President Donald Trump says a group of very wealthy people is set to buy short-form video app TikTok. Trump declined to share more details about the buyers, saying only that he would reveal their identities in two weeks Trump has repeatedly delayed a bill forcing owner ByteDance to sell the app or see it banned in the United States. In January, he said his “initial thought” was to create “a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership.” He’s al...
Jul 05, 2025•1 min
Ethiopia’s central bank has issued a long-awaited directive allowing foreign banks and investors to formally enter its financial sector, marking a major step in the country’s broader economic liberalisation programme. Analysts say the move could inject new capital, boost competition, and accelerate the development of a sector that remains heavily dominated by the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The new licencing rules were published by the National Bank of Ethiopia, will provide a clear...
Jul 05, 2025•1 min
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace deal in Washington aimed at ending decades of devastating conflict between the two neighbours, and potentially granting the US lucrative mineral access. The deal demands the "disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration" of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo. US President Donald Trump says the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity Become a suppor...
Jul 05, 2025•52 sec
The National Health Insurance Authority has sanctioned 49 healthcare facilities and 47 Health Maintenance Organisations in 2024 over violations of its operational guidelines, the agency said on Sunday. Acting Director of Media and Public Relations, Emmanuel Ononokpono, noted that the key issues recorded in the complaints against HCFs were unavailability of medicines, denial of services, out-of-pocket payment for covered services and non-provision of payment narrations. He says the issues were re...
Jul 05, 2025•1 min
Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has described Nigeria’s lingering insecurity as a problem created and sustained by the country’s elite. Mutfwang said the elite have contributed to deepening communal divisions and must take responsibility for reversing the trend. He says when the elite conspires to lead the people in the wrong direction there will continue to be perennial crisis He noted that while the “poisoning of minds” may often start at the community level, the elite have the power ...
Jul 05, 2025•59 sec
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has signed four finance bills into law in a set of major reforms aimed at restructuring the tax system in Africa's most populous nation. The government says the new laws will simplify revenue collection, reduce the tax burden on some individuals and businesses, while also helping to raise much-needed government income revenue by making collection more efficient. He says the tax reforms will protect low-income households and support workers by expanding their dispo...
Jul 05, 2025•1 min
Iran threatened US bases in the Middle East after massive air strikes that Washington says had destroyed Tehran’s nuclear program, though some officials cautioned that the extent of damage was unclear. Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation. Iranian Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani says any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran wi...
Jun 24, 2025•1 min
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes. Oil prices rose following the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites, with the price of the benchmark Brent crude reaching its highest level in five months. Marco Rubio says If Iran closes the Straits, it will be economic suicide for all countries Around 20% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, with major oil and gas producers ...
Jun 24, 2025•1 min
Officials from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have reached a draft agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict. The breakthrough, mediated by the US and Qatar, provides for the "disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration" of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo. It also includes provisions for a joint security mechanism to prevent future flare-ups. The peace deal is expected to be formally signed next week. The US State Department says technical teams had initiall...
Jun 24, 2025•1 min
The Central Bank of Egypt has dropped a new rule for anyone running a digital payment business in Egyptwhether domestic or foreign company. The regulations outline the process for obtaining approval and licenses; set the rules for amending licenses; and specify the fees for inspections and supervision. The central bank says everyone must apply for a licence while existing companies have just 12 months to comply—they can keep running while the CBE decides if they meet the rules. Foreign companies...
Jun 24, 2025•56 sec
The Federal Government has pledged full support to a $400 million Foreign Direct Investment plan to build Africa’s largest, rare earth and critical minerals plant in Nasarawa State, potentially creating over 10,000 jobs nationwide. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, says that Hasetins hopes to add 12,000 metric tonnes to its current 6,000 metric tonnes installed capacity as preparations for the forthcoming groundbreaking of the additional facility gathers momentum. Alake says th...
Jun 24, 2025•1 min
President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies to redouble their efforts in defeating the remnants of Boko Haram insurgents in the country. The President described the attack as an act of cowardice and commiserated with the Borno State Government and the people of the state over the incident. He also directed the National Emergency Management Agency to support the survivors. He urged security agencies to double their efforts in routing remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents who resort to at...
Jun 24, 2025•1 min
US President Donald Trump has ordered an expansion of the detention and deportation of migrants across the country as protests against his policies continue. Trump called on federal agencies to "do all in their power" to deliver "the single largest mass deportation programme in history", naming Los Angeles, Chicago and New York as specific targets. These cities are among the many where large-scale protests have broken out against raids on undocumented migrants since 6 June. Trump has faced legal...
Jun 21, 2025•1 min
New York state lawmakers passed a bill that aims to prevent frontier AI models from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic from contributing to disaster scenarios, including the death or injury of more than 100 people, or more than $1 billion in damages. The passage of the RAISE Act represents a win for the AI safety movement, which has lost ground in recent years as Silicon Valley and the Trump administration have prioritized speed and innovation. Safety advocates including Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinto...
Jun 21, 2025•1 min
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has held talks with Rwanda-backed rebels about protecting civilians in areas under their control in the east. Bintou Keita, the UN secretary general's special representative, says the rebels spoke of wanting a peaceful solution to the crisis, which escalated in January with their capture of the major city of Goma. Ms Kieta says it formed part of ongoing "joint efforts begun several months ago for the benefit of the popul...
Jun 21, 2025•55 sec
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has summoned the management of Air Peace Limited following multiple complaints from passengers regarding non-refunded ticket fares, even in cases where the airline cancelled scheduled flights. The Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, stated that the airline’s actions contravene Sections 130(1)(a) and (b), and 130(2)(b) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which guarantee consumers the right to prompt refu...
