Niger says it will nationalize a uranium venture operated by France's Orano

DAKAR, Senegal — Niger's government said Thursday it would nationalize the Somaïr uranium venture operated by French company Orano and accused it of taking a disproportionate share of the uranium produced at the site.
The announcement comes as military authorities in the west African country tighten their grip on foreign companies and civil society. Tensions have simmered for months between Niger's military government and the French company, and relations between Niamey and Paris have deteriorated.

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4 hours ago

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Sprott Physical Uranium Trust Closes Upsized US$200 Million Bought Deal Financing

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES. This press release constitutes a 'designated news release' for the purposes of the Trust's amended and restated prospectus supplement dated December 6, 2024 to its base shelf prospectus dated January 3, 2024. TORONTO, June 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sprott Inc. (NYSE/TSX: SII) ('Sprott') on behalf of the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (TSX: (TSX: U.U) ('SPUT' or the 'Trust'), is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced upsized bought deal public offering (the 'Offering'), pursuant to which 11,600,000 units of the Trust (the 'Units') were issued at a price of US$17.25 per Unit for total gross proceeds of approximately US$200 million. Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the 'Underwriter') acted as sole underwriter for the Offering. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used by the Trust to acquire physical uranium in the form of uranium oxide in concentrates and related fees and expenses in accordance with the Trust's objective and subject to the Trust's investment and operating restrictions. The net proceeds per Unit received by the Trust were not less than 100% of the most recently calculated net asset value of the Trust per Unit prior to the determination of the pricing of the Offering. 'We are very pleased to have completed this Offering with the strong support from both current and new SPUT unitholders,' said John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management. 'This transaction, the non-brokered private placement completed in May and the Trust's at-the-market equity program demonstrate the Trust's ability to continue to raise capital through a variety of methods.' 'The long-term investment thesis for uranium continues to improve as a nuclear renaissance unfolds globally with announcements around plant life extensions and new builds accelerating, supported by new government policies,' continued Mr. Ciampaglia. 'We are pleased to provide investors the opportunity to participate in this long-term secular trend through access to the world's largest physical uranium fund1.' The Trust suspended its at-the-market equity program to facilitate the Offering and agreed with the Underwriter not to issue any Units, including under the at-the-market equity program, for a period of 30 days from the closing of the Offering without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The Units have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. _______________________________________1 Based on Morningstar's universe of listed commodity funds. Data as of December 31, 2024. About Sprott Sprott is a global asset manager focused on precious metals and critical materials investments. We are specialists. We believe our in-depth knowledge, experience and relationships separate us from the generalists. Our investment strategies include Exchange Listed Products, Managed Equities and Private Strategies. Sprott has offices in Toronto, New York, Connecticut and California and the company's common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol 'SII'. For more information, please visit About the Trust Important information about the Trust, including its investment objectives and strategies, applicable management fees, and expenses, can be found on its website at Commissions, management fees, or other charges and expenses may be associated with investing in the Trust. The performance of the Trust is not guaranteed, its value changes frequently and past performance is not an indication of future results. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws (collectively. 'forward-looking statements'). Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, including the intended use of proceeds from the sale of Units under the Offering, the Trust's ability to raise capital, including through numerous methods, and the investment thesis and trends related to uranium. With respect to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Trust has made numerous assumptions regarding, among other things, investor demand the uranium market. While the Trust considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, market and social uncertainties and contingencies. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors that could cause the Trust's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. A discussion of risks and uncertainties facing the Trust appears in the Offering Documents, each as updated by the Trust's continuous disclosure filings, which are available at All forward-looking statements herein are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Trust disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law. Contact Glen Williams Senior Managing Partner, Investor and Institutional Client RelationsSprott 416.943.4394Email: gwilliams@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

CNN

6 hours ago

• CNN

Senegal women's basketball team cancels US training camp after some players have visas denied

The Senegal women's basketball team has had to cancel a training camp it had scheduled in the United States after some members of its squad had their visas denied, the country's prime minister said on Thursday. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko wrote on Facebook that the 10-day training camp – which was due to be held at a college in the US between June 22 to July 3 – will instead take place in Senegal's capital, Dakar, 'a sovereign setting that is conducive to the performance of our athletes' after 'several' players had their visas denied. 'We clearly and firmly reaffirm our new cooperation doctrine: free, balanced cooperation based on mutual respect and shared benefit,' Sonko wrote in his post. In a statement posted on Instagram from the Senegalese basketball federation, the governing body said that two representatives of the federation, a doctor, a physiotherapist, five players, a steward, the general manager and the ministerial delegate were refused visas by the ambassador of the United States to Senegal. No reason was given as to why the visas were denied. A State Department spokesperson told CNN Sports that due to the confidential nature of US visas, it couldn't comment on individual cases. CNN Sports has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced a travel ban for 12 countries, which restricts entry of nationals from Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen. People from seven countries have a partial restriction: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. In the president's initial proclamation, there are exceptions for athletes, coaches, important staffers and immediate family for athletes traveling to the US for the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympics Games and 'other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.' The news comes amid reports that Trump is weighing up adding a further 36 countries to the banned list, 25 of which are set to come from Africa, including Senegal. The Senegalese team is the dominant force in African women's basketball, having won 11 FIBA Women's AfroBasket titles, the most of any country. However, the Lionesses have failed to reach those heights in recent years having last been victorious in 2015, finishing second three times since then. The camp in the US was in preparation for next installment of the biennial tournament which will be played between July 26 and August 3 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

