The African Union was joined by countries ranging from Ghana to Uganda and South Africa in expressing various degrees of concern at the United States' latest intervention in Venezuela, during which President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, were seized and flown to be tried in New York on an indictment including drugs and weapons  charges.

The AU said in a statement it would be "following with grave concern the recent developments in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,

President Faustin-Archange Touadera has won the third term he sought after a 2023 constitutional referendum scrapped term limits and extended presidential terms to seven years.

He was declared the election winner, with 76.15 percent of the vote in the first round, by the National Elections Authority (ANE). Opponents Anicet-Georges Dologuélé received 14.6 percent of the vote, and Henri-Marie Dondra 3.19 percent.

Analysts saw Touadera, first

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has rejected a report claiming the refinery is shutting down for maintenance, describing the story as "false and misleading." In a statement released on Monday, the refinery emphasised that production remains ongoing, stable, and uninterrupted.

President Bola Tinubu has condemned the fatal attack on the Kasuwan Daji community in Niger State. The president also ordered security chiefs to hunt down the attackers and ensure the kidnapped residents are freed.

Goals from Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Jerome Akor Adams helped the Super Eagles demolish Mozambique in their fourth straight victory at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals on Monday.

Earlier, Egypt - who as seven-time Afcon champions, are one of the tournament  favourites - saw off Benin 3-1, thus also secured a berth in this year's quarter-finals.

On Sunday, Cameroon defeated South Africa 2-1 in the Round of 16, while Tanzania at first held the line in their match

Anthony Joshua, the Olympic gold medalist and British heavyweight champion, has been discharged from the hospital in Nigeria days after a fatal car accident that killed two of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele. After leaving the hospital, Joshua visited the funeral home where the bodies of his friends were "being prepared for repatriation.''

Joshua was a passenger in a

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) forces of launching an attack with an Akanji drone on the Zarq area hospital and the Ghurair market in North Darfur State on Saturday, which resulted in the death of more than 64 civilians, including medical personnel.

The incident occurred on Sunday, January 4, at around 5.30pm as the victims were cultivating in in Jarama Wetland when heavy rain began, prompting them to seek shelter in a nearby house used by port guards at Mbuye harbour, according to the Governor of Eastern Province, Prudence Rubingisa.

The International Crisis Group has identified three conflicts in Africa as among the 10 world-wide which -  following a violence-wracked 2025 - are expected to continue and which should receive most attention in 2026. The ICG's list of "conflicts to watch" include those affecting Sudan,

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned the Security Council that Sudan's war, nearing 1,000 days, had reached catastrophic levels, with civilians bearing an intensifying toll amid widespread violence, displacement, and humanitarian access constraints.

OCHA said the Kordofan states had emerged as a new