The CIA has changed its assessment on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, now favoring the lab leak theory. Under its new director, John Ratcliffe, the agency released an assessment on the origins of COVID-19.
The review was ordered by former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan toward the end of Biden’s time in office.
Analysts made the assessment with ‘low confidence’ despite former CIA director Bill Burns, who remained agnostic on the origins, telling the agency it needed to look at the existing evidence again and come down on one side or the other.
The agency has maintained for years it did not have enough intelligence to conclude whether COVID originated in a lab or a wet market in Wuhan, China. Despite the new assessment favoring a lab leak, there was no indication of new evidence.
‘CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting. CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,’ a CIA spokesperson told Fox News.
‘We have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change CIA’s assessment.’
Ratcliffe, who was confirmed Thursday, has long been a proponent of the lab leak theory. In an interview with Breitbart, Ratcliffe framed the assessment of COVID’s origins as part of a broader strategy ‘addressing the threat from China.’
He also said he wants the CIA to ‘get off the sidelines’ and take a stand.
In a March 2023 Fox News piece co-written with Cliff Sims, Ratcliffe accused the Biden administration of trying to keep a growing consensus around the lab leak theory quiet by suppressing ‘what can clearly be assessed from the intelligence they possess.’
He also cast doubt on the notion that the CIA did not have enough evidence to come to a conclusion about the virus’ origins.
‘The CIA is the world’s premier spy agency. Its reach is unmatched, its ability to acquire information unrivaled. And yet here we are three-and-a-half years later and there is ample public reporting that the CIA just doesn’t have enough information to make an assessment. This is utter nonsense,’ the March 2023 piece says.
American tech billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise address at the campaign launch for Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as thousands of people gathered across the country to protest the rise of the far-right party.
Musk, who spoke to the crowd in a live video, was met with huge cheers by the roughly 4,500 AfD supporters gathered inside a hall in the eastern German city of Halle on Saturday.
While speaking with party leader Alice Weidel, AfD’s candidate for chancellor, Musk reiterated his belief that AfD is Germany’s “best hope” in the upcoming general election on February 23.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is heading to snap elections in February after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence and his governing coalition collapsed after months of instability.
AfD has seen an upswell in support, recently becoming the first far-right party to win a state election in Germany since the Nazi era and performing well in opinion polls for the upcoming election. At the same time, the party has been criticized for its staunch anti-immigrant stance. All of Germany’s mainstream political parties have said they will not work with the AfD.
Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, stressed the importance “that people take pride in Germany and being German,” a sentiment that was met with rapturous cheers at the AfD rally.
The billionaire also addressed the issue of immigration — a key issue in the election — urging Wiedel and her supporters not to lose their national pride in “some kind of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.”
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Germans protested in Berlin and other cities on Saturday against the far-right party.
In the western German city of Cologne, police estimated a crowd of 40,000 people were demonstrating, according to the Associated Press. About 35,000 protestors gathered at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, according to police estimates, where they sang anti-fascist songs, carried banners denouncing AfD, and displayed illuminated letters spelling “hope and resistance,” AP reported.
“Those who fuel racism and attack climate protection are not just campaigning, they are endangering lives,” climate activist Luisa Neubauer told the crowd reported AP.
Musk has become increasingly engaged in the European political landscape. In recent weeks, he has kindled an alliance with AfD party leader Wiedel. Earlier in January, the two discussed Germany’s election, economic, and political issues.
But the involvement of Musk — the world’s richest man and the owner of the social media platform X — has also been met with apprehension among government leaders in Europe.
In the United Kingdom, the prime minister accused Musk of spreading “lies” after the billionaire provoked a social media backlash against the British government. Musk has also pushed for the release of jailed far-right political activist Tommy Robinson and amplified a social media uproar that fueled anti-immigration riots.
The German government has even accused Musk of trying to influence its election over his endorsement of the AfD.
Despite the scrutiny, Musk has continued to voice his support for the populist political movements that have galvanized numerous European elections. He has also drawn parallels between the political climate in Germany and the United States while emphasizing the global impact the approaching election could have.
“I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world.” he told AfD supporters on Saturday, “that is the significance of this election.”
Sydney restaurateur Judith Lewis couldn’t save the mezuzah, a framed parchment inked with Hebrew prayers, that was hanging in her family’s café when arsonists set it alight in the early hours one Sunday in late October.
The symbol of Jewish faith was badly damaged in the blaze that destroyed Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, which had served Sydneysiders kosher food for more than 50 years at a location just 20 minutes walk from Bondi Beach.
Lewis has bought new mezuzahs, but can’t bring herself to hang them in the café’s new premises in the nearby suburb of Darlinghurst. She’s not sure why. “I’ve got them sitting on my desk and I’m a little bit hesitant to put them up … something’s holding me back at the moment,” she said.
Many among Australia’s 117,000-strong Jewish population are anxious after a spate of antisemitic attacks in its two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne – including arson attacks on synagogues, and swastikas scrawled on buildings and cars.
