NATO allies weigh more arms for Ukraine as Russian artillery batters Bakhmut Oil settles 1% lower as market braces for more supply from US reserve

Oil prices settled more than 1% lower on Tuesday after the United States said it would boost supply in the market by releasing more crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

On Monday, the US Department of Energy (DOE) said it would sell 26 million barrels of oil from the SPR, already at its lowest level since 1983.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) had considered cancelling the annual sale after US President Joe Biden's administration last year sold a record 180 million barrels from the reserve to combat sky-high fuel prices. But that would have required Congress to act to change its mandate.

Brent futures for April delivery fell US$1.03, or 1.2%, to US$85.58 a barrel by 1:05 p.m. EST (1805 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for March fell by US$1.08, or 1.4%, to US$79.06 a barrel.

Both benchmarks sank more than US$2 during the session, but pared losses after data showed the slowest pace of acceleration in the US consumer price index since late 2021. Analysts said the data would likely keep the Federal Reserve on a moderate interest rate hiking path.

"Interest rates are now at a point where every 25 basis points matter and could be the difference between a soft landing and a recession," OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said in a note.

Oil prices also pared losses after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its 2023 oil demand forecast by 100,000 barrels per day in a monthly report, citing the reopening of the Chinese economy after COVID restrictions.

"OPEC's monthly oil market report yielded some cautious optimism," said Kpler analyst Matt Smith. He added that oil prices remained lower as the markets entered a risk-off sentiment.

Also easing supply concerns, the US Energy Information Administration said on Monday it expected record March production from the seven biggest US shale basins.

US crude and product inventories were expected to have grown last week, a Reuters poll showed, ahead of industry data due at 4:30 pm ET (2130 GMT), followed by the EIA's report today. (Reuters)

Collision of bus and armoured truck kills 20 in South Africa

Ahead-on collision between a tour bus and a cash-in-transit truck left 20 people dead and left at least 60 others injured late on Monday on a major road in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province.

Police divers were searching a river that runs along the highway “for people who might have been swept away”, the regional transport department said in a statement on Tuesday.

After the crash, the tour bus rolled from a bridge on the N1 freeway into a river below, said ER24, an emergency medical care company, whose paramedics were on the scene.

“Three people were found deceased by the roadside

Russian forces bombarded front-line Ukrainian troops and towns in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday in what appeared to be early salvoes of a new offensive, as Western allies met to weigh sending more arms to Kyiv for an expected counter-attack.

Much of Russia's artillery fire was focused on Bakhmut, a bombed-out city in Donetsk province and a principal target for President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian troops there have fortified positions in anticipation of street fighting.

"There is not a single square metre in Bakhmut that is safe or that is not in range of enemy fire or drones," regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukraine's national broadcaster.

Bakhmut's capture would provide a stepping stone for Russia to advance on two bigger Donetsk cities, Kramatorsk

Nikki Haley takes on Donald Trump for 2024 US Republican nomination

and Sloviansk, and give Moscow new momentum after months of battlefield setbacks following its invasion last February.

With the first anniversary of Russia's invasion nearing, the Kremlin has intensified operations across a broad swathe of southern and eastern Ukraine, and a major new offensive has been widely anticipated.

Promised battle tanks last month, Ukraine is also desperate for fighter jets and longer-range missiles soon to nip any significant new Russian offensive in the bud and help turn the tide against Moscow's far superior firepower.

Before the gathering, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs Putin was preparing for peace. "What we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks," he told reporters.

The Kremlin, which calls the invasion a "special military operation" to eliminate security threats, said NATO was demonstrating its hostility towards Russia every day and was becoming more and more involved in the conflict.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Michigan State: Three students killed in shooting at university

and 16 down by the river –all were declared dead on arrival,” ER24 said in a statement.

“One patient, of the 69 passengers confirmed transported to hospital for various injuries, has since died,” it said.

It was not immediately clear how many people the tour bus was carrying.

ER24 said police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, but heavy rains have been drenching the region in recent days, a spokesman for the regional transport department, Tidimalo Chuene, told AFP. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday kicked off her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, a tough challenge as her former boss Donald Trump holds a strong lead in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as the UN ambassador under Trump from 2017 to 2018, is set to lay out her campaign plans in a speech on Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina.

The daughter of two Indian immigrants who ran a successful clothing store in a rural part of South Carolina, Haley, 51, has gained a reputation in the Republican Party as a solid conservative who has the ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers.

Launching her candidacy more than 20 months ahead of the November 2024 election gives Haley more of a chance to draw attention and raise funds before the Republican field grows in the coming weeks and months. But it also makes her an early target of the combative Trump.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday that found that 4% of registered Republicans supported Haley. Trump received support from 43% of registered Republicans in the poll conducted from Feb 6-13, while 31% said they supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch a campaign but has not yet done so.

Other high-profile Republicans looking at a 2024 run include former Vice President Mike Pence, US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, among others. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Three students were killed and five others injured after a gunman opened fire on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus on Monday night.

The victims were all students at the university, police said, and the injured remain in critical condition.

The police said a caller's tip led them to the suspected gunman, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The suspect, who has since been identified, had no ties to MSU. "We can confirm that the 43-year-old suspect had no affiliation to the university. He was not a student, faculty, or staff, current or previous," Chris Rozman of the Michigan State University Police said.

Questions still remain about the motive of the gunman, who was identified as 43-year-old Anthony McRae.

Dr Denny Martin, the Chief Medical Officer of Sparrow Hospital, where the victims were taken for treatment, said four of the injured required surgery and one was taken to critical care. All five remain in hospital.

The gunman opened fire shortly before 20:30 local time (01:30 GMT) at Berkey Hall, a building located north of the MSU campus in the city of East Lansing.

Responding officers found multiple students who were injured - two of whom died on the scene.

Police said the suspect then walked over to the nearby MSU Union building, where they received several more reports of gunshots. The third victim died inside the building, they said.

The suspect then quickly fled the scene, sparking a large manhunt involving hundreds of officers.

(Excerpt from BBC News)