NewsReports

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete who killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, by firing four bullets through a closed toilet door, has been sentenced to a lower than expected six years in prison. The sentence, given by Judge Thokozile Masipa in the high court in Pretoria, may be the final chapter in a story that attracted intense …

A survey from 16 countries has shown that millennial entrepreneurs fit into five distinct personas: •The study gives insight into how to hire, engage and do business with these ambitious young people •61 per cent will sacrifice profit to stay true to their values – rising to 78 per cent in South Africa and 83 per cent in Nigeria •66 …

President Muhammadu Buhari has told militants in the Niger Delta that they have no choice but accept that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable. He therefore urged them to change their minds and support a peacful effort to turn Nigeria around. Buhari, who spoke on Wednesday while receiving a cross section of Nigerians mostly Muslims who came to his residence within …

The streets of Zimbabwe’s main cities are deserted during a nationwide stay away to protest at the lack of jobs and unpaid wages. The protests were organised through the messaging site WhatsApp but it is not clear which group is behind it. The internet was often unavailable on Wednesday morning but the government has denied blocking it. The BBC’s Brian …

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended Nigerians for making sacrifices in the face of what he described as “temporary economic and social challenges”. In his message to mark the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations nationwide, Buhari appealed to the rich to remember the millions of Nigerians suffering deprivation because of the violence perpetrated by terrorists. He felicitated with‎ all Nigerians especially the Muslim Ummah …

For the first time in five years, the people of Borno State are being allowed to come out on the streets to celebrate Eid-el-Fitri. The state had been closed to vehicular movements during all festivities, be it Islamic and Christian, due to the Boko Haram insurgency. Many had thought they would be locked in during this year’s Eid-el-Fitri until the …

Barack Obama has delayed his planned troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, meaning there will now be 8,400 US forces in the country when he leaves office in January. The US president’s most recent estimate for that figure was 5,500. In 2012, he promised that the war would be over by 2014. In a surprise White House statement on Wednesday, Obama warned …

After months of pressure mounted by northern interests led by Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru, a former Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to be made the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the state-run oil firm, President Muhammadu Buhari finally succumbed monday when he removed Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu as the corporation’s executive head. …

Elder-statesman, businessman and retired policeman, Umaru Shinkafi is dead. Shinkafi died in a hospital in London at about 4:07 p.m. Nigerian time, family sources said on Wednesday. Mr. Shinkafi, who held the traditional title of Marafan Sokoto, was a native of Zamfara State. Umaru Shinkafi He was a Federal Commissioner of Internal Affairs and a presidential aspirant in the third …

A prominent law firm is taking pre-emptive legal action against the government, following the EU referendum result, to try to ensure article 50 is not triggered without an act of parliament. Acting on behalf of an anonymous group of clients, solicitors at Mishcon de Reya have been in contact with government lawyers to seek assurances over the process, and plan …