Breaking News today –  Tuesday 15 October 2024

Business & Tech News

Nile Water Usage Agreement Signed amidst Water Security Concerns: A new water usage agreement, the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), has been signed by seven countries including; Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Egypt and Sudan have rejected the treaty, its purpose aims to ensure equitable utilization and sustainable management of the world’s longest river. There has been much conflict about the water usage in the past with several upstream countries arguing that the downstream states of Egypt and Sudan had been unfairly allocated greater rights over the river Nile via older colonial-era agreements. The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), a grouping of Nile riparian states, who created the CFA, said in a statement that “The CFA recognizes the legitimate needs of all Nile Basin states and commits us to the equitable sharing of these waters in a manner that promotes sustainable development.

Google Going Nuclear: In an announcement Google has said it has signed a deal that will see the deployment of small nuclear reactors (SNR’s) that will provide the huge energy volume required to power its artificial intelligence data centres. The company says the agreement with Kairos Power will see its first SNR commissioned before 2030 and will be deploying more by 2035. There was no disclosure as to the cost of the construction nor the locations of the planned SNR’s. Kairos Power has already had approval from the US energy regulator to build a SNR, however the plans will still need approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as local state agencies before they would be allowed to proceed.

Crude Oil Prices Slide: In early trade in Asia this morning, Brent futures have slid by 3,78% in what appears to be ongoing concerns of a weaker demand outlook and after a media reports indicating that Israel is not likely to strike Iranian oil targets, and has resulted in easing of concerns around disruption of oil supplies. Brent is currently trading at $74.58 per barrel (as of 08H29 CAT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 3.81%, to $71.03 per barrel. Both had closed trade around -2% lower on Monday. They are down almost $4 so far this week. Hopes from African Oil producing countries, that prices would surpass the critical $80 dollar a barrel level have been disappointed.

Market News

Markets: Us Indices all closed in positive territory yesterday, with the NASDAQ up by 0,47%, the S&P 500 0,82% up and the Dow Jones closing 0,77% up. The Nikkei closed 0,97% up today at 39989, while the Hang Seng is currently -0,75% down at 21092

Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading softer at 1.0888 against the Euro, at 1,304 against the Pound, and at 149.44 against the Yen. The rand has weakened slightly and is currently trading at R17.63 to the US dollar.

Commodities:

• Gold prices are slightly lower in early trade today and currently trading at $2,643
• Platinum is currently trading downwards, after closing at $996 yesterday and is over -1% lower at $985, with Palladium has also lost over -1% in early trade after a close of $1032 yesterday and is currently trading at $1020
• Brent crude prices have slid by margins this morning and is currently trading at $74.58 with WTI also trading downwards at $71.03 currently.
• Cocoa prices continue their momentum today and is currently slightly up and trading at 5659 pounds

Other News in Africa Today

ICC to Investigate DRC Violence: A prosecutor from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has stated that the ICC plans to conduct a full investigation into alleged crimes committed in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since January 2022. According to Karim his office will be focussing on allegations that includes war crimes and crimes against humanity, and it will seek to assess where accountability for some of the heinous attacks on civilians that has occurred in the region and the responsibility of all parties involved, without targeting specific groups, Khan added. The decision to investigate follows a second referral from the DRC government in May 2023, which requested an investigation into what the country called the systematic pillaging of its natural resources in eastern Congo by the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group.

Nigeria Acquires Italian Military Aircraft: In a major boost for Italian Aircraft maker Leonardo, the Nigerian air force will be acquiring 24 Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ten AW-109 Trekker helicopters. The deal forms part of a Nigerian Air fleet renewal strategy. Nigerian Air Force spokesperson, Olusola Akinboyewa, announced the aircraft acquisitions in a statement and said that a team led by Nigeria’s Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had met with executives from Italy’s Leonardo, the aircraft manufacturer, in Rome who confirmed the first three M-346 aircraft were anticipated for delivery early in 2025, with additional deliveries expected over a period of a year.