Red paint was splashed on the former home of an Australian Jewish leader in Dover Heights, Sydney, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.
Bianc de Marchi/AAPIMAGE/Reuters
A police officer stands near anti-Israel graffiti sprayed on a wall in Sydney, Dec. 11, 2024.
Mick Tsikas/AAP/AP
Around a dozen people have been arrested but Jewish leaders are demanding more action from government officials, who say they don’t want to see anti-Israel sentiment spill into violence on Australian streets after 15 months of war in Gaza.
Authorities are investigating 15 “serious allegations” among more than 166 reports of antisemitic attacks received since mid-December, when Special Operation Avalite was formed to address rising antisemitism, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said in a statement Tuesday.
Officers are looking beyond suspects accused of carrying out the crimes, to “overseas actors” who may have paid for their services, he added, a line of inquiry repeated in subsequent days.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Wednesday: “It’s unclear who or where the payments are coming from.”
Albanese wouldn’t be drawn further on the police investigation but said Five Eyes – Australia’s security alliance with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand – was “playing a role.”
“This isn’t something that began yesterday,” he said. “These things are ongoing, which is why people have been rounded up, arrested, charged, and are currently in jail without bail.”
Text messages suggest paid jobs
Ten people have been charged under Strike Force Pearl, a police task force formed in the state of New South Wales in December to investigate antisemitic hate crimes in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“We don’t know who the principals are,” Webb said. “(We) can’t rule out that they’re only domestic, or that they might be international.”
Text messages exchanged between two men who pleaded guilty to one of the Sydney arson attacks point to the involvement of a third person pulling the strings.
Local media, citing court documents, reported that a mobile phone seized from one of the men contained a reference to a third person who went by the handle “jamesbond” on the encrypted app Signal.
“Jamesbond” seemed to berate the other two over an arson attack on Curly Lewis Brewing, a popular bar near Bondi Beach that was set alight on October 17.
“…Its not even 2 per cent burned f*** me dead,” said the message, according to local media, citing the court documents. One of the suspects later wrote to the other: “I’m starting to think he sent us to the wrong place lol,” local media reported.
One of the men told police he was acting under duress because he owed drug money and had received death threats, according to local media, citing court documents.
Lewis from Lewis’ Continental Kitchen believes the perpetrators may have intended to target her premises, located on Curlewis Street, but got the bar’s name confused with the street. Her place was allegedly set on fire just three days later by two other suspects.
Lewis believes the attacks were orchestrated by an outside player. “I don’t know who’s directing these fires and this graffiti and all this damage, because it’s definitely not the people who are doing it,” she said. “I’m really concerned about the higher-up level.”
Police retrieve a plastic fuel container from Lewis’ Continental Kitchen.Nine News Australia
Racist hate crimes
Security has been upgraded at Jewish sites in Sydney including synagogues, schools and places of business, and authorities are adopting increasingly tough language against those accused of antisemitic crimes.
“It is completely disgusting, and these bastards will be round up by New South Wales Police,” said NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday, hours after a childcare center near a synagogue was torched.
Some Jewish groups have accused the government of being slow to respond, a claim advanced by the leading opposition party, which has given the attacks – and the response to them – an extra political dimension just months before a federal election.
Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton told Sky News Wednesday the rise in antisemitic attacks “was entirely predictable because of what we saw on the steps of the Opera House.”
He was referring to the events of October 9, 2023 – two days after the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel that started the Gaza war – when hundreds of demonstrators waved Palestinian flags to protest a decision to light up the Sydney Opera House in the colors of the Israeli flag.
Dutton has repeatedly criticized Albanese for what he says was a “weak” response to the protest, and continues to push the government to escalate the issue. Albanese, who’s due to call an election in the coming weeks, denies he’s been slow to act.
“What we need to do is to bring the country together, not look for difference, not look for division, not look for political advantage,” he said.
A similar message was sent Wednesday in a joint statement by multi-faith and human rights groups that said Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians had also been targeted by hate crimes.
“Political leaders should condemn recent hate crimes and acts of discrimination. However, they should not seek to politicize racist attacks for political gain,” the statement said.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) condemned the attacks in a statement Thursday, saying they were part of a wave of “racism-driven hate crimes” across the country. APAN said many Palestinians and their supporters did not report harassment and abuse against them for “fear of retribution and inaction.”
Michelle Berkon is a member of Jews Against the Occupation ’48, a minority group of Jewish Australians who condemn the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and actively support the Palestinian cause.
She said it was “very malicious” to suggest, as some have, that Palestinians or their supporters were behind the antisemitic attacks. “Who stands to benefit from this? It’s certainly not the Palestinians, is it?” she said.
‘Outrageous’ arson sentence
Authorities insist that the theory of “overseas actors” paying local criminals is just one line of inquiry. They’re also looking into whether any young people have been radicalized online or encouraged to commit antisemitic acts.
