African Development Bank chief Adesina criticises opaque loans tied to Africa’s natural resources

African Development Bank chief Adesina criticises opaque loans tied to Africa’s natural resources

Akiwumi Adesina said loans secured with natural resources pose a challenge for development banks like his and the International Monetary Fund, which promote sustainable debt management. Countries may struggle to get or repay loans from these institutions because they have to use the income from their natural resources — typically crucial to their economies — to pay off resource-tied debts, he said.

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Looming Armageddon: Putin warns America and allies Russia is ‘technically ready’ for nuclear war

Looming Armageddon: Putin warns America and allies Russia is ‘technically ready’ for nuclear war

Putin’s nuclear warning came alongside another offer for talks on Ukraine as part of a new post-Cold War demarcation of European security. The US says Putin is not ready for serious talks over Ukraine.

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US and allies are considering commercial maritime option for Gaza humanitarian support

US and allies are considering commercial maritime option for Gaza humanitarian support

US officials have said the US military operation would provide hundreds of additional truckloads of aid every day and those shipments would include more than two million meals, water, temporary shelters and medicine.

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Red Sea crisis: British military reports a suspected piracy attack off the coast of Somalia

Red Sea crisis: British military reports a suspected piracy attack off the coast of Somalia

In December, at least two incidents were reported. One involved a trading vessel seized by heavily armed people near the town of Eyl off the coast of Somalia.

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Biden-versus-Trump rematch on the cards after they clinched party nominations setting off bruising campaign

Biden-versus-Trump rematch on the cards after they clinched party nominations setting off bruising campaign

The last repeat presidential matchup took place in 1956, when Republican President Dwight Eisenhower defeated former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat, for the second time. This year, voters have expressed little enthusiasm for a repeat of the bitter 2020 election, with Reuters/Ipsos public polls showing both Biden and Trump are unpopular with the majority of voters.

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Kenya halts deployment of police to Haiti in the absence of legal authority in the Caribbean nation

Kenya halts deployment of police to Haiti in the absence of legal authority in the Caribbean nation

Under the plan, the UN-backed multinational police led by Kenyan officers was to help quell gang violence that has long plagued Haiti. But violence escalated sharply since February 29, with gunmen burning police stations, closing the main international airports and raiding the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

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