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Warren Hammond's Personal View: Geopolitical risk surges as April and June warnings unfold

Warren Hammond's Personal View: Geopolitical risk surges as April and June warnings unfold

Acts of Violence – The World Is on Edge This Summer. Image: LinkedIn/warren-hammond
Home » Warren Hammond's Personal View: Geopolitical risk surges as April and June warnings unfold
Acts of Violence – The World Is on Edge This Summer. Image: LinkedIn/warren-hammond
On 2nd June, I published a note entitled 'The Personal View: Acts of Violence – The World Is On Edge This Summer.'
In it, I warned:
'June and July 2025 will shape up to be two of the most geopolitically intense, heated, combustible months in recent memory… not defined by a single headline, but by a drumbeat of destabilising, violent, and politically consequential events.'
This warning is reiterated. All June and all July will see persistent and intense acts of violence, terror, war, and conflict.
Since the warning was issued on 2nd June, we've witnessed:
– Israeli airstrikes on Iran's Natanz nuclear site– Iranian missile retaliation centred on Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem– Waves of rocket fire in Gaza and southern Lebanon– A mass shooting in Graz, Austria– Riots in Ballymena, Northern Ireland– India–India-Pakistan tensions reignited with border clashes and terror threats– A firebomb attack in Colorado– Casualties in Kherson, Ukraine, from Russian drone strikes– Rising tensions on the Kyrgyz–Tajik border
– The UN confirming 118+ attacks on schools, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure globally
Back in mid-April, I published 'The Personal View: The Thucydides Trap, War Cometh.'
I stated:
'A rising tide of systemic confrontation is unfolding… This is the Thucydidean Trap, when a rising power threatens an established one, and miscalculation often leads to escalation.'
In both notes, I flagged the geopolitical risk escalation and identified the market implications:
– Exposure to energy security risk and oil-sensitive names
– Tactical positioning away from travel, tourism, shipping, and logistics
These weren't just warnings. They were calls to act. Markets are still mispricing the persistent asymmetric volatility ahead.
Entering March 2025, my note, 'The Personal View: How to Position Your Portfolio for the Market Turmoil Ahead (2025–2028),' explicitly forecasted a wave of market volatility tied to tariff wars, leadership failure, military escalation, oil shocks, and cyber threats, including the unfolding Iran conflict. This was not a reaction; it was anticipation. The note forecast persistent, structural volatility through 2028.
This same framework guided my early February 2020 short call ahead of the COVID crash, and my April 6, 2020, pivot to go long the S&P 500 with a multi-year target of $8,500, a call made amid panic, volatility, and disbelief.
The fuse has been lit. June and July 2025 will continue to see the world on fire..
Share your thoughts in the comments below. How are you preparing for this volatile period?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
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Online and unafraid: LGBTQIA+ Africans push back against colonial-era hate
Online and unafraid: LGBTQIA+ Africans push back against colonial-era hate

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  • IOL News

Online and unafraid: LGBTQIA+ Africans push back against colonial-era hate

In numerous African countries, including Ghana (above) and Zimbabwe, colonial-era anti-homosexuality laws continue to do great harm to LGBTQIA+ communities. In a push against these inherited laws and attitudes, queer Africans are utilising social media as a tool to foster greater acceptance. Image: Carl Collison Golden Moyo* is a lay preacher in rural Zimbabwe. In 2018, after decades of hiding his sexual orientation, Moyo came out to his family and friends and his parish as gay. Attitudes to sexual and gender minorities in Zimbabwe are highly conservative. Those found guilty of consensual same-sex sexual activity could face up to one years imprisonment and a fine. The southern African country's anti-homosexuality law was first introduced by the British during its colonisation of Zimbabwe. 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In addition to using her music as a tool for awareness-raising, Maxine also relies heavily on social media to try and effect change. 'If social media was available…during the colonial days, I'm sure a lot of people would have been educated by now, and we would (not be in) this era that we are in,' Maxine says, in reference to the increasing queerphobic rhetoric sweeping across the continent. 'Because even though some of us are on social media, we are still living in our colonial days; still carrying the colonial thinking. But there are also people who are using social media who have broken free from this colonialism. In Africa, we have made use of social media positively to educate people.' Maxine is now living in Berlin, having fled Ghana as a result of persecution based on her gender identity and her queer rights activism. The distance from her home country makes her rely on social media even more. 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Israel military says approved plan for new Gaza offensive
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Israel says Gazans free to exit while Hamas attends Cairo ceasefire talks
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