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Nigeria’s president has appointed Bayo Ojulari – a former Shell executive – to lead the state-owned oil company, as part of sweeping reforms aimed at cleaning up the sector dogged by allegations of corruption, pollution and decades-long inefficiency. Mr Ojulari was picked in a “crucial” overhaul of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the presidency […]

Niger’s military leaders have released more than 50 detainees, including former ministers in the government they toppled in 2023. Among them are the former ministers of defence, oil and finance, as well as several senior army officers, convicted or accused of plotting previous coups. Ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since […]

After spending eight years in jail, a Nigerian televangelist accused of raping young women from his South African church has been found not guilty of all charges. Timothy Omotoso had denied the 32 charges in a trial that was broadcast live and gained huge interest across the country. In 2018, one witness told the court […]

Why won’t India buy even a single bushel of American corn? That’s the question US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised recently while criticising India’s trade policies, taking a swipe at its market restrictions. In another interview, Lutnick accused India of blocking US farmers and urged it to open its agricultural market – suggesting quotas or […]

Spectators have shared their shock and horror as they watched a decorated South African Air Force pilot crash to his death at a local air show, while they recalled his final moments. James O’Connell died after the plane he was flying crashed during a performance at the West Coast Air Show held in Saldanha, 112 […]

US funding cuts will lead to an additional 2,000 new HIV infections each day and over six million further deaths over the next four years, the UNAids chief has warned. It would mark a stark reversal in the global fight against HIV, which has seen the number of deaths from the disease decrease from more […]

The roar of the Zambezi is deafening as millions of gallons of water crash over rocks and tumble down rapids. But there’s another sound cutting through the trees of the Zambian bush – the unmistakable high-pitched whine of a bitcoin mine. “It’s the sound of money!” says a smiling Phillip Walton as he surveys the […]

It was late at night on 10 December 1987 when prison officers had woken Mzolisi Dyasi in his cell in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. He remembers the bumpy drive to a hospital morgue where he was asked to identify the bodies of his pregnant girlfriend, his cousin and a fellow anti-apartheid fighter. In response, […]

A young South African girl who disappeared last year aged six was allegedly sought by a traditional healer for her eyes and fair complexion, a court has heard. This is among the allegations that have emerged at the ongoing trial of Joshlin Smith’s mother, Kelly Smith, who has been accused of orchestrating her kidnapping. Ms […]