The 10 people arrested so far by NSW Police are aged between 19 and 40. One of the two men who exchanged text messages over the Curly Lewis Brewing fire, a 31-year-old man, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison, with a non-parole period of 10 months.
Lewis, whose café was burned to the ground, said the sentence was too lenient, calling it “outrageous.” “He should be given the full sentence of 10 years,” she said. Police said they would appeal the sentence.
On the heels of a national cabinet meeting, involving all state and territory ministers, police commissioners across Australia met and issued a joint statement, saying a strong policing response is needed now more than ever to keep the community safe.
Max Kaiser, executive officer of the Jewish Council Australia, says policing alone won’t address the broader issue of racism in Australia – that requires education and a community approach that brings together different faiths.
“It’s important that there obviously is some form of targeted police response to these particular incidents,” he said. “But unfortunately, there’s a strong intersection between a law-and-order, tough-on-crime response and politics in Australia.”
“Everyone wants the perpetrators to be caught, and the attacks brought to an end, if that’s possible, but the underlying issues are still there, and they can’t be solved through more arrests.”
Lewis wants the perpetrators to pay for what they did, with a hefty sentence behind bars. “They destroyed our thriving business of 55 years,” she said, of the café started by her parents, one of the first in Sydney to offer kosher food.
But she’s been heartened by the response of suppliers and community members who’ve rallied around the café, helping it to reopen, albeit with fewer staff and a steep drop in trade, just three weeks later.
“The one thing that really, really stunned me was, right from the beginning, after the fire, people would come up and say, ‘Tell us what we can do. We can clean, we can do whatever you want,’” Lewis said.
The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) was largely flat with a 0.29 percent gain on the week to close at 621.25 on Friday (January 24). Meanwhile, the S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) posted a 1.6 percent increase to hit 25,468.49, and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) was up 1.33 percent to reach 137.31.
The week’s big news came on Monday (January 20), when Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US. On his first day in office, the president signed dozens of executive orders including two directed at the US resource sector.
The first, Unleashing American Energy, will open federal lands and waters for exploration and development in the oil, gas and uranium sectors. The order will also seek to override energy and emission regulations at the state level, and potentially eliminate electric vehicle subsidies.
The second, Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential, targets resource development in Alaska and will seek to end what the administration calls “an assault on Alaska’s sovereignty.” The order will roll back environmental protections in Alaska and work to prioritize the development of liquid natural gas and critical minerals.
Although Donald Trump did not follow through on his promise to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico on day one of his presidency he did indicate they may be applied on February 1.
He addressed the topic further on Thursday (January 23) in a virtual presentation at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In his remarks, he suggested that the US doesn’t need Canadian exports and that the country has been very difficult to deal with in the past. He also repeated his prior remarks that Canada could avoid tariffs by becoming the 51st state.
North of the border, StatsCan released its November 2024 monthly mineral production survey on Wednesday (January 22). The data shows that copper production declined to 33.23 million kilograms from 38.34 million in October. However, shipments substantially increased to 47.89 million kilograms from 36.05 million the month prior. The total value of shipments in November reached C$487.96 million.
Gold production declined slightly to 16,945 kilograms in November from 17,027 kilograms in October, but like copper, shipments increased to 14,389 kilograms from 13,575 kilograms a month earlier, representing a total value of C$1.71 billion.
Meanwhile, silver production increased to 24,959 kilograms in November compared to 24,550 kilograms in October. Silver shipment volumes were up substantially to 24,047 kilograms from 20,414 kilograms the previous month, for a total value of C$32.66 million.
Markets climbed over the course of the week. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) was up 1.77 percent to end Friday at 6,101.24 while the Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) gained 1.45 percent to 21,774.01. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) climbed 2.57 percent to 44,424.25.
Gold soared 2.56 percent this week, closing at US$2,770.89 on Friday at 5 p.m. EST. It came close to breaking its all time high earlier in the day, touching the US$2,785 mark. Silver was up as well, although to a lesser degree, closing the week up 0.89 percent at US$30.59. On the other hand, the copper price fell 3.3 percent for the week to close at US$4.31 per pound on the COMEX, and the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was down 1.41 percent to close at 571.13.
So how did mining stocks perform against this backdrop? We break down this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.
Data for this article was retrieved at 3:00 p.m. EST on January 24, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals sectors were considered.
Wealth Minerals is a lithium exploration and development company focused on advancing its Kuska and Yapuckuta projects in Chile.
The more advanced Kuska project covers 10,500 hectares in the Antofagasta region near the Bolivian border. The greenfield site has no past production or exploration, though other companies have carried out surface brine sampling and shallow auger drilling on adjacent properties since 2017.
In February 2024, Wealth Minerals released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Kuska, which demonstrated an indicated resource of 139,000 metric tons of lithium from 8 million cubic meters of brine with an average grade of 175 milligrams per liter (mg/L) lithium, along with an additional inferred resource of 132,000 metric tons of lithium from 7.1 million cubic meters of brine with grades of 185 mg/L.
