tanker was extinguished without crew casualties in the incident 200 km (120 miles) southwest of the Indian city of Veraval, it said, adding some "structural damage was also reported and some water was taken onboard". "Merchant vessels are advised these types of attacks are typically targeted at Israel-affiliated shipping, but have in the past mistakenly hit previously Israel-affiliated vessels," Ambrey said. "This event fell within Ambrey's Iranian UAV heightened threat area." An Indian Navy official told Reuters that it responded to a request for assistance on Saturday morning. "The safety of crew and ship has been ascertained. The Navy has also dispatched a warship to arrive in the area and provide assistance as required," the official said, declining to be named as he was not authorised to discuss the incident. Indian news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake, identified the tanker as MV Chem Pluto carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia. Citing Indian defence sources, ANI said the tanker had around 20 Indians on board. A Reuters tracker showed the ship was headed towards the Port of Mangalore in India's south. The hit on the vessel follows drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting Palestinians under siege by Israel in the Gaza Strip, on commercial shipping, forcing shippers to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/israel-affiliated-merchant-vessel-hit-by-aerial-vehicle-off-india-uk-firm-2023-12-23/

2023-12-23 12:50

WARSAW, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Polish farmers will suspend a protest at the border crossing with Ukraine at Medyka from Sunday, but truckers will continue blockades at three other crossings over Christmas and will allow even fewer trucks to pass than earlier, they said on Saturday. Polish drivers have been blocking several crossings with Ukraine since Nov. 6, demanding the European Union reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc, and the same for European truckers seeking to enter Ukraine. They were later joined by farmers who demanded government subsidies for corn and no hikes in taxes. Roman Kondrow, one of the leaders of the protesting farmers, said after talks with Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski that the protest in Medyka will be suspended from Sunday morning until Jan. 2 or 3, 2024, PAP news agency reported. However, truckers said they would stay on the border over Christmas and will let through only one commercial truck every three hours, instead of three every hour. "We are intensifying the protest, (allowing only) one truck every three hours," said Edyta Ozygała, one of the leaders of the trucker's protest in Dorohusk, told Reuters, adding that the transport of humanitarian help and military equipment were not being blocked. Poland's deputy infrastructure minister said on Friday after a meeting in Kyiv that he hoped truckers' protests on the border with Ukraine could be resolved before the end of the year. Polish truckers resumed their blockade of one of the main crossings at the Ukrainian border this week after a short break. According to data from Poland's Customs office, the wait at the Dorohusk crossing was 77 hours on Saturday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-farmers-suspend-protest-ukraine-border-truckers-stay-2023-12-23/

2023-12-23 11:09

OTTAWA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - All over Canada, a giant northern country known for its biting winters and drifts so deep they can swallow a car, people will wake up this Christmas with a simple question: where is the snow? There is not much of it around. From coast to coast, from north to south, tracts of land that should be frosty white are instead green and brown. "I've been tracking weather for 55 years and I have never seen a kind of a winter like the first official day of winter, like we have right now," said David Phillips, a veteran senior climatologist at the federal environment ministry. "It doesn't look like winter, it doesn't feel like winter, and yet it is winter. And I think that to me is the shock," he said by phone. Around 75% of Canadians usually have a white Christmas, officially defined as two cm (0.8 inches) of snow on the ground, and the number now is near zero. Winters are normally toughest in landlocked provinces like Alberta, where snow can easily sit on the ground for five months or more. But on Friday, the high temperature in the capital Edmonton was +7 Celsius (45 Fahrenheit), compared to -28 C (-18 Fahrenheit) last year. Further east in the province of Manitoba, the balmy weather is even affecting the city of Winnipeg, which is traditionally so cold at this time of year that locals dub it Winterpeg. "Normally we have snow drifts and a foot of snow. And it's just really mild ... there's almost no snow," city resident Lynn Stadnyk said by phone, noting she could still see grass on neighbors' lawns. "Personally, I like it, because you can go in and out the door without five layers." In some ways, this should not be a surprise. The year 2023 looks set to be one of the warmest on record and Canada has not had a chance to cool down. Another reason is the El Nino phenomenon, a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that often results in milder temperatures. Canadians like to ask each other "Cold enough for you?" as the temperatures bite, but that might be going out of fashion. And the trend of warmer winters means people are likely to be spending less time outside engaged in traditional activities such as skiing, sledding or skating. "What you're seeing now this winter, is really a sneak preview of what will be normal in decades from now," said Phillips, who has an idea as how to deal with the issue. "I think if we could move Christmas a month from now, well, we almost guarantee a white Christmas everywhere. But that's not going to happen," he said with a laugh. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/where-has-snow-gone-most-canadians-will-wake-up-green-christmas-2023-12-23/

2023-12-23 10:25

LAGOS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank has lifted a ban on transacting in cryptocurrencies, while saying global trends had shown a need to regulate such activities, the bank said in its latest circular. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Feb. 2021 barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in crypto assets, citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Subsequently Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May last year published regulations for digital assets that signalled Africa's most populous country was trying to find a middle ground between an outright ban on crypto assets and their unregulated use. In a circular dated Dec. 22, the CBN said current trends globally have shown there is a need to regulate the activities of virtual asset service providers (VASPs), which include cryptocurrencies and crypto assets. The latest guidelines spell out how banks and financial institutions (FI) should open accounts, provide designated settlement accounts and settlement services and act as channels for forex inflows and trade for firms transacting in crypto assets. VASPs would need to be licensed by the Nigerian SEC to engage in the crypto business. "From the commencement of these Regulations, Fl shall not open or permit the operation of any account by any person or entity to conduct the business of virtual/digital assets unless that account is designated for that purpose and opened in line with the requirement of these Guidelines," the CBN said But banks were still barred from trading, holding or transacting cryptocurrencies, the CBN said. Nigeria's young, tech-savvy population has eagerly adopted cryptocurrencies, for example using peer-to-peer trading offered by crypto exchanges to avoid the financial sector. New York-based blockchain research firm Chainalysis said in a September report that the volume of crypto transactions in Nigeria grew 9% year-over-year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-central-bank-lifts-ban-crypto-trading-2023-12-23/

2023-12-23 08:26

KAMPALA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Uganda's oil ministry said it has granted Nigerian firm Oranto Petroleum Limited a two-year renewal of an oil exploration licence for two blocks located in the west of the country. The licence extension, which covers the Ngassa Deep and Ngassa Shallow exploration areas, will allow the firm to conduct both exploration and appraisal drilling activity, the ministry said in a statement released late on Friday. Uganda discovered commercial oil deposits in its Albertine Graben basin along its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006, and aims to commence production in 2025. The country's two development fields, Kingfisher and Tilenga, are jointly owned by France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), China's CNOOC (0883.HK) and Uganda's state-owned Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). Environmental groups and climate change activists have criticised Uganda's efforts to develop its oil resources, saying it will soil fragile eco-systems, displace people and ruin livelihoods. Energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa rejected the criticism and said Uganda was "committed to responsibly developing our oil and gas resources." "Proceeds from petroleum resources will be channelled into supporting Uganda's efforts to achieve its energy transition plan," Nankabirwa added in the statement. Oranto has held the licences to the blocks since 2017. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uganda-extends-oil-exploration-licence-nigerias-oranto-by-two-years-2023-12-23/