The death toll from an armed attack by insurgents in the northern Burkina Faso town of Seytenga rose to 79, as 29 more bodies were found on Tuesday, an official said.

The insurgents had stormed the town of Seytenga and attacked civilians on the night of June 11-12, said Wendkouni Joel Lionel Bilgo, the government spokesman.

Burkina Faso has been battling an insurgency that has spread from neighboring Mali over the past decade.

Last week, 11 gendarmerie officers were killed in an attack on the Seytenga Territorial Gendarmerie Brigade in the same Sahel region.

More than 3,173 people, including 2,173 children, had been displaced as of last Sunday due to recent armed attacks in Seytenga and Titabe communes, according to the Directorate of Humanitarian Action, a local NGO based in the northeastern town of Dori.

Last week, the government stated that an assessment was still being undertaken to determine the number of displaced people./aa

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday kept its global oil demand growth estimates for 2022 stable compared to last month's assessment.

Global oil demand is estimated to grow by 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to reach 100.3 million bpd in 2022, around 1 million bpd higher than in 2019, according to OPEC's latest monthly oil market report.

The organization said the world oil demand recorded robust growth of 5.2 million bpd in the first quarter of this year, mainly due to a strong economic rebound supported by further easing of COVID-19 containment measures, particularly in OECD countries.

OECD oil demand grew by 3.4 million bpd year-on-year while non-OECD requirements gained 1.9 million bpd as compared to the same quarter in 2021, according to the report.

Downward revisions in the second, third, and fourth quarter of 2022 oil demand growth took into account mainly current economic forecasts and other factors that could potentially reduce global oil requirements, including COVID-19 developments in China, it said.

- Global supply falls in May

Global oil supply in May decreased by around 150,000 bpd compared to the previous month to average 98.75 million bpd.

The organization's monthly oil market report showed that OPEC crude oil production averaged 28.51 million bpd in May, for a decrease of about 176,000 bpd month on month. Crude oil output rose mainly in Saudi Arabia, while production declined in Libya.

Production increased by 60,000 bpd to around 10.42 million bpd in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, oil output in Libya decreased by 186,000 bpd to around 707,000 bpd.

The share of OPEC crude out of total global production decreased by a 0.1 percentage point to 28.9% in May compared with the previous month.

Non-OPEC liquids production, including OPEC natural gas liquids, rose by just around 23,000 bpd in May compared to the previous month to average 70.2 million bpd, although this represented a year-on-year increase of 1.7 million bpd.

'Preliminary estimated decreases in production during May were mainly driven by Canada and the UK by 0.4 million bpd, while Eurasia and Latin America are expected to have seen growth in liquids output of 0.4 million bpd,' the report said./aa

The UN World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday suspended food assistance to South Sudan, citing insufficient funding as the sole reason.

The WFP’s decision will increase the risk of starvation for 1.7 million people, according to a statement issued in the capital Juba.

According to the UN humanitarian organization, some $426 million is needed to reach six million food-insecure individuals by 2022.

South Sudan, a member country of the East African Community, is currently facing its “hungriest year” since independence in 2011, with over 60% of the population grappling with severe food insecurity, a situation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and local climate change that has created droughts.

“Humanitarian needs are far exceeding the funding we have received this year,” said Adeyinka Badejo, acting WFP country director in South Sudan.

“If this continues," she warned, "we will face bigger and more costly problems in the future, including increased mortality, malnutrition, stunting, and disease.”

The WFP is extremely concerned about the impact of the funding cuts on children, women, and men who will not have enough to eat during the lean season, the statement said.

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessment, 7.74 million people will face severe acute hunger during the lean season, which runs from June to August, and 1.4 million children will be critically malnourished.

“These families have completely exhausted their coping strategies. They need immediate humanitarian assistance to put food on the table,” Badejo added.

Due to the same budget difficulties, WFP slashed food rations in half in September of last year, leaving most households with very little food to eat.

Cereals, pulses, vegetable oil, and salt are all part of a WFP food ration.

The food suspension aid will also affect 178,000 schoolchildren who will no longer receive daily school meals, a crucial safety net that helps keep South Sudanese children in school, the statement said.​​​​​​​/aa

Russian forces have destroyed all the bridges in Ukraine's eastern city of Severodonetsk, cutting off routes for the evacuation of citizens, according to a local official.

