Nigeria's crude oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, figures from its regulator show, as the nation grappled with rampant theft from its pipelines and years of underinvestment. The decline is a further threat to strained finances in Africa's most populous nation and cuts global oil supply amid soaring energy costs due to the war in Ukraine. Nigeria's total oil and condensates output dropped to an annual low of 1.18 million bpd in August, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed. Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics for consultancy Energy Aspects, said exports were…

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says half of the deaths recorded from monkeypox in 2022 across Africa are from Nigeria. Speaking on Friday at a virtual media briefing, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said there have now been 524 confirmed cases and 12 deaths across 11 African countries. “The majority of cases are in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ghana. Of the 12 deaths, six occurred in Nigeria, four in Ghana, and two in the Central African Republic,” she said. “Although no single monkeypox vaccine has been administered to any high-risk group in any of the African…

Ukrainian forces have seized an expanding area of previously Russian-held territory in the eastern Kharkiv region, a Russian-installed regional official said. * Ukraine's rapid territorial gains have caught Russia off guard at a vulnerable section of their front line in an attack that threatens an important supply hub used by Russian forces in the east, military analysts said. FIGHTING * President Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had liberated more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region and that fighting continued in the eastern Donbas and the south. * Reuters was not immediately able to verify the reports. * Zelenskiy met the…

Condolences poured in from around the world Thursday after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who became a global icon of calmness and fortitude through decades of political upheaval and social changes at home and abroad. Elizabeth, who had been on the throne since 1952, when the nation was still rebuilding from the destruction of World War II, died Thursday afternoon at age 96 at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland. Here are some reactions to her death: ___ In India, once a British colony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Elizabeth “a stalwart of our times.” “She personified dignity…