US oil prices slide below $50 a barrel…Read full details

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Oil barrels

US oil prices closed below $50 a barrel for the first time in three months on Thursday amid worries about increased American shale production in the wake of ramped-up capital investment.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery, slid $1 to $49.28 a barrel, its first close under $50 since December 7.

That drop followed a decline of more than five percent Wednesday after an oil inventory report showed US stocks rose by eight million barrels, on higher domestic production and increased stockpiling at the closely-watched Cushing, Oklahoma trading hub.

“The sell-off is continuing in light of a significant increase in inventories yesterday,” said Andy Lipow of Houston consultancy Lipow Oil Associates.

The pullback comes during a major energy industry conference in Houston that has featured commentary about increased investment in the industry following the recovery in oil prices since an OPEC agreement struck in November.

Analysts pointed to comments from leading shale producer Harold Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources, who was quoted in news reports as saying higher US oil output could “kill the market.”

The US Energy Information Administration projected US oil output would rise to 9.7 million barrels per day in 2018 from 8.9 million in 2016, according its monthly report released Tuesday.

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Sudan president accuses Egypt of backing opponents…Read full details

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Omar al-Bashir. PHOTO:AFP

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir accused the Egyptian government of harbouring and backing Sudanese opposition figures fighting his troops, in remarks broadcast on Sunday.

In his first such accusation against Cairo, Bashir said in an interview broadcast by Al-Arabiya that Sudanese opposition figures were “backed by Egyptian intelligence services”.

“We raise this issue every time when we meet Egyptian officials,” said Bashir.

Sudanese troops are fighting rebels in three conflict regions — Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

“Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is a good man and he is my friend, but it’s the Egyptian intelligence that I am accusing,” he said.

“I’m not accusing President Sisi. I’m accusing the regime.”

Bashir also denied allegations that Khartoum was hosting several members of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement banned by Cairo.

“Our policy is not to disturb the peace and security of any country and not to intervene in any internal issues of any country,” he said.

Bashir reiterated that Sudan will protest to the United Nations if Egypt does not end its occupation of a border region claimed by his country.

“The Halayeb triangle is Sudanese and we will not make any concessions,” he said.

Sudan will lodge a protest with the UN Security Council if Egypt refuses to settle the dispute, said Bashir, calling for “negotiations” with Cairo.

Egypt occupied the sparsely populated 25,000-square-kilometre (10,000-square-mile) Halayeb triangle in 1995, during a low point in relations between the two countries.

Sudan has regularly protested about Egypt’s administration of Halayeb, which lies near the Red Sea in a mineral-rich border region.

Khartoum says that Halayeb has been part of its sovereign territory since shortly after independence in 1956.

Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide related to the conflict in Darfur, also spoke in the interview of Sudan’s ties with Washington.

The United States has blacklisted Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993 and imposed a trade embargo on Khartoum in 1997 over its alleged support for Islamist groups.

“There is a five-point roadmap between us and the United States. The first point, terrorism, has been completed 100 percent and the Americans have acknowledged that,” said Bashir.

He said he now expected the US Congress to remove Sudan from the blacklist.

Before he left office, former US president Barack Obama announced in a letter to Congress that he was easing economic sanctions against Khartoum.

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Aboubakar delivers Cup of Nations for Cameroon…See full details

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Cameroon's forward Vincent Aboubakar (C) reacts after scoring the team's second goal during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final football match between Egypt and Cameroon at the Stade de l'Amitie Sino-Gabonaise in Libreville on February 5, 2017.<br />GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

Vincent Aboubakar came off the bench to score a stunning winner with two minutes left as Cameroon fought back from behind to beat Egypt 2-1 in a thrilling Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday.

Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny had given Egypt the lead midway through the first half and Egypt looked to be on course to win an unrivalled eighth Cup of Nations crown in their first appearance at the tournament since 2010.

But Nicolas Nkoulou, who had come off the bench in the first half, headed in the equaliser just before the hour mark and his fellow substitute Aboubakar slammed in the winner in the 88th minute.

That sparked bedlam in a near-capacity crowd of more than 38,000 in Gabon’s capital, made up in its majority by Cameroonian supporters.

It is a fifth Cup of Nations crown for the Indomitable Lions, a first since 2002, and the first time they have beaten Egypt in the final in three attempts.

Egypt fell just short on their return to the competition after a seven-year absence, and the defeat will be especially painful for their coach Hector Cuper.

The Argentine was desperate to win a trophy after a career tainted by rotten luck in finals at club level, including back-to-back defeats in the UEFA Champions League with Valencia at the start of the last decade.

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Emmanuel Armah: My husband is not dead, he will be discharged soon – Stella Armah

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According to Mrs Stella Armah, rumors of her husband’s death are not only false but also mischievous.

It was circulated on social media on Friday that the actor who is receiving treatment at the 37 military hospital was dead.

This was quickly rebutted by Mrs Armah when she spoke with the Accra-based radio station, Abusua FM. She revealed that Emmanuel Armah was husband is well and will be discharged from the hospital very soon.

The actor, according to his wife, was suffering from gout, was not not in afflicted with any terminal disease.

“My husband is not dead, there is no iota of truth in the speculations that my husband is dead, I don’t know where the rumour is coming from. I am calling on the public to disregard the rumour. I am even with him right now at the hospital. He will be discharged on Monday. His leg is only swollen, he’s ok, the Minister of Creative Arts and Culture Catherine Afeku, Nana Achaempong, Nana Ampadu, Miracle films, Samuel Nyamekye and a host of people in the arts and entertainment industry have all visited us in the hospital,” she explained.

According to a report by UltimateFMOnline.com, Mr. Armah, himself, while speaking on phone assured that he was not dead and would soon be discharged from the hospital.

“I am ok, am not dead, God is my protector so am not dying now, disregard all the rumours circulating on social media”.

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Iran announces ‘reciprocal action’ to US sanctions…Read full details

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Hossein Dehghan

Iran announced it will take “reciprocal action” against US individuals and companies after President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday imposed new sanctions on Tehran over its weapons procurement network.

“In response to the new move by the United States of America and as a reciprocal action, (Iran) will impose legal limitations for some American individuals and companies that have had a role in the creation and support of extreme terrorist groups in the region,” the foreign ministry said.

“The names of these individuals and companies will be announced later,” it said in a statement.

“Missile development and capabilities of the country, which is merely designed for defensive objectives and carrying conventional weapons and that will never be used except for legitimate defence, is the right of the people of Iran based on international law and the UN charter,” the ministry said.

The fresh US measures were in response to Iran’s latest ballistic missile test and its support for Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen who in the past week targeted a Saudi warship, US officials said.

The additional US sanctions list three trading networks and individuals allegedly involved in supplying Iran’s missile programme.

Iran last Sunday test-fired a medium range missile, which the White House contends violated a UN Security Council resolution proscribing missiles that could carry a nuclear device.

The Islamic republic has confirmed it tested a ballistic missile but denied it was a breach of a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers or UN resolutions.

“The action was in line with boosting Iran’s defence power and is not in contradiction with the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) or (Security Council) Resolution 2231,” said Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan.

Tehran says its missiles do not breach UN resolutions because they are for defence purposes only and are not designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Iran, which accuses Washington and Arab allies in the Gulf of supporting radical Sunni Islamists in the Syrian conflict, has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles), enough to reach Israel and US bases in the region.

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