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President Cyril Ramaphosa used his 2026 State of the Nation Address to present a cautiously optimistic picture of South Africa’s economy and to announce a series of urgent security and infrastructure measures, saying the country is “stronger than a year ago” after four consecutive quarters of GDP growth, two primary budget surpluses and the end of load‑shedding. Major executive moves included authorising the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to tackle rising gang violence in the Western Cape and…

Australia’s centre-right Liberal Party has elected Angus Taylor as its new leader, replacing Sussan Ley after less than a year in the job, local media reported. The move elevates a prominent conservative who lobbied to drop the party’s commitment to net zero emissions, signaling a sharpened debate over the opposition’s direction on climate policy and its broader appeal to voters. Taylor, a former energy minister, emerges from the party’s “national right” faction and was seen as a key proponent of the Liberals’ decision in…

California opens probe into delayed wildfire warnings in West Altadena Black neighborhoods California’s attorney general has opened a civil rights investigation into whether delayed evacuation warnings during last year’s Los Angeles wildfires contributed to a higher death toll in historically Black neighborhoods in Altadena. Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will examine whether race, age or disability discrimination played a role in the emergency response on the west side of Altadena, where most residents are…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan police arrested a 37-year-old dual citizen of Somalia and Australia, Nasir Egeh, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation, authorities said Thursday. The Kenya Police Service said Egeh was intercepted at Terminal 1A after arriving from Australia via Johannesburg on a Kenya Airways flight. He was flagged by an active immigration control alert issued on Jan. 30, 2026, linked to a case of obtaining money by false pretenses, according to a police…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio departed Thursday for the Munich Security Conference, vowing to press European allies on defense burden-sharing while striking a less confrontational tone than Washington deployed a year ago. Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation to the annual security and defense forum, which runs through Sunday in the Bavarian capital. The trip comes amid a delicate moment in transatlantic relations following a bruising year of rhetoric from Washington and a high-profile dispute over Greenland that rattled…

Kenya to reopen Somalia border in April after 15-year closure, Ruto says MANDERA, Kenya — Kenya will reopen its border with Somalia in April, President William Ruto said Thursday, pledging tight security as his government moves to revive formal cross-border trade after years of closures tied to al-Shabab attacks. Speaking at the NYOTA Capital Disbursement event in Mandera, Ruto said he will personally officiate the reopening of the Mandera Border Post, which has been shut since 2011. “We cannot trade with closed borders. For…

Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its captain off southern Japan in an incident that risks further straining already frayed ties between Asia’s two largest economies. Japan’s Fisheries Agency said an inspector had ordered the vessel to stop for a routine check, but “the vessel failed to comply and fled.” The agency added: “Consequently, the vessel’s captain was arrested on the same day.” It was the first seizure of a Chinese fishing boat by Japan’s fisheries authorities since 2022. The episode comes three…

Bangladeshi television projections showed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Tarique Rahman heading for a substantial victory in the first national elections since a deadly 2024 uprising, with the party pushing past the 150-seat threshold needed for a parliamentary majority. Official results had not been released and counting continued late Friday. Senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said in a party statement the opposition had won a “sweeping victory,” without releasing figures, and urged supporters to offer prayers…

EU leaders pressed for urgent action to cut energy costs and fix the bloc’s border-free single market, warning that European industry risks falling further behind the United States and China if the 27 member states fail to move from rhetoric to results. Gathering at Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium’s Limburg province, heads of government acknowledged a shared “sense of urgency” but arrived with divergent prescriptions. “We share a sense of urgency that our Europe needs to act,” French President Emmanuel Macron said alongside…

Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, appeared on course for a sweeping victory in national elections, with television projections showing the party vaulting past the 150-seat mark needed for a parliamentary majority in the first vote since a deadly 2024 uprising. The projections, based on partial counts late Thursday, indicated that Jamaat-e-Islami and its Islamist-led allies had secured 63 seats — a sharp surge from previous performances but well short of an outright win. Official…