Author: Faith Daniel

By Reuters February 24, 2026, 7:37 AM GMT+1 | Updated 1 hour a JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 — The South African rand held steady in early trading on Tuesday as investors awaited the release of key central bank data expected to provide further signals on the country’s economic direction. At 06:19 GMT, the rand was trading at 16.03 against the US dollar, virtually unchanged from its close on Monday. Later in the morning, around 07:00 GMT, the South African Reserve Bank is scheduled to release its composite leading business cycle indicator for December. The indicator tracks a range of economic variables,…

Dangote Refinery has resumed the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to major marketers and depot owners under a revised distribution framework approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). This development marks a clear departure from the earlier arrangement in which the refinery sold products to all categories of buyers, including independent petroleum marketers. Under the new structure, only selected major marketers and depot owners are permitted to lift products directly from the refinery. Those cleared include Mobil/11 Plc, Total, Matrix, Rainoil, Nipco, Northwest, Ardova, Bovas, Pivot, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, NNPC,…

A Tunisian court has sentenced a sitting lawmaker to eight months in prison over social media posts that mocked Kais Saied in the aftermath of deadly flooding across the country. The MP, Ahmed Saidani, was arrested earlier this month after publishing posts online that ridiculed the president’s visits to flood-affected areas. In one widely shared comment, Saidani sarcastically referred to Saied as the “supreme commander of sanitation and rainwater drainage,” a remark that authorities said crossed the line into criminal insult. On Thursday, the court handed down the eight-month prison sentence after convicting Saidani of insulting others through communication networks,…

The rolling green hills of KwaZulu-Natal appear calm, but beneath the rural tranquillity, fear and uncertainty are spreading fast. The province has become the centre of South Africa’s worst foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in years—an epidemic that has, over the past year, reached eight of the country’s nine provinces and left farmers counting mounting losses. To contain the highly contagious virus, thousands of cattle have been culled. For many farmers, the consequences go beyond the immediate loss of animals. They fear the collapse of their livelihoods as export markets shut their doors to South African meat and livestock products. Foot-and-mouth disease…

Three Cameroonian soldiers have been sentenced to prison over the killing of at least 21 civilians in the country’s restive English-speaking region, in a decision that stands out in a system where members of the security forces are rarely convicted for crimes against civilians. The sentences, handed down by a military court, range from five to 10 years in prison for crimes committed six years ago in the Northwest Region. The soldiers were found guilty of murder, arson, and destruction, following a trial that lawyers and human rights groups say was unusual both for reaching a conviction and for acknowledging…

After a six-year pause caused by Covid-19 and security concerns, tens of thousands of fishermen gathered once again in northern Nigeria for the return of the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival, a tradition that blends competition, ritual, and spectacle. From early morning, participants assembled with nets and gourds in hand, waiting for the signal to begin. As drummers pounded out the age-old rhythms of the Kabawa people, the Sarkin Ruwan—the ceremonial guardian of the river—performed the opening rites, formally clearing the way for the contest to start. At the signal, fishermen surged forward in a sprint toward the Matan…

A United Nations fact-finding mission says atrocities committed during the siege and capture of the Sudanese city of el-Fasher bear the defining characteristics of genocide. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized el-Fasher, a key city in Sudan’s western Darfur region, at the end of October following an 18-month blockade. The takeover marked one of the most violent episodes in Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war and provoked widespread condemnation from the international community. According to the UN mission, this is the strongest indication yet that RSF fighters may be carrying out genocide in Darfur during the current conflict. While the…

South African police have arrested the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former president, Robert Mugabe, in connection with an alleged attempted murder following a reported shooting at a luxury property in Johannesburg. Bellarmine Mugabe, aged 28, was taken into custody after a 23-year-old man, believed to be a gardener, was shot and seriously wounded during the incident. The shooting is reported to have taken place at a residence in Hyde Park, an affluent suburb of Johannesburg. According to police, officers who searched the house where Bellarmine Mugabe had been staying recovered spent bullet cartridges. However, no firearm was found at…

For the first time anywhere in the world, DNA evidence from an individual lion has been used to successfully prosecute poachers, marking a major breakthrough in wildlife crime enforcement. Investigators were able to identify a specific lion from body parts recovered in a suspect’s village by matching them to a national DNA database in Zimbabwe. The male lion had previously been sampled while alive, when authorities took a blood sample during routine monitoring in Hwange National Park, where the animal was fitted with a radio tracking collar. Two men were convicted and sentenced to prison over the 2024 killing, in…

At least 34 people have been killed following coordinated attacks on several villages in north-western Nigeria, allegedly carried out by suspected Islamist militants, officials told the BBC. The assaults took place on Tuesday in a remote border district of Kebbi state, where gunmen launched simultaneous raids on multiple communities. Local defences were quickly overwhelmed, forcing residents to flee as attackers moved through the villages. Survivors described the gunmen as well-organised and heavily armed, saying they fired indiscriminately at civilians as they advanced through the area. Officials have attributed the attacks to Lakurawa, a relatively new militant group known to operate…