Newscast - Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the resignation of his deputy, David Mabuza, thanking him for his unwavering support over the last five years.
Local reports say it comes as no surprise because Mr Mabuza had already announced earlier this month that he would be stepping down.
He will stay in the post until Mr Ramaphosa announces his successor, widely expected to be new ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
A cabinet reshuffle is expected next week once South Africa's annual budget is announced.

The United States Government has returned $954,000 stolen by the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to the state government through the Federal Government.
US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard says the official salary of the former governor during his tenure as a public servant from 1999 to his impeachment in 2005 did not match the said amount.
She says during that time, he accumulated millions of dollars through abuse of office, money laundering.

The United Kingdom, through its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has issued safety advisories to its citizens in Nigeria and those travelling into Nigeria following the Central Bank of Nigeria naira redesign policy.
The country urged its citizens in Nigeria and those travelling into the country to take extra precautions around banks and Automated Teller Machines.
This is as the United Kingdom government also informed her citizens of the coming general elections in Nigeria, warning them of possible pockets of violence in some parts of the country.

The President, Muhammadu Buhari has approved the continued use of the old N200 as legal tender till April 10.
He also apologized to Nigerians for the difficulties experienced in accessing the scarce new naira notes.
He says to further ease the supply pressures on the citizens, the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and that it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days.

Economics professor Kazuo Ueda has been nominated as the Bank of Japan’s next governor, tasked with navigating a way forward after a decade of extraordinary monetary easing.
The respected economist, described as careful and cautious, was a surprise pick for the change of guard after the outgoing governor’s deputy reportedly turned down the job.
Japan's gross domestic product expanded just 0.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2022, a smaller rebound than expected despite the long-awaited reopening of the country to tourists.

New Zealand has declared a national state of emergency for only the third time in its history after Cyclone Gabrielle swept across the country’s north, bringing widespread flooding and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.
Local media reports showed people stranded on their roofs amid the rising waters, houses swept away by landslides and roads submerged by water.
Kieran McAnulty, minister of emergency management, signed the declaration as emergency services struggled to cope. The decision means more resources can be directed to the six most badly affected regions.

The US military says the sensors from the first suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over the US have been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean.
US Northern Command says search crews found significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified.
The FBI is examining the items, which the US says were used to spy on sensitive military sites.
US officials says the high-altitude balloon originated in China and was used for surveillance, but China said it was merely a weather-monitoring airship that had blown astray.

The authorities in Equatorial Guinea say the country had reported its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease in the same family of viruses that cause Ebola.
The World Health Organization says 16 people are now under quarantine as suspected contact cases. The health body has deployed a team of experts to the area to support health workers.
The country’s Health Minister Mitoha Ondo'o Ayekaba earlier said preliminary investigations linked the deaths to people who attended a funeral ceremony.
Movement has been restricted around two villages where most cases have been reported.

South Africa declared a national disaster after heavy rains left seven of its nine provinces flooded, destroying roads and bridges and leaving farmers suffering losses.
The government declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive, coordinated response to the impact of floods.
It says the heavy rains were brought by the La Niña global weather phenomenon, which occurs in the Pacific Ocean.

Nigeria’s first deep-water exploration and production vessel, Bonga, hit a one-billion-barrel oil export mark.
The Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, Elohor Aiboni, described the milestone as a celebration of excellence and focused delivery that has brought significant benefits to Nigeria and Nigerians.
SNEPCo’ s first female Managing Director, Aiboni says the integrated delivery approach, continuous improvement and the support lever offered by Shell Group are the pillars of SNEPCo’s achievement.