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Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria concluded the recapitalisation programme of Nigeria’s banking sector, an effort aimed at enhancing the financial system’s capacity to support the economy, amongst other objectives. Now stronger and more resilient, Nigeria’s banking system is only as valuable as the economic activity it enables.

This was the crux of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s challenge to financial institutions at the 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. He challenged them to look beyond balance-sheet growth, profitability and shareholder returns and consider how their strength can support the productive economy. Stronger balance sheets, he argued, must ultimately translate into investment, production, jobs, and improved living standards.

The challenge is one of economic impact transmission. How does financial-sector strength translate into financing for productive investment, and productive investment into jobs, incomes and improved living standards? Macroeconomic gains cannot lead to broad-based prosperity if they remain disconnected from the businesses that create output, employment, and income.

For banks, however, financing the productive economy must be balanced against their responsibility to protect depositors’ funds, preserve capital, and maintain portfolio quality. The question, therefore, is how to expand private financing of productive enterprise without weakening the commercial and risk disciplines that sustain a sound banking system.

This is where credit enhancements can play an important role. By sharing or absorbing a defined portion of credit risk, they can improve the risk-adjusted economics of lending and help direct private capital towards productive sectors where risk constrains financing. Agriculture provides a particularly important case because production, market, and value-chain risks can make lenders cautious about financing or scaling exposure.

Answering the economic transmission charge without widening risk appetite

A credit guarantee is one practical form of credit enhancement, providing defined protection against credit losses and improving the risk-adjusted economics of lending. It does not remove the lender’s risk or replace sound credit assessment; rather, it changes the economics of taking that risk. This can allow a financial institution to enter or expand an exposure while remaining within its established risk appetite and credit limits.

NIRSAL’s experience provides a useful case study on how credit guarantees can operate in practice. NIRSAL provides participating financial institutions with partial coverage against defined credit losses on eligible agricultural transactions. The relevance of the model, however, lies not simply in the protection provided on individual facilities, but in what repeated transactions can reveal about how lenders and borrowers respond to reduced risk.

For agricultural lender-borrower relationships that returned for subsequent NIRSAL-backed credit facilities between 2025 and H1 2026, the average transaction size increased 1.35 times, from N2.93 billion in 2025 to N3.94 billion by H1 2026. Over the same period, lenders that repeatedly utilised the Credit Risk Guarantee increased the value of additional credit extended to agribusinesses that might otherwise have been declined by 1.27 times, from N9.36 billion to N11.86 billion.

These movements provide an indication of what can happen after the initial risk constraint is addressed. With each subsequent transaction, the lender gains more information about the borrower and underlying business, the borrower establishes a stronger repayment record, and the relationship becomes more familiar and commercially grounded.

The significance, therefore, extends beyond the individual guarantee. Risk-sharing can create the conditions for information, experience, and credit history to accumulate, potentially allowing financing relationships to deepen over time.

The NIRSAL experience illustrates this two-sided learning process. The lender gains greater familiarity with agricultural risk; the borrower builds a track record with the financial system; and both sides accumulate information that can support larger and potentially less third-party-dependent financing relationships.

The objective of such mechanisms is therefore not perpetual reliance on guarantees, but the progressive reduction and/or understanding of perceived risk and the deepening of private capital flows into productive sectors.

Getting ahead of the risk sustainably

The value of a credit guarantee is ultimately tested when the underlying risk crystallises, that is, when the borrower defaults on repayment. A credit guarantee provides the lender with a defined layer of protection over the percentage of the loan covered; in NIRSAL’s case, up to 75% of principal and accrued interest. NIRSAL has honoured guarantee claims valued at N4.5 billion, all within an average settlement period of 30 days.

But the more important question is not simply how speedily a guarantee responds when a loss occurs, but whether the conditions that lead to crystallisation can be reduced in the first place.

Herein lies a crucial aspect of NIRSAL’s work: strengthening agricultural value chains in readiness for commercial finance. The historical performance of facilities backed by NIRSAL’s Credit Risk Guarantee suggests that agricultural finance is better approached holistically; combining risk-sharing on the finance side with interventions that address weaknesses across the value chain and improve the underlying conditions for successful borrowing. The results are instructive: non-performing loans across NIRSAL’s guaranteed portfolio stand at 0.32%, compared with 9.85% for the banking industry’s agricultural loan portfolio.