Jun 21, 2025•1 min
The United Nations’ humanitarian agency says that it was seeking $29 billion in funding compared to $44 billion requested in December, in a “hyper-prioritised” appeal. Areport says the UN was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans due to the “deepest funding cuts ever”. Tom Fletcher, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), says Brutal funding cuts leaves themwith brutal choices. The UN says it has received only $5.6 billion o...
Jun 21, 2025•1 min
Justice Yusuf granted the bail after Emefiele was arraigned on an eight-count charge in which he is accused of among others, unlawfully acquiring a housing estate comprising 753 units, allegedly stealing and taking control of billions of naira in proxy accounts. Justice Yusuf in the ruling, noted that Emefiele had been granted bail in three other criminal cases pending against him and that there was no evidence that he had jumped bail. He then proceeded to admit him to bail on the condition that...
Jun 21, 2025•1 min
Dangote petroleum refinery has announced the free distribution of petrol and diesel to marketers, dealers, and other large users across the country. The Refinery says the initiative would commence on august 15, 2025. The refinery also says it has procured 4,000 brand-new compressed natural gas (cng)-powered tankers for take-off of the initiative. The refinery says it has also invested in compressed natural gas (CNG) stations, commonly referred to as daughter booster stations, supported by a flee...
Jun 21, 2025•58 sec
The US and China say they have agreed in principle to a framework for de-escalating trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the deal should result in restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets being resolved. Both sides say they would now take the plan to their presidents - Donald Trump and Xi Jinping - for approval. The US says China has been slow to release exports of rare earth metals and magnets which are essential for manufact...
Jun 12, 2025•1 min
A senior US health official admitted President Donald Trump’s administration had gone too far in slashing biomedical research grants worth billions of dollars, and said efforts were underway to restore some of the funding. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health says he had created an appeals process for scientists and laboratories whose research was impacted, and that the NIH had already “reversed many” of the cuts. He says he didn’t take this job to terminate grants but...
Jun 12, 2025•57 sec
The World Bank says it is lifting a ban on loans to Uganda that it had put in place two years ago when the country passed a draconian new law against LGBTQ people. The World Bank however, says it is confident that new mitigation measures will allow it to roll out funding in such a way that does not harm or discriminate against LGBTQ people. Analysts say the World Bank is one of Uganda's biggest sources of external financing, playing an important role in infrastructure development. Road upgrades ...
Jun 12, 2025•58 sec
Rwanda says it is pulling out of a central African regional bloc after a diplomatic row over its involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country was supposed to take up the chairman role of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), which rotates between its 11 members. Rwanda says its right to take up the "chairmanship… was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat". The Eccas leaders at the summit "acknowledged the aggressi...
Jun 12, 2025•1 min
The World Bank has reiterated its projection that the Nigerian economy would grow by 3.6 percent in 2025 despite the shift in the global trade dynamics. The World Bank also slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by 0.4 percentage points to 2.3 percent, saying that higher tariffs and heightened uncertainty posed a “significant headwind” for nearly all economies. It warned that global growth could be weaker than projected if global trade tensions were to escalate further. The bank further sta...
Jun 12, 2025•1 min
The National Orientation Agency says the Federal Government’s first quarter 2025 savings following the removal of petrol subsidies increased by more than 500% compared to the previous period. The Agency noted that the subsidy removal has led to a significant increase in government revenue as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited began transferring savings to the Federation Account Allocation Committee. The savings from the declaration that stopped the subsidy freed vast resources, boos...
Jun 12, 2025•1 min
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned the United Kingdom must be prepared to confront and defeat hostile states with modern military capabilities, as his government unveils a 1.5-billion-pound plan to build at least six new weapons and explosives factories. Starmer says they are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, so we must be ready to fight and win. He added that they will restore Britain’s war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces.” Euro...
Jun 05, 2025•1 min
Australia's defence minister Richard Marles has called on China to explain why it needs to have "such an extraordinary military build-up". He says Beijing needs to provide greater transparency and reassurance as it is the "fundamental issue" for the region. The Philippines defence minister Gilberto Teodoro Jr has called China "absolutely irresponsible and reckless" in its actions in the South China Sea. Marles asserted that China has the single biggest increase in military capability and build u...
Jun 05, 2025•1 min
Equity Group, Kenya’s second-biggest bank by assets, has fired more than 1,200 employees in a sweeping internal purge to crack down on fraud. CEO James Mwangi says the probe found that staff across multiple departments had either facilitated or ignored suspicious transactions involving bank clients. While Equity’s new zero-tolerance stance will likely get regulators and public backing, it reveals deeper governance challenges within Kenya’s banking sector, which has been plagued by high-profile f...
Jun 05, 2025•1 min
Nigerian Officials says the death toll after deadly floods hit the Nigerian town of Mokwa on Thursday has risen to more than 200. There are still 500 people missing in the town in north-central Niger State, as a search mission continues. The deputy chairman of Mokwa Local Government, Musa Kimboku, says that rescue efforts have ceased because authorities no longer believe anyone could still be alive. The floods, said to be worst in the area for 60 years, swept through the towns of Tiffin Maza and...
Jun 05, 2025•1 min
The Ebonyi State government launched EBOCAB, a ride-hailing platform to provide smart and affordable transportation alternatives for its people. The state government says EBOCAB was launched to cut down on crime, generate revenue, and provide new streams of employment for the youth. The service will be accessed through a mobile app, connects users with drivers round the clock. With its corporate headquarters in Abakiliki , this platform will serve commuters within and around Ebonyi’s airport, in...
Jun 05, 2025•56 sec
