Author: Prima News

The South African rand weakened early on Thursday as escalating Middle East tensions and surging oil prices ​stoked inflation fears and dampened risk appetite ahead of ‌key domestic data. At 0653 GMT the rand traded at 16.5625 against the dollar , roughly down 0.4% from Wednesday’s close. The local currency has been ​under pressure recently, shedding more than 3% last week, ​pressured by rising oil prices that pose a challenge ⁠for South Africa as a net energy importer. Iran said ​the world should brace for $200-a-barrel oil after its forces struck merchant ships ​on Wednesday, while the International Energy Agency urged a…

South ​African retailer ‌Woolworths Holdings (WHLJ.J), opens new tab ​on ​Thursday said ⁠chief ​Roy ​Bagattini will retire ​at ​the end ‌of ⁠September 2026, and ​named ​insider ⁠Sam ​Ngumeni ​as ⁠his successor.

 Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime ​security and risk firms. The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began ‌to at least 16. Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz, opens new tab, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil, has come to a near-standstill since…

China passed a law on a “shared” national identity among the country’s 55 ethnic minority groups ‌on Thursday, a move critics say will further erode the identity of people who are not majority Han Chinese and risk making anyone challenging that “unity” a separatist punishable by law. Called “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress”, the ethnic minority law aims to forge national unity and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation ​with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at its core, a draft copy of the law showed. It was passed at the closing session of ​the annual meeting of the National People’s…

Israeli strikes battered Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Wednesday, lighting up the skyline with flashes ​of red and setting buildings on fire, after the Lebanese-armed group Hezbollah launched a volley of rockets into northern Israel. Israel launched an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah after it opened fire on ‌March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, and uprooted 800,000 more, Lebanese authorities say. On Wednesday night, Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel as part of a “series…

Security-focused campaign videos by the far-right National Rally candidate shaking up Marseille’s mayoral race have helped die-hard supporter Marie-Helene Martin convince previously reticent ​relatives to vote for him, she said. To rousing music, Franck Allisio promises to triple the number of municipal cops, double the number of security cameras ‌and put a police post in every district to “bring happiness back” to the people of Marseille. Allisio is tied in first-round polls ahead of Sunday’s first round with incumbent Socialist Mayor Benoit Payan, providing the RN party with a once-unthinkable shot at power in France’s second-largest city. Famous for its…

Indonesia and Australia are planning to expand their security cooperation to include Japan and Papua New Guinea, Jakarta’s Defence ​Minister said on Thursday after a meeting with his Australian counterpart. Trilateral security ‌arrangements would be developed with Indonesia, Australia and Japan, and between Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told reporters after talks with Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles. The leaders of ​Indonesia and Australia signed a security treaty last month that commits them to ​consult each other if either country is threatened. Indonesia and Australia will work ⁠together on intelligence sharing, Sjafrie said, without providing details. The two ministers…

A strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children may be the ‌result of U.S. use of outdated targeting data, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, providing new details about what would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts. Reuters first reported on Thursday that an ​ongoing, internal U.S. military investigation showed U.S. forces were likely responsible for the strike on the ​girls’ school in Minab. Video surfaced that experts say appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk missile striking ⁠the area. But exactly how the tragedy unfolded has remained unclear and…

Jose Antonio Kast was sworn in as Chile’s president on Wednesday, ushering in the country’s sharpest shift to the right in decades as voters, alarmed by rising insecurity, backed a broader conservative turn sweeping parts of Latin ​America. In his first address to the nation, Kast described a country riddled with organized crime and weak finances and painted his administration ‌as an emergency government aimed at fixing those problems. “They’ve handed us a country in conditions worse than we imagined,” Kast said, addressing a crowd of thousands of supporters who gathered outside La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago on Wednesday…

An Italian military base in Iraqi Kurdistan was ​struck by a missile ‌overnight though no injuries were reported, the Italian defence ministry said ​on Thursday. “A missile hit our ​base in Erbil. There are ⁠no casualties or injuries ​among the Italian personnel. They are ​all fine,” the ministry said on X shortly after midnight on Thursday. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a separate message on ​X ​that Italian ⁠military personnel had taken shelter in a ​bunker and all were “well ​and ⁠safe”. Italy has around 300 troops in Erbil, working on training ⁠Kurdish ​security forces, the defence ​ministry said…