Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan: The UN announced on Tuesday that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is a complete disaster, as the nation suffers from nearly 16 months of conflict between opposing factions. The blockade of essential supplies by military forces is endangering the lives of thousands of malnourished children in North Darfur, was criticised by Edem Wosornu, the Director of Operations and Advocacy at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as “an entirely man-made crisis” and “a shameful stain on their collective conscience” during a Security Council meeting on Tuesday.
Super-Tusker Hunting Outrage: Conservationists are calling for a halt to the trophy hunting of Super-Tusker elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park that crosses over into neighbouring Tanzania. This follows the killing of at least five males with unusually large tusks by hunters in Tanzania. Trophy hunting is legal in Tanzania but not in Kenya. Under what conservationists described as a “gentleman’s agreement,” elephant hunters have left Amboseli elephants along the Kenya-Tanzania border alone until recently and the Tanzanian government is considering issuing new licences for more hunts that give them around $200 000 in income each but is devastating the last Super-Tusker population on earth. A worldwide petition has been started to attempt to persuade the Tanzanian president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, to put an end to the hunting.
Protests Continue in Nigeria: Protesters were arrested in the Norther Nigeria States for carrying Russian Flags and reports state that several people were also arrested for manufacturing Russian flags yesterday. The Nigerian government said it will not tolerate calls for coups after some protesters in northwest Kano and Kaduna states waved Russian flags while marching in the streets Monday. According to reports, Nigeria’s defence chiefs told journalists that hoisting the Russian flags amounts to treason.
Olympic Highlights:
- Women’s Athletics: Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai was denied a consecutive Gold-medal in the Olympic 3000m steeplechase after being beaten on the line by in a close finish by Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi. Her winning time of eight minutes 52.76 seconds set a new Olympic record, while Chemutai also set a new Ugandan national record, finishing in eight minutes 53.34 seconds.
Market News: A comment from Bank of Japan J Deputy Governor, that the central bank would not raise rates at this time has led to a recovery in global stock markets and seen some calm return to the currency markets. The Nikkei is up around 3.0% this morning, the Hang Seng and the Shanghai are positive, while US futures are in the green. The dollar is a bit softer than the Euro and the pound at 1.0932 and 1.2706, respectively, but the yen is 2.3% weaker at 147.80. The Rand, which had closed at R18.49 last night, is currently trading firmer at R18.37 as risk sentiment improves and Emerging Market currencies are showing some gains. China’s trade data once again disappointed with exports missing expectations badly.
Commodities: Gold is trading marginally firmer at $2,394 after having retreated yesterday as risk appetite improved and equity markets recovered. Platinum and Palladium are both up around 1.0% this morning, but Brent crude remains on the back foot at $76.80. Demand concerns remain the primary driver for the weaker oil prices.
