Skip to main content

World markets dive as Trump sparks trade, North Korea worries

Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain...

Boko Haram suicide bomber kills five in NE Nigeria.

Five people were killed in a suicide bomb attack when Boko Haram raided a remote village in northeast Nigeria, a civilian militia member and the emergency services said Thursday.
Ibrahim Liman, from the Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF), said the attack happened at Belbelu village, near Kayamla, in the Konduga area of Borno state, at about 10:00 am (0900 GMT).
Gunmen stormed the village and one of the jihadists broke off and headed towards a grain silo, forcing members of the CJTF to open fire.
“They kept firing at them with their muskets from behind the fence while he kept advancing and also firing back with his AK-47,” Liman told AFP.
“When he got closer, he detonated the explosives wrapped around his body, killing four CJTF and wounding two others.
“A woman nearby was also killed. The attack forced the vigilantes to flee back to the village. That led to panic among villagers who began to flee.
“The attackers then moved in and broke in to the silos and took grain, mostly millet, sorghum and maize. They took what they could and vandalised the rest.”
The account was supported by a member of the emergency services in Borno, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.
The Konduga district to the southeast of Maiduguri has been a known hotbed of Boko Haram activity despite government and military claims the group is a spent force.
In August, four members of the CJTF were among five people killed in a Boko Haram ambush on a convoy of trucks under armed escort at Meleri village.
In June, Boko Haram gunmen hid in trees and killed eight members of the CJTF outside Kayamla. Eight loggers were killed and their bodies burnt near the village in April.
Militant fighters killed four traders at the weekly market in the village in April 2015 before looting food and taking away livestock.
In March 2014, five people were killed and several others wounded when the Nigerian Air Force bombed Kayamla in the mistaken belief it was a Boko Haram camp.The latest attacks underline the continued threat from the Islamist rebels, particularly against vulnerable communities in hard-to-reach rural areas.
On Wednesday, the Norwegian Refugee Council published new research that indicated most of the 1.8 million people still displaced by the conflict would not return home because of fears about security.The biggest threat to civilians has been suicide bombers.
Borno state police said three women strapped with explosives tried to get into Molai General Hospital, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, at about 8:30 pm on Wednesday.They blew themselves up but there were no other injuries. About two hours later, a fourth bomber blew up in a nearby village.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

World markets dive as Trump sparks trade, North Korea worries

Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain...

APDA, PDP, commend INEC for “timely” release of 2019 elections’ timetable.

The Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA) and the Peoples Democratic Party have commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “for early release of timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections.” The political parties gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday. The APDA National Publicity Secretary, Mr Tosin Adeyanju, described the timetable and schedule of activities as a welcome development for political parties. Adeyanju said that the early release of the timetable would enable political parties to have enough time to prepare for the elections. He added that it had also cleared all rumours and speculations, especially date of primaries and other pre-election activities for political parties. He noted that “we in APDA believe that the timetable would afford political parties the opportunity and enough time to adequately prepare and plan for the elections. “This ...

Hoodlums vandalise APC secretariat in Rivers, one person dies.

One person died in Port- Harcourt on Friday as unidentified persons, suspected to be political thugs vandalised the Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) located at the Old Government Residential Area in Port Harcourt, Rivers. The Rivers Command of the Nigerian Police quickly intervened by deploying tear-gas to stop further destruction of the party’s secretariat. Gun shots were fired into the air to scare riotous members and in the process one death was recorded. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that APC members aspiring for various positions at the Ward levels had come to the party secretariat to pick their forms before the incident. A Ward Chairmanship aspirant told NAN that he was unable to pick the form after paying the required amount through the bank. He said that trouble occurred after a long wait by the aspirants. Read More:  Ward congress: Lagos CP reads riot act to APC members “As you can see, most of us that are vying f...