The continent has taken a decisive step towards resource sovereignty, but the real struggle lies ahead
By Vsevolod Sviridov, expert at the Center for African Studies, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
At an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) in early July, it was decided that the headquarters of the new Africa Energy Bank will be located in Nigeria, over Algeria, Benin, and Ghana. For Nigeria, it was particularly important to beat Algeria, a rival for the status of Africa’s largest energy power, and Ghana – a rival for political influence in West Africa.
Between Nigeria and Algeria, the choice probably fell on the former because, in January, the Research Institute (GRI) of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) was opened in Algeria. The GRI will develop a framework for scientific and technological cooperation through information exchange, the sharing of best practices, innovation, and technology transfer. Moreover, the African Energy Commission (AFREC) of the African Union is also located in Algeria. The presence of such international organizations has already sealed Algeria’s status as an influential player in the energy sector, both in Africa and globally.
The fact that the headquarters of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) – which may become one of Africa’s most influential financial structures, both in the energy sector and in general – will be located in Nigeria is an important achievement for the country, especially in light of the crises which have impacted the country’s energy sector.
The founding documents and the AEB charter were signed in early June by Afreximbank and the Africa Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO). The latter is an African organization established in 1987 to develop intra-African cooperation in the energy sector. The same two organizations spearheaded the project to establish the AEB, became its founders, and will provide a large portion of the initial capital.
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https://www.rt.com/africa/601547-sovereignty-africa-energy-bank/
China has suspended several 2025 export controls on strategic materials — including rare earths, superhard materials, and lithium batteries – for a year. Is this a concession to the US, or a move in a far more complex game?
"The first aim of China’s export controls was to consolidate its leverage in negotiations. The second was to establish a long-term framework for managing such controls," says Yana Leksyutina, deputy director at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Сhina could activate this mechanism at any moment, and now everyone knows it’s a lever it holds, she explains to Sputnik.
Balancing the Mineral Market
"The moratorium on export bans to the US essentially resets the rare earth market to where it was previously," Jeff J. Brown, author of 'The China Trilogy' and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
In the meantime, there will be a global rush by the US and its NATO allies to acquire as many rare earth ...
The Israeli regime has reportedly signed contracts worth millions of dollars in recent months to sway American public opinion as part of attempts to launder the occupying entity’s genocidal war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that the multimillion-dollar campaign aimed to reshape US public opinion, both online and offline, through coordinated influence operations combining digital marketing, AI, geotagging, and religious messaging.
The contracts, signed between the Israeli regime and firms linked to US President Donald Trump, reveal a “hasbara [propaganda] campaign” and schemes to target millions of US churchgoers, deploy bots, hire influencers, and try to make ChatGPT more pro-Israel.
The largest contract, worth $6 million, was signed with Clock Tower X, owned by Trump’s former digital campaign chief Brad Parscale, to produce and distribute roughly 100 core pieces of pro-Israel content per month and thousands......