"All bridges are destroyed, but Severodonetsk is not blocked. Communication with the city is there," said Serhiy Hayday, governor of Luhansk region where the city is located, in a Facebook post on Monday.

Hayday said the Russians have captured part of the city, but some parts remain under Ukrainian control.

Severodonetsk is among the last cities in Luhansk region that is still partially controlled by the Ukrainian forces.

Hayday went on to say that the evacuation and transportation of people was "impossible," while people who remained in the city were surviving "in extremely difficult conditions."

Earlier on Monday, he said that the Russian forces are controlling 70% of Severodonetsk, noting that the military only manages to evacuate "a few people a day."

"The Azot plant in #Severodonetsk is constantly shelled by the Russians. About 500 civilians, including 40 children, are sheltering there. We're trying to arrange an evacuation," he said on Twitter.

On Monday morning, Hayday said that following 110 days of "surviving the shelling" around 70 residents were evacuated from Lysychansk and surrounding settlements.

"The shelling is so powerful that people can't stand it. Already in the shelters, the psychological state is on the edge," he added.

He claimed that a large number of Russian soldiers were dying in pitched battles on the streets, as fighting continues in the city.

Nearly 4,400 civilians have been killed and some 5,390 injured in Ukraine since the war started on Feb. 24, while over 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including more than 7.3 million that have fled to other countries, according to UN figures./aa

Oil prices increased on Tuesday over tight supply concerns while demand side woes capped some of the gains as China tests millions and puts thousands in lockdown as part of the country's zero-COVID policy.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $123.36 per barrel at 0710GMT for a 0.89% increase after closing the previous session at $122.27 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $121.94 per barrel at the same time for a 0.83% gain after the previous session closed at $120.93 a barrel.

Randall Mohammed, former vice president of energy for Ahart Solutions International and energy market commentator said news of the Iran nuclear deal receding and disruptions in Libya exerted upward pressure on prices while the re-implementation of COVID lockdowns in China prevented the prices from increasing further.

Even without a significant resurgence in Chinese demand, the European ban on Russian oil is projected to restrict the market further amid the bloc’s ongoing efforts to find different supply sources.

“As I've pointed out the lowest hanging fruit is allowing Iranian oil back onto the market. There's approximately 100 million barrels of floating oil ready for trading. It should be noted that Iranian crude is similar to Urals, the main export from Russia”, Mohammed said.

In an attempt to find supply alternatives for the EU which is planning to phase out Russian crude oil supplies in six months and the supply of refined products by the end of the year, the US has started negotiations to allow long-sanctioned Venezuelan crude to flow into Europe.

“Venezuelan crude is heavy sour which is more expensive to refine,” Mohammed warned.

Meanwhile, Iran nuclear talks to bring country's oil exports back to market lifting US sanctions on the country have come to a dead end after Iran disconnected some UN nuclear watchdog cameras monitoring its nuclear site.

The country’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, however, said all measures it has taken to roll back on its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are technically 'reversible'.

Increasing the supply concerns and fanning the prices, Libya's oil production is declining at a rate of 1.1 million bpd, according to the country's oil minister, Mohammed Aoun, who also stated that nearly all of the country's oil fields have been shut down./aa

Group of Twenty (G20) nations saw their cumulative GDP growth rate slowing to 0.7% in the first quarter of 2022, according to provisional estimates released on Tuesday.

The figure was down from the 1.3% quarterly growth rate recorded in the last three-month period of last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report.

"The slowdown in the G20 area in Q1 2022 mainly reflects weaker performance in the United States, where GDP contracted by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter after rising by 1.7% in Q4 2021," the report said. "This was mainly due to changes in net trade and decreases in inventory investment and in government spending on COVID-19 assistance."

Quarterly expansion also slowed by more than 2 percentage points in Australia and Indonesia, while the Canadian, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Korean, Turkish, and British economies also faced flagging growth, though to a lesser extent, it added.

Brazil, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and the EU enjoyed stronger growth in January-March 2022, compared to the previous October-December. Growth in Saudi Arabia was the highest among G20 economies with 2.6% due to rises in oil activities and crude prices.

In the OECD area, which comprises of 38 countries, including a dozen G20 countries, GDP growth is estimated to be 0.3% in the first quarter of this year.