News24

6 hours ago

• News24

UNHCR reports record displacement in West and Central Africa

About 12.7 million forcibly displaced and stateless people are in West and Central Africa, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). This figure reflects a 48% increase since 2020, when the number was 8.6 million, underscoring a worsening forced displacement crisis. 'From conflict to climate shocks, protection risks are rising - particularly for women and children, who represent 80% of the forcibly displaced,' said Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, the UNHCR's regional bureau director for West and Central Africa. Gnon-Konde said the UN's data also showed that displaced people are 'returning home in increasing numbers where conditions allow'. Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Cameroon are home to more than 80% of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. Drought, flooding, and chronic violence and insecurity have forced people to seek shelter in other regions within their countries. READ | Does SA have twice as many illegal migrants as Europe? Fact-checking Gayton McKenzie's latest claims According to the United Nations, over one million citizens of the Central African Republic (CAR) were forcibly displaced as of 30 April 2025. That figure, however, is 150 000 fewer than the same period in 2024. The slight improvement is attributed to an increase in voluntary returns. UN-sponsored voluntary returns Chad is providing refuge to almost 780 000 people who have fled Sudan's civil war, with another 250 000 expected to arrive by the end of the year. The country also hosts large numbers of refugees from the Central African Republic to the south and Niger to the west. Each group of displaced people faces unique dangers, and Chad is struggling to host all of them. The United Nations has been sponsoring voluntary returns to countries of origin within West Africa. It said 14 600 refugees returned to countries such as Nigeria, the Central African Republic and Mali from January through April 2025. 'Humanitarian crises are, first of all, political crises,' Alpha Seydi Ba, a UNHCR spokesperson based in Dakar, Senegal, told DW. Unless we are able to make peace, there won't be a situation where the returns are possible. Alpha Seydi Ba Ba said repatriations were carried out whenever and wherever possible and on a voluntary basis. As a result, the UNHCR says resettlement departures rose by 34% in 2024 (4 600 individuals), marking an increase of 1 500 people in the past year. 'I think it's always good news when people are able to go back home,' Ba said. 'Exile, it's not a choice. Being a refugee is not a choice, when someone leaves their home and everything behind.' 'We're seeing those people returning and rebuilding,' Ba said. 'I think it's one of the best things that can happen to the humanitarian person in his career.' 'Migrants become stranded' Although repatriation efforts have yielded some positive results, the UN's regional resettlement quota was reduced by 64% in 2025. To complicate matters, the UNHCR's regional budget overall has been reduced by 50% between 2024 and 2025. 'Our operations are very severely impacted,' Ba said. 'Meaning less food, less shelter, less health care, less clean water, less gender-based protection, which makes overall protection systems or displaced people more fragile,' Ba added. 'That's why the UNHCR in the region is at a tipping point.' 'The number of migrants, be it internally displaced people or migrants, is increasing,' Luisa de Freitas, who leads the Regional Data Hub in Dakar for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told DW. 'We are seeing that, overall, more and more people are on the move.' Ben Stansall/AFP Though many people move to foreign countries because of climate disasters, armed conflict or instability, the IOM reports that economic needs are also a key driver of migration. 'Over 70% to 72% of the individuals that we survey at our flow monitoring points in 2024 were there because of labour or economic reasons,' de Freitas said. De Freitas said migration routes had become increasingly dangerous as EU nations and their partners within Africa have sought to stem the flow of migration to Europe. However, this has not deterred migrants from attempting to do so. 'People move when they feel they have no other option,' de Freitas said. 'They will take routes that are less and less travelled. So what is happening is that a lot of these migrants become stranded.' New strategies needed Simply putting up barriers or investing in forced removals of migrants is not the solution. Instead, de Freitas advised European nations to adopt a different approach that fosters and incentivises regular migration, benefiting both home and destination countries. Mohamed Elshahed/Anadolu via Getty Images 'Spain has just launched two initiatives: One to regularise migrants per year, and they've also launched system where Senegalese can apply for temporary travel visas to go and work in Spain,' de Freitas said. Many EU countries desperately need workers in sectors such as agriculture, she added. 'Circular migration allows migration on a temporary basis to address labour shortages in destination countries, while providing migrants with access to employment and education opportunities. 'Basically, try to make migration a win-win situation for both ends,' de Freitas said.