Wealth Minerals reported post-tax net present value (NPV) of US$1.15 billion, which was calculated at a discounted cash flow of 10 percent, as well as an internal rate of return (IRR) of 28 percent and a payback period of 6.9 years.
The Yapuckuta project is composed of 144 mining concessions covering an area of 46,200 hectares in the northern part of the Salar de Atacama in a region with known lithium and potassium deposits.
Wealth has not released news since September 2024, when it reported that the Chilean government had selected the Salar de Ollagüe to be among the first group of six salars considered for production licenses. Wealth said that it would apply for a special lithium operation contract for its Kuska project, which is located in the Salar de Ollagüe.
Star Diamond is an exploration and development company working to advance its flagship Fort à la Corne diamond district in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The property is located 60 kilometers east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Previously a joint venture with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO), Star Diamond acquired Rio Tinto’s stake in the project in March 2024 in exchange for 119.32 million shares in Star Diamond, resulting in Rio Tinto holding a 19.9 percent ownership position in Star Diamond.
Fort à la Corne has seen extensive exploration of kimberlite deposits, including geophysical surveys, large-diameter drilling and micro- and macro-diamond analyses.
The Star-Orion South diamond project, the most advanced project area in Star Diamonds’ portfolio, is located within the district.
In 2018, the company released a PEA for Star-Orion South, which reported a resource of 27.15 million carats of diamonds from 200.16 million metric tons with an average grade of 14 carats per 100 metric tons. The inferred resource is 5.18 million carats from 72.08 million metric tons, with an average grade of 7 carats per 100 metric tons.
At the time, the company estimated a post-tax NPV of C$2 billion, an IRR of 19 percent and a payback period of 3 years and 5 months.
The company’s most recent news came on January 9, when it announced that a 70.7 million share block held by a former project partner had been sold, with 61.12 million shares purchased by an international investor interested in diamonds.
Belo Sun Mining is an exploration and development company focused on advancing its Volta Grande gold project in Brazil.
The property covers approximately 2,400 hectares within the Tres Palmeiras greenstone belt in Para State, Brazil. The company has been working on the project since 2003, and acquired necessary development permits in 2014 and 2017.
A 2015 mineral reserve estimate demonstrated proven and probable resource of 3.79 million ounces of gold from 116 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 1.02 grams per metric ton (g/t).
Development at the site stalled in 2018 after a federal judge ruled that the Federal Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBMA) would be the competent authority for issuing environmental permits. The decision was overturned in 2019 with the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability of the State of Para (SEMAS) reassuming its permitting authority. The decision was once again reversed in September 2023, returning authority to IBMA.
The company’s most recent news came on January 23, when it announced that the Federal Court of Appeals had reassigned SEMAS as the permitting authority for the Volta Grande project. The company said it was pleased with the decision, as the agency is familiar with the project and enjoys a constructive and transparent relationship with it.
Alaska Energy Metals is an exploration company working to advance its critical mineral properties in Alaska, US, and Québec, Canada.
The company’s flagship property, the Nikolai project, is located in Southeast Alaska and hosts the Eureka deposit. In a resource estimate from a technical report published in February 2024, the company reported the project hosts indicated resources of 813 million metric tons of ore containing indicated metal of 3.88 billion pounds of nickel, 1.28 billion pounds of copper, 303 million pounds of cobalt along with 4 million ounces of platinum.
The company also owns the Angliers project located in Western Québec. The site is composed of 464 mineral claims covering an area of 26,417 hectares in a region known to host mineralized bodies of nickel, copper, platinum-group metals, gold, molybdenum and zinc. The company announced on June 5 that it had entered an agreement that would allow it to acquire an option for 100 percent of the adjacent Bambino nickel and copper property, which would add 57 new claims over 3,320 hectares.
Although the company did not release news this past week, shares gained alongside news that Donald Trump had signed an executive order that would relax regulations and give more authority to the State of Alaska to permit and advance mineral projects.
Finlay Minerals is an exploration company working to advance a portfolio of projects in BC, Canada.
The company’s Silver Hope property covers 21,691 hectares in the Skeena Arch region of Central BC. It is home to the past-producing Equity Silver mine. The company is working on several advanced targets on the site, including the Main and West, which are home to promising zones that host deposits of copper, silver and molybdenum.
Finlay’s SAY property is a 10,587 hectare site located in the Stikine Terrane, 140 kilometers north of Smithers. It hosts multiple deposits with copper, silver and molybdenum mineralization. Its ATTY property is a 4,498 hectare site in the southern Toodoggone region. The region has known deposits of copper, gold and silver mineralization, and the company has identified two porphyry targets.
The company has been working most recently on the PIL gold property, which is also located in the Toodoggone mining district. A 2016 discovery revealed a significant copper and silver porphyry system and a silver and gold epithermal system.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) subsidiary ATAC Resources previously had an option in place to earn a 70 percent stake in the project. However, in an update released on Monday, Finlay indicated that the agreement was terminated on December 27.
