Israel and Lebanon said late on Wednesday they had agreed to implement a ceasefire, raising hopes for a deal between Washington and Tehran

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices settled around 3% lower on Thursday on investor hopes for an end to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, following a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon. 

Israel and Lebanon said late on Wednesday they had agreed to implement a ceasefire, raising hopes for a deal between Washington and Tehran. Iran has made any agreement conditional in part on an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned group in Lebanon.

Brent futures settled down $2.78, or 2.84%, at $95.03, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled down $2.98, or 3.1%, at $93.04.

“Once again, the market is giving full credit to hopes of a resolution here and the worries about supplies are just not registering with the market,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital.  “This latest development with Israel and Lebanon is pulling the rug out from under any sort of bullish thesis today.” 

The two contracts rose about 2% on Wednesday after renewed Middle East hostilities, including Iranian attacks on Kuwait and U.S. military strikes near the strait. 

“Crude futures are reversing yesterday’s gains and then some on news that Israel and Lebanon have entered a peace deal, which should allow U.S. and Iran peace talks to continue,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.

“Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains at a near standstill; however, some ship re-positioning shows them moving closer to the Persian Gulf, which could be a sign of an expected opening sooner than later,” Kissler added.  

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Wednesday to block Trump from continuing the war against Iran. To take effect, the resolution would need Senate approval and two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override an almost certain Trump veto.

“In our view, the path of least resistance for prices remains to the upside as long as flows remain restricted,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that Russian oil production has fallen since the start of the year due to unplanned refinery maintenance, marking the first time a Russian official has acknowledged the decline.

U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 8 million barrels to 433.7 million barrels in the week ended May 29, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. That was a much bigger drop than the 4 million-barrel draw analysts had expected in a Reuters poll.

Iranian oil prices slipped into discounts for the first time since April, while Russian crude premiums eased as traders cut prices to entice Chinese buyers amid sluggish demand, trade sources said.

Elsewhere, OPEC expects robust oil demand growth and is not changing its estimates, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Thursday at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, despite the Middle East conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London, Helen Clark, Sam Li and Lewis Jackson. Editing by Mark Potter, Jan Harvey, Nia Williams, Cynthia Osterman, Rod Nickel

A Boeing spokesperson said the company was aware of the incident and was supporting its customer but offered no further detail

International News via Reuters:

Several staff members were injured when the nose gear of a Boeing 787 jetliner unexpectedly collapsed at a gate at Frankfurt airport on Thursday, its operator Lufthansa said.

“Passengers had not yet boarded,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement, adding that crew members and ground staff were on board the aircraft at the time of the incident, which was first reported by Bloomberg News.

“Several staff members were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment,” the company added.

A Boeing spokesperson said the company was aware of the incident and was supporting its customer but offered no further detail.

A Reuters photographer saw multiple emergency vehicles parked around the two-engine widebody aircraft, which partly lay on its belly.

The incident occurred at 12:45 p.m. (1045 GMT), and the jet was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles as flight LH450, Lufthansa said.

“We are currently investigating the exact circumstances with the relevant authorities,” the company added.

The 787, of which Lufthansa operates the 787-9 variant, is a relatively new addition for the group, which is planning to gradually phase out less efficient jets and simplify its fleet.

Reporting by Kai Pfaffenbach in Frankfurt, Thomas Seythal in Berlin and David Shepardson, editing by Linda Pasquini, Kirsten Donovan

The June 15 to 17 summit, to be held across Lake Geneva in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, will bring together leaders from the world’s major economies, including U.S. President Donald Trump, alongside other high-level delegations

International News via Reuters:

Switzerland will deploy around 4,000 troops inside its territory to reinforce security as world leaders gather for the G7 summit in neighboring France in mid-June, the Swiss army said on Thursday.

 The June 15 to 17 summit, to be held across Lake Geneva in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, will bring together leaders from the world’s major economies, including U.S. President Donald Trump, alongside other high-level delegations.

 The scale of the event and its proximity to the Swiss border require close coordination between civilian and military authorities, the unit that plans and manages the Swiss Armed Forces said. Protests are anticipated. 

“The proximity to the border presents a major challenge for security authorities in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva and Valais. As a result, the Federal Council and Parliament have decided on a subsidiary security deployment of the army,” the Swiss army’s Defence Group said in a statement.

Military personnel will be tasked with protecting critical infrastructure, including Geneva Airport, bolstering border surveillance, and monitoring key transport routes and Lake Geneva, it said.

Switzerland’s air force will also step up air policing, with airspace restrictions in place from June 10 to June 19, and will provide counter-drone systems and protection against nuclear, biological and chemical threats, the statement added.

Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani

The assault took place on Monday in Katana, a town controlled by AFC/M23 rebels some 30 km (19 miles) north of the provincial capital Bukavu

International News via Reuters:

Residents attacked an Ebola burial team in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province this week, forcing responders to abandon a coffin and raising fears of further transmission, the health ministry said.

The assault took place on Monday in Katana, a town controlled by AFC/M23 rebels some 30 km (19 miles) north of the provincial capital Bukavu, according to the ministry and the head of a local hospital reached by Reuters.

It targeted a “safe and dignified burial team” — specialised responders trained to handle highly infectious bodies under strict protocols to prevent contagion. 

The body was subsequently handled by members of the community, a high-risk practice that can fuel new chains of infection, according to a situation report published online on Wednesday.

The health ministry and the hospital official did not specify what triggered the attack.

The incident underscores mistrust and resistance that continue to hamper response efforts as officials try to control the spread of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. In recent weeks, burial teams and health workers have been targeted, including by relatives of victims who have questioned the cause of death.

In a similar incident on Monday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province where the first cases of the Bundibugyo strain were confirmed, residents assaulted a response team at a cemetery, leaving at least four people injured, according to the situation report and a local aid worker.

CASES CONTINUE TO RISE

Congo has recorded 363 confirmed Ebola cases and 62 deaths since the latest outbreak, the country’s 17th, was declared on May 15, according to the latest health ministry data.

Health authorities reported 19 new confirmed cases, including two deaths, in the most recent update, with infections now spread across 17 out of 36 health zones in Ituri province.

There has been a steady increase in recent days, with cases also reported in seven health zones in North Kivu province and one health zone in South Kivu province.

The International Organization for Migration is helping set up 30 health control posts across the three Ebola-affected provinces to monitor people’s health and stop the sick spreading the virus further, the U.N. agency’s regional head Frantz Celestin told Reuters on Thursday.

The ministry noted some progress, highlighting 32 contact cases in Ituri’s Rwampara who had been monitored for 21 days and were determined not to have Ebola. 

The ministry also said officials in the city of Goma, North Kivu, were preparing on Wednesday to discharge a patient who had recovered. Freddy Kaniki, deputy coordinator for the AFC/M23 rebels, said in a post on X on Wednesday that the patient had been reunited with her family.

International supplies continue to stream into eastern Congo. Enough kits for 300 safe and dignified burials arrived in Bunia on June 3, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Thursday.

Reporting by Clement Bonnerot, Emma Farge and Congo newsroom; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Aidan Lewis

According to unofficial information, four people were found dead and rescuers were searching for two more people

International News via Reuters:

Several people were killed when a small plane crashed on Thursday in the northwestern Croatian region of Istria, near the Adriatic town of Medulin, state news agency Hina reported, citing police.

According to unofficial information, four people were found dead and rescuers were searching for two more people. 

Noone from the Istrian police was immediately available to comment.

The police said that emergency services, police and firefighters were at the site, Hina reported.

The plane took off from Germany, Index.hr portal reported.

Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Sharon Singleton