Agricultural finance does not fail only because a borrower cannot repay. Repayment itself is often a consequence of risks further upstream in the value chain, from input availability and production conditions to aggregation, storage, logistics, market access and price volatility. Weather and other production risks can create additional exposures that cannot be addressed through a credit guarantee alone.

NIRSAL therefore operates across these different points of the risk chain. Credit risk is addressed through the Credit Risk Guarantee; value-chain constraints can be addressed through interventions that strengthen the commercial and operational conditions underlying the financing; and insurance advocacy and facilitation can help transfer specified production risks that would otherwise sit directly with farmers, agribusinesses, or lenders.

This distinction is important. The guarantee provides protection when a defined credit loss occurs. The broader risk-management approach seeks to reduce the likelihood and severity of that crystallisation by improving the conditions in which the financed business operates. This positions NIRSAL differently from a conventional credit guarantee provider. Its role is not simply to stand behind a loan when things go wrong, but to work with financial institutions and value-chain participants to make difficult agricultural exposures more understandable, manageable, and financeable.

In this sense, NIRSAL acts as a system enabler. It helps financial institutions navigate areas where information, market structure or risk characteristics may otherwise constrain participation, while allowing the institutions themselves to retain the customer relationship, credit discipline, and commercial decision-making.

The objective is therefore not to take agricultural risk away from the financial system. It is to help the financial system understand, share, mitigate and ultimately price that risk more effectively. That is an important distinction in the transition from risk-sharing to sustainable agricultural finance.

Where transmission becomes measurable

The significance of NIRSAL’s experience ultimately lies beyond the individual guarantee. In H1 2026, every N1 of NIRSAL guarantee capital was associated with N2.29 of commercial bank lending to agriculture. Across 46 agribusinesses, this financing supported an estimated 3,279 jobs, more than 82,000 tonnes of food output and an estimated 16,395 lives impacted. How? Credit enhancement helps make financing possible; financing enables productive investment; and productive investment generates output, employment and income.

Indeed, a stronger financial system creates economic value when its capacity reaches the businesses that produce, employ, and generate income. In agriculture, that transmission extends beyond individual enterprises to entire value chains; supporting production, processing, trade, food supply, and livelihoods.

NIRSAL’s work illustrates the role a development-oriented financial institution can play in strengthening this transmission. Its purpose is not to replace commercial finance, but to enable more of it. In this sense, the NIRSAL model represents a deliberate shift away from direct intervention towards a more sustainable approach to financing Nigeria’s largest economic sector; helping financial institutions navigate the risks and market constraints that might otherwise limit their participation in viable agricultural enterprises.

Nigeria’s agricultural credit gap remains significant. Closing it will require moving beyond the success of individual transactions towards deeper market participation… where banks, agribusinesses, insurers, and other value-chain actors operate within a more coordinated ecosystem capable of mobilising agricultural finance at scale.

The next move for Nigerian banks

Nigeria has strengthened the capital base of its banking industry. The next question is: what will that capital build?

The opportunity now is to create stronger pathways through which commercial interests and national development priorities can converge. For banks, financing agriculture need not be an act of corporate social responsibility or patriotism; it can and should be good business.

NIRSAL provides a mechanism for making that proposition more viable, enabling financial institutions to expand productive lending to agriculture while managing risk and preserving commercial objectives. At the same time, viable agribusinesses gain access to growth capital, while successful transactions build the credit histories, market knowledge, and lender confidence required to attract progressively larger volumes of commercial finance.

For financial institutions seeking to deploy more capital into Nigeria’s productive economy, agriculture therefore need not represent an uncomfortable leap into the unknown. The opportunities exist, the risks can be better understood and shared, and NIRSAL provides a proven mechanism for doing so.

For agribusinesses seeking to grow, every successful financing cycle strengthens credit profile and improves prospects for accessing larger facilities. Businesses requiring additional capital should therefore engage their financial institutions on structuring eligible facilities with the support of NIRSAL’s Credit Risk Guarantee.

This is the NIRSAL Effect; not simply taking risk away from the bank, but helping transform risk into information, information into confidence, and confidence into sustainable commercial finance for agriculture.

The United States (US) has imposed broad travel sanctions on some South African officials, over claims that South Africa’s government racially discriminates against white minority Afrikaners.