The company also announced results from diamond drill holes in the PIL South target, including a broad interval that measured 0.1 percent copper, 0.05 g/t gold, 7.1 g/t silver and 0.18 percent zinc over 162 meters.
The company added that it was reviewing exploration data and would be assessing the next steps for a 2025 exploration program, with a focus on PIL South, following Amarc Resources’ (TSXV:AHR,OTCQB:AXREF) significant AuRORA discovery at its Joy property, which borders PIL South.
FAQs for Canadian mining stocks
What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?
The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.
How many companies are listed on the TSXV?
As of June 2024, there were 1,630 companies listed on the TSXV, 925 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,806 companies, with 188 of those being mining companies.
Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.
How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?
There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.
The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.
These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.
How do you trade on the TSXV?
Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.
Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Fighting with M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left six United Nations peacekeepers dead, UN officials said Saturday.
Two South African peacekeepers were killed Friday, while a Uruguayan Blue Helmet was killed Saturday, a UN official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the matter publicly.
Additionally, three Malawian peacekeepers were killed in eastern Congo, the United Nations in Malawi said in a statement Saturday.
The UN Security Council moved up an emergency meeting on the escalating violence to Sunday morning (10 a.m. ET). Congo requested the meeting, which had originally been scheduled for Monday.
M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling the eastern city of Goma, which has around 2 million people and is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts.
The United Nations said it would temporarily relocate nonessential staff from Goma, such as administrative staff.
“Essential personnel remain on the ground, sustaining critical operations such as food distribution, medical assistance, shelter, and protection for vulnerable communities,” the U.N. statement read.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
On Thursday, M23 took control of the town of Sake, which is only 27 kilometers (16 miles) west of Goma and one of the last main routes into the provincial capital still under government control, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
South Africa’s department of defense confirmed the deaths of the two South African peacekeepers in a statement Saturday. It said seven South African soldiers from the Southern African Development Community Mission, also known as SAMIDRC, were also killed during clashes with M23 over the last two days.
“After two days of fierce fighting with the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC, the South African contingent, alongside its counterparts, was able to halt the advancement of the rebel group towards Goma,” South Africa’s department of defense added.
Since 2021, Congo’s government and allied forces, including SAMIDRC and U.N. troops, have been keeping M23 away from Goma.
The UN peacekeeping force, also known as MONUSCO, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.
South Africa’s second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance, said Saturday an additional 18 South African soldiers were injured in the clashes with M23. The rebel offensive “coincided with the inauguration of US President Donald Trump,” the party’s statement read.
The United States has previously played a key role in attempting to protect civilians in eastern Congo, making several high-level statements and visits, said Kate Hixon, advocacy director for Africa at Amnesty International USA.
“The Rwandan-backed M23 is clearly exploiting the presidential transition in the US to advance on Goma — putting thousands more civilians at risk,” Hixon told The Associated Press.
Uruguay’s military in a statement issued Saturday identified its member killed in Congo as Rodolfo Álvarez, who was part of the Uruguay IV Battalion. The unit, according to the statement, is working “uninterruptedly to comply with the United Nations mandate, as well as to guarantee the evacuation of non-essential civilian and military personnel from the city of Goma.”
“Various measures have been taken to improve the security of our troops, who are operating in adverse conditions,” the military said. It added that four Uruguayan peacekeepers were also injured. Three of them remained in Goma while a fourth one was evacuated to Uganda for treatment.
South Africa’s defense minister, Angie Motshekga, was visiting the country’s troops stationed in Congo as part of the UN peacekeeping mission the day the soldiers were killed.
Congo, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which is mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis who broke away from the Congolese army more than a decade ago.
Rwanda’s government denies the claim, but last year acknowledged that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to safeguard its security, pointing to a buildup of Congolese forces near the border. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
The fragility of the truce between Israel and Hamas was laid bare on Saturday, after Israel accused Hamas of withholding a hostage, prompting a halt in the movement of Gazan civilians back to their homes in the north.
The ceasefire deal was already a brittle agreement, with Israeli statements often calling it a “framework” as opposed to a deal.
Tensions escalated this week when 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, a civilian who Israel says should have been freed Saturday, was not among the four women released. Israel, in turn, did not allow Gazan civilians to return north past the Netzarim Corridor, which was meant to take place Saturday under the ceasefire and hostage deal.
Both Hamas and Israel have accused the other of failing to stick to their end of the bargain, raising questions about how well the ceasefire that took more than 15 months to reach would hold.
Baskin explained that Hamas “will not give anything for free,” in reference to Yehud’s captivity. He added that “Israel’s threat not to allow the displaced to move north” does little to convince Hamas to help push for her release.
The former negotiator warned that “carrying out the threat” of not allowing displaced Palestinians to move north “could lead to a halt in the release of the hostages” and advised Israel to try to keep the deal alive.
