NIGERIA

The 2016 Global Peace Index showed that the world has become increasingly violent, with deaths from conflict at a 25-year high and terrorist attacks at an all-time high.

Even though traders speculated that a rate hike in June or July was unlikely, a largely upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy cheered markets.

Brent oil prices inched lower on Tuesday after hitting a seven-month high a day earlier.

Bridget Agbawe, 74, was working alongside her husband at a market in Kano in northern Nigeria when she was attacked by a mob.  

Traders said frequent attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria, which has already pulled the country's output to over 20-year lows, were also supporting oil prices.

Traders said higher oil prices Monday were largely a result of a sharp fall in the dollar on Friday, when the greenback lost over 1.5 percent intraday against other leading currencies.

The heads of about a dozen states discussed the setting up of a joint force to tackle outfits like Boko Haram, which has claimed over 20,000 lives in the past six years.

Bosso is part of the Diffa region, which is home to many refugees and internally displaced people who have sought to avoid Boko Haram violence.

The absence of a deal Thursday is fueling broader concerns that the once-powerful oil cartel is losing its influence over global oil markets.

OPEC is set for another showdown between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran when it meets on Thursday in Vienna.

Many of the world’s top oil producers will be at the OPEC meeting in Vienna this week, when the cartel will welcome a new member.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, was warned this week by its central back that it is on the brink of recession.

Supply disruptions in Canada, Libya and Nigeria continue to shrink a global supply glut that has weighed on oil markets for almost two years.

Brent futures climbed on Thursday, boosted after U.S. government figures showed a sharper-than-expected drawdown in crude stocks last week.

In a further sign of abundant supply, the number of rigs operated by U.S. drillers was steady last week for the first time this year.

Supply disruptions in Canada, Nigeria and Libya helped soften the global crude glut, but brimming inventories kept prices from rising further.

Serah Luka was among 97 women and children rescued Thursday after clashes between soldiers and Boko Haram militants in northeastern Nigeria.

Amina Ali Nkek was reportedly found Tuesday in Sambisa forest, near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, more than two years after her kidnapping.

A fresh flare-up in the blazes ripping across Western Canada is forcing oil sands producers to abandon plans to restart production.

U.S. crude oil prices neared $50 a barrel Wednesday, as expectations of a drop in U.S. oil stockpiles fueled the rally.

Beside unplanned outages, supply from non-OPEC countries is expected by the International Energy Agency and other forecasters to fall this year.