The punitive measure targets foreign nationals alleged to have enacted or enabled policies that promote race-based discrimination against minority populations, specifically targeting Pretoria’s treatment of the country’s Afrikaner community.

Under the new directive, existing US visas for the affected individuals will be revoked, and pending applications will be rejected.

Bilateral friction between the two nations has been inflamed by rhetoric and racial slurs within South African politics.

For instance, many white South Africans cite the apartheid-era chant ‘Kill the Boer’, Boer is another word for Afrikaner by Julius Malema, the far-left opposition leader which was replayed by Trump when he met Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president in the Oval Office last year.

The ruling African National Congress party disavowed the chant, which South African courts have ruled is not meant literally and is therefore not hate speech.

However, according to Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, in a post on X,

‘The government has consistently failed to adequately address rural crime, violent and dehumanising rhetoric, and race-based discriminatory policies against Afrikaners and other minority populations’.

Rubio emphasized that such behavior remains incompatible with the core pillars of American foreign policy, signaling that Washington will not allow these policies to go unchecked.

South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation expressed concern over the announcement, noting that Washington’s decision reflects the mischaracterization of domestic policies by fringe groups.

Pretoria maintains its legislative frameworks are intended to correct historical economic disparities stemming from the apartheid era, rather than persecute any minority group.

‘South Africa respects that the US may hold differing views on certain policy measures and their implementation,’ said Ronald Lamola, South African foreign minister.

‘The people of South Africa likewise respect the right of the American people to develop legislation that addresses their own circumstances. We expect that the same respect will be accorded to the people of South Africa, as the principle of sovereignty requires.’

The visa sanctions follow a series of punitive actions enacted by Washington against Pretoria, including the exclusion of South African officials from select Group of 20 meetings, the freezing of US aid for local HIV treatment programs, and the creation of a US refugee pipeline specifically designated for Afrikaners.

Signaling further diplomatic strain, the US Mission to South Africa warned that the travel restrictions are far from the end of the pushback.

‘This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter,’ according to Leo Brent Bozell III, the US Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa.

Nigeria has joined fire and emergency management authorities from around the world in advancing stronger international cooperation and new approaches to building resilient communities against disasters and emerging risks.

The discussions formed part of the World Fire Congress in London, where global fire and emergency management leaders examined ways to improve disaster preparedness, response and recovery while strengthening collaboration among countries.

The Nigerian delegation, represented by the Federal Fire Service (FFS), participated in discussions on the changing demands of emergency management and the need for countries to develop systems capable of responding effectively to increasingly complex risks.

According to a statement by Paul Abraham, National Public Relations Officer and Head of Corporate Services, Federal Fire Service National Headquarters, Abuja, the deliberations focused on the full emergency management cycle, covering planning, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

The Service noted that participants exchanged experiences on how national fire and emergency management institutions could strengthen their systems, improve coordination and adapt their operations to emerging threats confronting communities.

‘The discussions also provided an avenue for participating countries to identify areas of common interest and explore opportunities for deeper international collaboration in fire safety and emergency management.

‘A major highlight of the congress was the formal signing of the World Fire Congress (WFC) Founding Principles by representatives of participating nations.

‘The signing marked a collective commitment by member countries to strengthen international cooperation, advance fire safety and promote more resilient communities through coordinated action’, the statement said.

The Federal Fire Service said Nigeria joined other participating nations in reaffirming its commitment to the principles and objectives of the World Fire Congress.

The congress, FFS said, would provide a platform for participating countries and fire-service organisations to share knowledge, operational experiences and emerging practices in fire prevention, emergency response and community resilience.

‘For Nigeria, participation in the global forum provides an opportunity to deepen international engagement in fire safety and emergency management while drawing from the experiences of other countries confronting similar and emerging disaster risks’, the statement added. The Federal Fire Service said the country’s engagement reflected its commitment to contributing to global efforts aimed at improving safety standards, strengthening emergency preparedness and building resilient communities.

The development comes amid growing recognition internationally of the need to move beyond emergency response towards comprehensive risk reduction, prevention and preparedness.

Fraudsters are increasingly turning the trusted identities of Nigerian government agencies into reusable tools for online theft, rotating fake websites, impersonating officials and exploiting One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to move money from victims’ bank accounts within minutes.