“It is better for Israel to talk less and let the mediators do more,” Baskin added, urging Israel to “convey to Qatar and Egypt that it is ready to adopt the three-week deal that Hamas agreed to in September.
‘How will the US respond?’
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Saturday that “Hamas didn’t fulfil the agreement in terms of its obligation to return civilians first,” adding that “we will insist that Arbel Yehud return” along with the rest of the hostages.
Hamas said that Israel “continues to procrastinate in implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement and the prisoner exchange by maintaining the closure of al-Rasheed Street and preventing the return of displaced persons walking from the south to the north.”
The Palestinian militant group added that it holds Israel “responsible for any delays in the implementation of the agreement and the repercussions that may arise on the remaining phases.”
There are questions as to how the United States under President Donald Trump would respond to the violations alleged by both sides.
“The question is now, after clear violations by the Israelis, how will the US respond? Will they use pressure to ensure adherence, or are we seeing the breakdown of this pause in hostilities so soon after the signing?” Hellyer said.
A choreographed show of force
Tensions simmered as the second exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners took place. The militant group used it to choreograph a poignant show of force despite Israel’s warnings.
In the nearly three-minute video, the four women are seen seated inside a van, smiling and posing. The women were seen thanking Hamas’ military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, “for the good treatment,” including for providing food and water. They also thanked them for “protecting” them from shelling.
None of the four women are native Arabic speakers. In the video, they can be heard speaking in Hebrew accents.
Hamas’ propaganda videos have left a sour note over the years. Previous Hamas’ videos of the four soldiers’ kidnapping by Hamas on October 7, 2023 had gone viral. The women were dressed in civilian clothes at the time of their taking, including pajamas when they were pulled from their bedrooms. Videos showed them covered in blood.
Experts say that deals like this are bound to be filled with complications, especially as Hamas tries to use what leverage it has over Israel, and as Israel tries to retrieve hostages while destroying the group.
Yohanan Tzoreff, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, said concerns about violations, delays, or crises come with “any deal with an organization like Hamas.”
Such concerns “are rooted in the many past grievances between the two sides, numerous bloody conflicts, and, of course, the heinous attack carried out by Hamas on October 7,” Tzoreff said.
“The issue of hostage release became a test for both sides,” he said, adding that Israel “finds itself facing a dilemma: how to secure the hostages’ release while fully achieving the second goal of dismantling Hamas.”
Universal is hoping the excitement around “Wicked” can hang around — for good.
The movie studio faces a unique challenge: promote and release two build-on films just one year apart. Part one of the “Wicked” cinematic project dazzled at the box office, collecting more than $700 million in global ticket sales through Sunday. Not only did it have the highest opening of any theatrical Broadway adaptation, but it is also now the highest-grossing film based on a Broadway musical, according to data from Comscore.
The question for Universal ahead of the release of part two — “Wicked: For Good,” due out in November — is how to keep its biggest fans engaged without alienating its more casual audiences.
Marketing experts told CNBC that pent-up demand for the movie, combined with the first film’s success, makes promoting its follow-up much easier.
″[Generating] close to $500 million is an amazing feat for that film,” said Mike Polydoros, CEO at cinematic marketing agency PaperAirplane Media. “They have all these fans who have seen the movie over and over again and came to the sing-alongs. They’ve marked their calendars for the second part of the movie.
“So, the marketing of it is more about keeping that group engaged and keeping them [informed] … and giving them just enough nuggets without oversaturating,” Polydoros said.
Universal already has one thing working in its favor: When it launches the marketing campaign for “Wicked: For Good,” it will be able to add best picture Academy Award nominee to its franchise promotions.
On Thursday, the studio snared 10 nominations for “Wicked,” including for lead actress, supporting actress, film editing, sound, score, production design, costume, visual effects and makeup and hairstyling.
The overall marketing plan for “Wicked: For Good” is expected to be similar to the playbook used for “Wicked” with a few alterations to keep it fresh and avoid oversaturating audiences.
Universal jumpstarted the first film’s advertising strategy with a teaser trailer that ran during the Super Bowl in February. The nearly 90-second spot gave fans their first glimpse of Oz, as well as Cynthia Erivo’s triumphant battle cry from “Defying Gravity,” the closing number of the first act of the Broadway musical.
“There wasn’t a debate,” Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer, told Variety back in November. “When you’re working on materials, you always have those kinds of conversations. But if there’s a single sound associated with ‘Wicked,’ it’s certainly that end to ‘Defying Gravity.’ … Ending that spot with it felt assured and inescapably the right call.”
The Super Bowl ad spot was followed up by another teaser trailer at the annual CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April and a quick appearance from Elphaba (Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). The co-stars attended the Met Gala in New York City a month later, walking the red carpet together and closing out the evening with a surprise performance. Then, in July, the pair were spotted at the Paris Olympics, which was televised by NBC.
