Middle East: What you need to know for August 3

The WikiLeaks' founder is currently fighting an appeal by Washington to extradite him back to the US. Assange's legal team has rejected US assurances that he won't be sent to a "Supermax" prison.

The explosion, in the capital, Freetown, happened as large crowds gathered to collect leaking fuel. The oil tanker was damaged earlier in an accident with a bus.

The US has announced it will release 50 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves, in coordination with several major consumer nations including China and India.

Three weeks after the Santa Barbara wellhead failed, it is still blasting water, gas and oil across Nembe in Nigeria's Delta, littering the shoreline and water with yellow-brown clumps of waste as cleanup crews and booms struggle to contain it. Santa Barbara wellhead owner Aiteo Eastern E&P, the petroleum minister and Nigeria's president have all promised that specialist workers would quickly stop the spill. But experts say the difficulties containing it are a reminder of how the once-fertile, fish-filled creeks, mangrove swamps and waterways that crisscross Nigeria's Delta became some of the most polluted areas on the planet amid decades of energy exploration.

The omicron variant of Covid-19 has added a fresh layer of uncertainty to global stock markets. Rabobank's Senior Market Strategist Christian Lawrence talks us through the latest volatility, and what he expects from central banks in the coming weeks. Also in the show: India's coal mines could hamper the country's efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

The EU Commission on Wednesday (1 December) unveiled its plan to invest €300bn by 2027 in global infrastructure in digital and climate projects - as an alternative to China's Belt and Road initiative.

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption which has made slow progress. Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors from agro- and fertilizer-processing, minerals processing or textiles.

Africa's abundant sunshine is ideal for renewable energy production. But the continent relies heavily on crude oil. Experts warn that the economy will continue to suffer if governments don't wean themselves off of oil.

‘Tis the season… for emotional manipulation. These images show children seemingly barred from a Christmas market and Father Christmas being dragged away by police. But they are being wielded to pull on people’s heartstrings as the holidays approach, with the fake news mill continuing to twist the facts.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣⁣

Captain Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar admitted he had been drinking alcohol as cargo ship Wakashio ran aground in July 2020, spilling more than 1,000 tons of fuel into the Indian Ocean.

The president of Guinea-Bissau has negotiated an oil deal with his counterpart from Senegal, without parliamentary approval. Umaro Sissoco Embalo is now facing a ministerial uprising supported by civil society.