What initially appeared to be isolated scams involving fake Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) traffic notices is emerging as a wider pattern affecting agencies including the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), police and other public institutions.

The common playbook is remarkably consistent. Fraudsters identify an agency Nigerians routinely interact with, create a convincing copy of its digital identity, send unsolicited messages that manufacture urgency and then direct victims to a fraudulent website.

The final step is often payment. Once victims enter card or banking information, the scammers exploit the genuine OTP generated by the victim’s bank, enabling unauthorised transactions before the victim fully understands what has happened.

The model allows the same infrastructure and tactics to be adapted repeatedly. A fake traffic offence can become a customs auction, tax refund, recruitment notification or another government-related claim with relatively little change to the underlying operation.

From traffic fines to bank debits

The scale of the threat became clearer in September after motorists began reporting fraudulent FRSC messages directing them to websites purporting to show traffic offences.

One of the domains identified in the campaign was frscgov.top, which the FRSC publicly disowned on September 16.

The agency said the website had no affiliation with it and directed motorists to its official website, frsc.gov.ng, and toll-free number 122.

The scam was convincing because it exploited a real-world event. On September 16, Nollywood actress Eva Ibiam received a message claiming she had incurred an FRSC traffic offence.

The message appeared plausible because she had recently been stopped by road safety officers and had her vehicle registration photographed.

She followed the link, entered her details on a website that displayed an alleged speeding violation and offered a reduced fine before making a payment.

Her bank subsequently generated a genuine OTP. Minutes later, about N364,574 was debited from her account in an international web transaction associated with a merchant in Dubai.

Comedian MC Monica, whose real name is Edeh Sylvester Chisom, experienced a similar attack after receiving a message about a supposed traffic fine.

He paid what appeared to be a N5,000 penalty, only to discover unauthorised transactions the following morning, including a web purchase debit of about N1.8 million.

The difference between the apparent value of the transaction and the eventual loss illustrates one of the most damaging features of the scheme: the initial payment request can be deliberately small while the real objective is to obtain credentials that facilitate much larger transactions.

For Abuja-based lawyer Usman A. Lanase, the same message almost produced another victim.

He received a notification claiming he had exceeded the speed limit at 92km/h and owed N5,000. He clicked the link and found a professional-looking website but stopped before completing the payment.

He later discovered that others had received the same message. ‘Thank God my lawyerly mind saved me. Innocent Nigerians have been defrauded,’ he said.

One playbook, multiple agencies

The significance of the FRSC incidents lies beyond the individual losses.

Similar techniques have been deployed using the identities of Customs and tax authorities.

Customs has repeatedly warned Nigerians about cloned auction portals and WhatsApp accounts offering seized or imported vehicles at attractive prices. Victims are typically directed to unofficial payment channels after being shown what appears to be a legitimate government auction.

Tax-related scams follow another variation of the same formula. Messages purporting to come from FIRS or state revenue authorities can claim that a recipient has an outstanding obligation, requires urgent profile verification or is eligible for a refund.

Recruitment scams using the identities of the police and other government institutions add another layer.

The subject changes, but the architecture remains largely the same: a trusted government name, a believable administrative event, an urgent request, a fraudulent digital destination and an attempt to extract money or sensitive information.

This makes government brands particularly valuable to fraudsters. A scammer does not need to build public trust from scratch. The reputation of the institution does much of that work.

The victim already recognises the agency. The alleged transaction fits an activity the agency legitimately performs. The message therefore needs only enough technical polish to bridge the gap between the real institution and the fake interaction.

The disposable website strategy

The technology behind the campaigns is also designed for rapid replacement. Several domains associated with the FRSC scam appeared within a short period. One was reportedly registered only a day before public complaints emerged, with registration details shielded and a location listed outside Nigeria.

The websites were designed to look credible, displaying alleged offence information, accepting vehicle registration details and eventually requesting payment information.

This creates a disposable infrastructure. Once an address is publicly identified, reported or blocked, another domain can be registered and deployed with the same basic website, message template and payment mechanism.

The result is a game of speed. Government agencies may successfully warn citizens about one fraudulent address, but the warning can become outdated when another domain appears.

The same principle applies across agencies. A scammer does not need a new business model for every target. It can reuse the underlying infrastructure and change the branding, message and alleged government service.