“Our filmmakers and our talent were very accessible throughout this process,” said Dave O’Connor, president of franchise management and brand strategy at Universal. “Many of them participated in various parts of our campaign, from the straight marketing that we did for the film, but also with our partnerships and some of the unique opportunities that our company brought to the table. So I think that was also something that felt organic and authentic to the process.”
Universal peppered audiences with different iterations of the film’s trailer and teaser videos throughout the summer, leading into its big marketing push — more than 400 corporate brand partnerships. Retail stores were flooded with pink and green merchandise, from apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty and costumes to home decor, toys and even one-of-a-kind cars. The collections ranged in price, allowing consumers to choose from affordable and luxury options to show off their love of all things “Wicked.”
“I get asked a lot, ‘What is the state of exhibition?‘” said Brandon Jones, president and chief marketing officer of FilmFrog. “And I think that ‘Wicked’ is the perfect example of this. The state of exhibition is, and has always been, to influence culture.”
With nine months before the release of “Wicked: For Good,” Universal will look to repeat the success of the first film’s marketing campaign, but with some variation.
“I think our intent would not be to replicate, but certainly to evolve and to continue to do incredible work and find the right balance of partnerships that can innovate and really match the heart of the next film,” O’Connor said.
Like “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good” arrives the weekend before Thanksgiving. This gives the film breathing room for a solid opening weekend before Disney drops its traditional animated release the day before the holiday. This year, it will be “Zootopia 2.”
“Wicked: For Good” will then be able to capitalize on school vacations and family gatherings to fuel a strong second week of ticket sales — the same strategy employed for “Wicked” amid the surprise release of Disney’s “Moana 2” on the Thanksgiving holiday last year.
Cinemas will also look to capitalize on the prior success of “Wicked” when promoting “Wicked: For Good.” While Universal will provide creative assets such as trailers, standees and other digital and physical materials, theaters big and small will look for ways to lure audiences to their locations with special collectible popcorn buckets and unique food and drink options.
“Until, really, the last [decade], exhibitors just relied on studios to do most of the marketing and that really started to change around 2016 or 2017,” said Jones. “Because the relationship between the film and the moviegoer is actually managed by exhibitors. Because you don’t buy your ticket for ‘Wicked’ from Universal. You buy it from your local movie theater.”
Jones noted that the quick release of “Wicked: For Good,” almost exactly one year after “Wicked,” allows movie theaters to engage with guests more acutely.
Using ticket sales data, cinemas can market on a one-to-one basis during the 12-month period between releases to not only promote the second film, but also entice moviegoers to return for other in-theater programming that is similar to “Wicked.”
“It’s one thing to market the movie, it’s another thing to market the experience of going to the movies,” Jones added.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked” and owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
President Donald Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs at various federal agencies late Friday, a Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News, as he continues to reshape the government at a blistering pace.
Trump dismissed inspectors general at agencies within the Defense Department, State Department, Energy Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department of Veterans Affairs and more, notifying them by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, the Washington Post first reported.
‘It’s a widespread massacre,’ one of the terminated inspectors general told the Post. ‘Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.’
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Trump’s action may violate federal law that requires the president to give 30 days’ notice to Congress of his intent to fire any independent watchdog, the Associated Press reported.
‘There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so,’ Grassley said in a statement. ‘I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.’
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Inspectors general at federal agencies are called on to investigate government waste, fraud and abuse. They operate independently and can serve in multiple administrations.
The mass firing is Trump’s latest attempt to force the federal bureaucracy into submission after he shut down diversity, equity and inclusion programs, rescinded job offers and sidelined more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials. Trump began his second term with the intent of purging any opponents of his agenda from the government and replacing them with officials who would execute his orders without hesitation.
Among those spared from Trump’s wrath was Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz, the New York Times reported. Horowitz led the investigation of the FBI’s Russian collusion probe, which exposed at least 17 ‘significant inaccuracies and omissions’ in the FBI’s application for a FISA warrant in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Trump’s firings, calling them a ‘purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night.’
‘President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption,’ Warren posted on X.
During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general in less than two months in 2020. This included the State Department, whose inspector general had played a role in the president’s impeachment proceedings.
Last year, Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.
In 2022, Congress passed reforms that strengthened protections for inspectors general and made it harder to replace them with political appointees, requiring the president to explain their removal.
Fighting around Sudan‘s largest oil refinery set the sprawling complex ablaze, satellite data analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows, sending thick, black smoke over the country’s capital.
Forces loyal to Sudan’s military under army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan later claimed they captured the refinery, owned by Sudan’s government and the state-run China National Petroleum Corp. The facility represents a long-sought prize for the military in its civil war with the rebel Rapid Support Force.
International mediation attempts and pressure tactics, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide, have not halted the fighting.
The al-Jaili refinery sits some 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023 and their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of landmines to slow any advance.
But the facility, capable of handling 100,000 barrels of oil a day, remained broadly intact until Thursday. On that day, an attack at the refinery set fires across the complex, according to satellite data from NASA satellites that track wildfires worldwide.
