US extends sanctions waiver on Russian oil through 17 June
The US Treasury extended its waiver on sanctioned Russian oil through 17 June, Al Jazeera reports. The decision is intended to keep large buyers such as India and China supplied while preventing oil prices from spiking further during the Iran war.
The US Treasury has extended its waiver on sanctioned Russian oil through 17 June, Al Jazeera reports. The decision is being read as a balancing measure: keeping large buyers such as India and China supplied while preventing oil prices from spiking further during the Iran war.
Washington took the step to offset the additional supply gap caused by shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. White House officials stress that the waiver does not directly finance Russia's war revenues and only protects the use of intermediary infrastructure by third-country buyers and refiners.
The move risks reopening sanctions-alignment friction between the US and its European and British allies. Brussels is pressing ahead with plans to tighten its own Russian-energy measures, which could leave European refiners with narrower commercial room than their US peers. Brent crude saw a limited dip after the announcement before steadying.
More from Africa
Ebola vaccine could take nine months as death toll rises further, WHO warns
The World Health Organization said the death toll in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 165 and warned an effective vaccine targeting the current strain could take up to nine months to be available. The outbreak is spreading faster than in past years.
Sierra Leone becomes latest African country to receive deportees from US
Under an agreement between Sierra Leone and the United States, Freetown has become the latest African country to receive deportees who are nationals of third countries. The first flight landed at the weekend carrying 25 people. Human rights organisations raised concerns; the Sierra Leone government said it had agreed in exchange for financial and technical support.
DRC health minister warns 'very high' Ebola lethality rate as toll hits 80
The health minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo warned that the lethality rate of an Ebola outbreak in the country's east is exceptionally high. The official death toll has reached 80, and local authorities flag a shortage of treatment-centre capacity.