That makes the government agency itself almost a plug-in component of the fraud operation.

OTP becomes the final vulnerability

The most important part of the playbook is not necessarily the fake website itself but what happens after the victim reaches it.

The site is designed to collect information that can help initiate or facilitate a legitimate banking transaction. When the victim receives an OTP from the bank, the security mechanism can become part of the attack if the code is disclosed or relayed to the fraudster.

The transaction can then be completed while the victim is still interacting with the fake government portal.

This explains why some losses occur within minutes. The fraud does not depend entirely on stealing money directly through the fake government website. Instead, the website becomes the social-engineering layer that persuades the victim to provide the information required for a real financial transaction.

The scam therefore combines social engineering, domain impersonation and real-time transaction manipulation.

Why the model keeps working

Several structural conditions make the playbook attractive. Nigeria has millions of citizens interacting with government agencies through digital channels, while phone numbers and other personal information are widely circulated across commercial and public systems.

The cost of registering domains and distributing bulk SMS is relatively low compared with the potential return from a successful campaign.

More importantly, the fraudsters can exploit situations that citizens already expect to encounter.

A traffic offence is plausible. So is a tax notice, customs payment, recruitment update or government refund.

The fraud therefore does not ask victims to believe something extraordinary. It asks them to respond quickly to something that could reasonably happen to them.

Urgency does the rest. A warning that a fine will increase, a tax obligation will attract penalties or an offer will expire creates pressure that discourages independent verification.

A national trust problem

The consequence goes beyond the money stolen from individual victims. Repeated impersonation risks weakening public confidence in legitimate government digital services.

Citizens who receive genuine government messages may become reluctant to click legitimate links. Others may ignore important notices because they have learned that official-looking messages can be fraudulent.

The government agencies themselves consequently face a trust problem: every successful impersonation campaign potentially makes legitimate digital communication less effective.

Official responses have largely focused on public warnings.

The FRSC has urged citizens to ‘STOP. VERIFY. REPORT’, while its Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, directed nationwide sensitisation following the latest incidents.

Customs has similarly warned that legitimate auctions are conducted through its official channels and that officers do not solicit payments through private messaging platforms.

Tax authorities and the police have also issued warnings over fraudulent messages and websites using their identities. But individual takedowns cannot eliminate a system built around replacement.

From agency-specific scams to a shared fraud economy

The evidence does not establish that every campaign against FRSC, Customs, FIRS and other agencies is being operated by one organisation.

What it reveals is a common and increasingly reusable fraud model. The same operational logic can be applied to virtually any institution with a strong public identity and regular interaction with citizens.

That changes the nature of the problem. It is no longer simply about identifying a fraudulent FRSC website or shutting down a fake Customs auction page. It is about disrupting an ecosystem in which domains, messages, impersonation techniques and payment tactics can be repeatedly repurposed.

Banks and telecommunications companies therefore have roles alongside government agencies. Detection of unusual transactions, suspicious OTP activity, bulk messaging patterns and newly registered domains could help identify campaigns earlier.

What Nigerians must do to stay ahead

Jide Awe, tech expert therefore urged Nigerians to treat unsolicited messages demanding immediate payment, personal information or OTPs with caution, even when they appear to come from a government agency.

‘Citizens should independently type the agency’s official website into their browser or use verified contact channels rather than clicking links embedded in SMS messages, WhatsApp chats or emails,’ Awe advised.

They should also never share bank OTPs, PINs or card security details with anyone claiming to represent a government institution, Awe appealed, adding that, ‘Where a message appears suspicious, recipients should preserve the SMS, website address and transaction details and report them to the relevant agency, their bank and appropriate law-enforcement or cybercrime authorities.’

The emerging lesson from the latest scams is that fraudsters are not merely cloning government websites. They are cloning the trust Nigerians place in government institutions and reusing that trust across different scams.

Eight children among 21 killed as Gaza building collapses

At least 21 people, including eight children, have been killed after a war damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City, rescuers and medics said. The six storey building in the Tal al Hawa area collapsed overnight on Wednesday.

Witnesses said the building had been left dangerously tilted after an Israeli strike more than a year ago but continued to shelter displaced families who had nowhere else to go. Locals said about 10 families were living there despite warnings that the structure was unsafe.

