BRICS & Global Governance: At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, leaders pushed for UN and global finance reform, with Russia’s Vladimir Putin calling for Africa to gain permanent UN Security Council representation and Nigeria’s Tinubu urging a rewrite of global governance and financial rules; the summit also adopted a New Delhi Declaration focused on resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability. AI Governance: South Africa’s Ramaphosa warned that AI must not outpace human control, calling for an international mechanism for independent scientific evaluation of AI, while experts urged sovereign AI models suited to African realities. Sudan De-escalation: In Cairo, Arab League chief Nabil Fahmy met UN envoy Pekka Haavisto to coordinate de-escalation, humanitarian access and a Sudanese-led political process through the Quintet Mechanism. Local Governance & Services: South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Bay mayor delivered a State of the Metro Address amid allegations of worsening water, electricity and infrastructure failures and disputed spending. Elections & Political Parties: Nigeria’s INEC released final 2027 National Assembly candidate lists, while a legal battle over leadership of Nigeria’s ADC party resumes in Abuja. Transport Regulation: Nigeria’s Uber exit sparked calls for a review of transport and airport e-hailing regulation gaps.