The Turkish economy is estimated to have grown 1.2% in the first quarter of 2022 from the previous quarter, according to provisional figures. It is estimated to have annual growth of 7.4% in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period of last year./aa

Sweden's inflation rose 7.2% in May, marking its highest annual gain in almost 31 years, according to official figures released Tuesday.

This is the highest inflation rate according to the consumer price index with a fixed interest rate (CPIF) since December 1991, Statistics Sweden said in a statement.

While the market estimate for the CPIF was an annual gain of 7%, the figure rose 6.4% in April, from the same period of last year.

On a monthly basis, the inflation rate according to the CPIF rose 1% in May, from the previous month.

"The monthly change in May was mainly driven by price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages," the statement said. "In addition to food prices, electricity and recreation and culture contributed to the monthly increase."

It added that the inflation rate according to CPIF excluding energy increased 5.4% in May on an annual basis.

The CPIF shows the same price trend as the consumer price index, but without the direct effects of a changed monetary policy, according to Statistics Sweden./aa

Annual inflation in Germany rose 7.9% in May, from the same month of last year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Tuesday.

While the figure came in line with the market estimate, consumer prices annually rose 7.4% in April. On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.9% in May, from the previous month.

This latest inflation figure marked the highest annual rise in consumer prices since 1974.

"The inflation rate thus reached an all-time high for the third month in a row since German reunification," Destatis President Georg Thiel said in a statement. "The main reason for the high inflation still is price rises for energy products. But we also see price increases for many other goods, especially food."

"A similarly high inflation rate was last recorded in the former territory of the Federal Republic in winter 1973/1974 when mineral oil prices had sharply increased as a consequence of the first oil crisis," he added.

In May, energy product prices were 38.3% higher than the same month of last year, after showing an annual increase of 35.3% in April, according to Destatis.

While the price of heating oil soared 94.8% annually in May, natural gas prices jumped 55.2% and motor fuel prices increased 41%, it added./aa

The price of Bitcoin on Tuesday dove to its lowest level in 18 months as the sell-off continues in cryptocurrency and global equity markets with fears of recession stemming from the Federal Reserve's rate hikes.

Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto by market size, saw its price further plummeting to $20,846 at 0200GMT, marking the lowest level since Dec. 16, 2020, according to official figures.

The market capitalization of Bitcoin also fell to approximately $400 billion at that time, which is a $200 billion weekly loss.

The price later climbed back to $22,850 at 0536GMT for a daily loss of more than 10%.

Ethereum, the world's biggest altcoin by market value, had its price dipping at $1,075.80 at 0230GMT -- its lowest since Jan. 14, 2021. It later rose to $1,225 at 0537GMT for a daily decline of 9.3%.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market was down 7.1% to $963 billion at 0537GMT, which is more than a $300 billion loss in less than a week.

The massive losses in the crypto market come as US stock exchanges continue to plummet amid fears that the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening against record-high inflation could cause a recession in the world's biggest economy.

The Dow Jones fell 2.8% to close Monday with a massive 876-point loss. The S&P 500 lost 3.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dove 4.7%.

The Fed's two-day meeting will conclude on Wednesday at 1800GMT, and it is widely expected to make another 50 basis point rate hike.

The central bank could signal 75 basis points of interest rate increase for its September meeting to tame consumer inflation that annually rose 8.6% in May./aa

At least 30 families in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been left homeless due to flooding, officials said Monday. 

The country has been grappling with flooding caused by heavy rains.

According to the officials, more than 400 homes and businesses have been flooded while 30 houses became unusable in the northeastern municipality of Celic.

Dozens of families were left homeless after the overflowing waters from a river entered their homes and workplaces.

A large amount of agricultural land was also damaged.

An estimated 3.5 million euros ($3.6 million) is needed to repair the damage in the region, which is almost twice the annual budget of the municipality.

Hundreds of buildings were flooded after several rivers overflowed in the northeast of Bosnia, and meteorologists are still announcing new precipitation.

Several commercial buildings were destroyed while several cars were also washed away. Local authorities have declared a state of natural disaster.

Heavy rains and torrents also caused severe damage in the municipality of Srebrenik, where a large number of buildings were flooded.

In Zvornik, in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, large agricultural areas were flooded, the Croatian portal Indeks reported./aa