Rescue efforts were hampered by a lack of equipment, forcing Civil Defence workers initially to search through the rubble with their bare hands. UN and Egyptian teams later joined the operation.

Gaza Civil Defence said it had taken 45 injured people to hospitals before ending the search on Wednesday afternoon. Relatives and residents said the families had accepted the risk because of the severe shortage of shelter in the territory.

Eight children among 21 killed as Gaza building collapses

At least 21 people, including eight children, have been killed after a war damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City, rescuers and medics said. The six storey building in the Tal al Hawa area collapsed overnight on Wednesday.

Witnesses said the building had been left dangerously tilted after an Israeli strike more than a year ago but continued to shelter displaced families who had nowhere else to go. Locals said about 10 families were living there despite warnings that the structure was unsafe.

Rescue efforts were hampered by a lack of equipment, forcing Civil Defence workers initially to search through the rubble with their bare hands. UN and Egyptian teams later joined the operation.

Gaza Civil Defence said it had taken 45 injured people to hospitals before ending the search on Wednesday afternoon. Relatives and residents said the families had accepted the risk because of the severe shortage of shelter in the territory.

Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaci sentenced to 25 years for war crimes

Hashim Thaci, Kosovo’s former president, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of war crimes committed during the territory’s 1990s war for independence from Serbia.

The 58 year old was convicted at The Hague after a three year trial covering crimes including murder, illegal detention, torture and cruel treatment. Prosecutors had accused him of responsibility for the deaths of nearly 100 people, although several allegations were not proven.

Thaci was a co founder and commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the ethnic Albanian armed group that fought Serbian forces during the conflict. More than 10,000 people were killed during the war, which ended after Nato military intervention in 1999.

He became Kosovo’s first prime minister after it declared independence in 2008 and later served as president. He resigned from the presidency in 2020 to face the charges before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

The verdict prompted an emotional reaction in Kosovo, where Thaci remains a significant and controversial figure. Thousands gathered in Pristina and other cities to watch the judgment on large screens, with supporters expressing shock and grief over the sentence.

US accuses Russia of plotting attacks on Ukrainian allies

The US Department of Justice has accused five men linked to Russian intelligence services of conspiring to finance attacks against people considered supporters or allies of Ukraine in the United States and Europe.

The defendants were charged with conspiring to finance terrorism, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. US authorities said three of the suspects were high ranking members of a Russian Intelligence Services network.

Among those charged are Yuri Khrameev, 63, a former Russian intelligence colonel, and his son Kirill Khrameev, 27, who the US describes as an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service. A Cuban national, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, was also identified as an alleged influential member of the network.

Two other defendants, Yaidel Delgado Suarez and Angel Eduardo Castro, are accused of recruiting or attempting to recruit people in the US to surveil and attempt to murder a prominent Russian dissident based in the country. All five remain at large.

The Kremlin said it would not comment until it saw credible evidence or tangible facts. US officials said the alleged network sought to intimidate, threaten or kill people regarded as aligned with Ukraine, including individuals on American soil.

Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles says she is cancer free

Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, has announced that she is cancer free six months after revealing that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Wiles, 69, said in a post on X that pathology tests carried out after a visit to the Mayo Clinic had come back clear. She did not provide further details about her treatment or the diagnosis.

She thanked Donald Trump, United States president, for his support and said she would continue working to advance his administration’s America First agenda. Wiles continued working virtually from the White House during her six months of treatment.

Wiles became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff and is one of the most influential figures in the Trump administration. Her responsibilities include coordinating policy, managing the president’s agenda and controlling access to him.

She disclosed her diagnosis in March and said she was joining millions of women who continue to work, raise families and serve their communities while undergoing cancer treatment. Her latest announcement did not indicate whether she has completed all aspects of her treatment.

EU backs closer relationship with Canada

The European Union has backed proposals for Canada to become its first associate member, opening the possibility of closer cooperation between the two sides in key economic and strategic sectors.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told the European Parliament that she wanted to work towards ‘opening the door’ to Canada. The proposal would give the country closer links with the EU without making it a full member.

Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, has called for a unique alliance with Europe as relations between Ottawa and Washington become increasingly strained. Trade tensions between Canada and the United States intensified after negotiations collapsed last month.