Satellite images taken by Planet Labs PBC on Friday for the AP showed vast areas of the refinery ablaze. The images, shot just after 1200 GMT, showed flames shooting up into the sky in several spots. Oil tanks at the facility stood burned, covered in soot.
Thick plumes of black smoke towered over the site, carried south toward Khartoum by the wind. Exposure to that smoke can exacerbate respiratory problems and raise cancer risks.
In a statement released Thursday, the Sudanese military alleged the RSF was responsible for the fire at the refinery.
The RSF “deliberately set fire to the Khartoum refinery in al-Jaili this morning in a desperate attempt to destroy the infrastructures of this country,” the statement read.
“This hateful behavior reveals the extent of the criminality and decadence of this militia … (and) increases our determination to pursue it everywhere until we liberate every inch from their filth.”
The RSF for its part alleged Thursday night that Sudanese military aircraft dropped “barrel bombs” on the facility, “completely destroying it.” The RSF has claimed the Sudanese military uses old commercial cargo aircraft to drop barrel bombs, such as one that crashed under mysterious circumstances in October.
Neither the Sudanese military nor the RSF offered evidence to support their dueling allegations. But on Saturday, multiple videos emerged of Burhan’s forces claiming to have entered the refinery’s compound, the sound of heavy gunfire heard in the background.
Sudan’s military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdallah, also told the AP they had taken control of the refinery. The RSF did not immediately address the claim, nor another by Sudan’s military they had broken a monthslong siege on the Signal Corps headquarters in northern Khartoum.
China, Sudan’s largest trading partner before the war, has not acknowledged the blaze at the refinery. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
China moved into Sudan’s oil industry after Chevron Corp. left in 1992 amid violence targeting oil workers in another civil war. South Sudan broke away to become its own country in 2011, taking 75% of what had been Sudan’s oil reserves with it.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres “is following with great concern the recent escalation of fighting in Sudan” a statement from his office Friday said, specifically mentioning the oil refinery attack.
“The secretary-general urges the parties to refrain from all actions that could have dangerous consequences for Sudan and the region, including serious economic and environmental implications,” the statement said.
Losing the refinery would have a major effect on the economies of both Sudan and South Sudan.
“The destruction of the refinery would force the Sudanese people to rely on more expensive fuel imports,” warned Timothy Liptrot in an analysis for the Small Arms Survey in May 2024. “As the conflict progresses, a norm that exists among the RSF and (the Sudanese military) against damaging Sudan’s accumulated capital is breaking down, with permanent damage to Sudan’s refining infrastructure becoming increasingly possible.”
Sudan has been unstable since a popular uprising forced the removal of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. A short-lived transition to democracy was derailed when Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF joined forces to lead a military coup in October 2021.
Al-Bashir faces charges at the International Criminal Court over carrying out a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s in the western Darfur region with the Janjaweed, the precursor to the RSF. Rights groups and the U.N. say the RSF and allied Arab militias are again attacking ethnic African groups in this war.
The Biden administration also sanctioned Burhan in its last days over his forces’ “lethal attacks on civilians, including airstrikes against protected infrastructure including schools, markets and hospitals.” It also said Burhan’s troops were “responsible for the routine and intentional denial of humanitarian access, using food deprivation as a war tactic.”
The RSF and Sudan’s military began fighting each other in April 2023. Their conflict has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.
Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll in the civil war.
American Express’ affluent cardholders got comfortable spending more freely again late last year, Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC.
Spending on AmEx cards jumped 8% year over year in the fourth quarter after slowing from a 7% growth rate early in the year to 6% during the second and third quarters, according to the firm’s earnings presentation.
While the year-end pickup was seen across all customer segments and geographies, it was especially fueled by millennials and Gen Z users, where transaction volumes jumped 16%, up from 12% in the third quarter.
Older groups were more restrained with their cards. Gen X customers spent 7% more in the fourth quarter, while baby boomers saw billings rise just 4%.
“We had very strong growth from Gen Z and millennials, and that 2 percentage point acceleration gives us a lot of optimism for 2025,” Le Caillec said.
Elevated transaction levels have continued into the first three weeks of this year, he added.
Younger Americans are said to spend more on experiences rather than goods, and that is reflected in the results from AmEx, which along with rival card issuer JPMorgan Chase, dominate the market for high-end credit cards.
Travel and entertainment billings rose 11% in the quarter, compared with 8% for good and services. The boost in travel came from airline spending, which rose 13%, with spending for business class and first class airfares up 19%, according to Le Caillec.
AmEx shares fell more than 2% in midday trading Friday after the company reported earnings and revenue that were roughly in line with analysts’ expectations. Shares of the New York-based company have been on a tear over the past year, hitting a 52-week high on Thursday.
“We are encouraged by accelerating billings growth as we believe it will be a key factor for Amex to meet its aspirational target of at least 10% revenue growth,” William Blair analysts led by Cristopher Kennedy wrote Friday in a research note. “We remain buyers on any pullback.”