Von der Leyen said closer ties with Canada would not be directed against another country but would strengthen Europe’s ability to respond to changes in the international system.

Carney attended von der Leyen’s annual address in Strasbourg and was scheduled to address the European Parliament on Thursday. The proposal could deepen cooperation between Canada and Europe as both sides seek stronger economic and strategic partnerships.

AFRICA

US restricts visas for South African officials over alleged discrimination

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on people it accuses of promoting discrimination against South Africa’s white minority, escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria.

Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, said the restrictions targeted people involved in what Washington described as race based discrimination, incitement to violence or efforts to enable land confiscation without compensation.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused South Africa of discriminating against Afrikaners through policies aimed at addressing historic racial inequality. South Africa has rejected the allegations and maintained that its policies are intended to address the country’s deep economic and racial disparities.

Ronald Lamola, South Africa’s foreign minister, expressed concern over the latest restrictions and accused groups presenting themselves as representatives of Afrikaners and other minorities of mischaracterising the country’s domestic policies.

The US government did not immediately identify the individuals affected. The move adds to a series of disputes between the two countries over land policy, racial inequality and South Africa’s broader domestic and foreign policy positions.

Israel, Morocco agree to upgrade diplomatic relations

Israel and Morocco have agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relationship, including plans to open embassies and appoint ambassadors in both countries, according to the Israeli government.

The agreement was announced on Wednesday by Israel’s official government account in Arabic. It represents a further step in the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

Morocco was one of four Arab countries, alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, to move towards normalising relations with Israel in 2020 under US backed agreements.

The two countries have maintained diplomatic ties since the normalisation process, while cooperation has expanded across areas including security, trade and tourism.

The decision to upgrade diplomatic representation comes amid continuing tensions across the Middle East and a wider debate among Arab states over relations with Israel.

Guterres calls for accountability over foreign support for Sudan war

Antonio Guterres, United Nations secretary general, has called for countries supplying weapons to Sudan’s warring parties to be held accountable when those weapons are used against civilians.

Guterres described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as devastating and said the suffering of the Sudanese people had reached an intolerable level. He made the comments ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Sudan has been engulfed in war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. The conflict has killed civilians, displaced millions and created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

Guterres specifically referred to countries providing weapons that are subsequently used in attacks on civilians, without naming individual governments or suppliers.

His comments come as international pressure grows for an end to the conflict and for greater scrutiny of the external actors supporting the rival forces. The UN continues to warn of severe food insecurity, displacement and shortages of essential services across Sudan.

Ramaphosa takes medical leave from public engagements

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has been advised to rest and has temporarily withdrawn from public engagements after returning from the BRICS leaders’ summit in India.

The presidency said Ramaphosa was booked off from public duties on medical advice after returning to South Africa on Monday. It did not disclose the nature of his illness or how long he would remain away from official engagements.

Ramaphosa has asked cabinet ministers to represent him at scheduled public events where possible. Ronald Lamola, South Africa’s foreign minister, is expected to lead the country’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in his absence.

Paul Mashatile, South Africa’s deputy president, is also resting on medical advice following a procedure. The simultaneous absence of the country’s two senior political leaders has led ministers to take on additional public responsibilities.

The presidency gave no indication of any broader disruption to government operations. Ramaphosa’s temporary absence comes as South Africa prepares for major international engagements at the UN.

Ghana cuts fuel exports to Burkina Faso, Mali

Ghana’s state owned fuel distributor, BOST Energies, has reduced diesel and petrol exports to Burkina Faso and Mali to protect domestic supplies amid tighter global energy markets.

Afetsi Awoonor, managing director of BOST, said exports to the two neighbouring countries had been cut since August as Ghana prioritised local demand. He said the company supplied only about half of the 80,000 metric tonnes of fuel requested by Burkina Faso in July and August.

Global fuel markets have been under pressure from disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, contributing to higher energy prices as demand rises ahead of peak harvest and winter periods.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger rely heavily on fuel imports from coastal countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast. Their access to reliable fuel supplies is particularly important as the Sahel countries face continuing security challenges and economic pressures.

Ghana’s decision could add to fuel supply difficulties in the landlocked Sahel, where alternative import routes are limited. BOST’s priority shift also reflects the pressure that regional fuel exporters face when domestic demand rises alongside international supply disruptions.