Ramadan and Lent begin in a rare convergence
Between February 17 and 18, 2026, the Lunar New Year, Ramadan, and Lent all begin within less than 24 hours of each other — a historic overlap not seen since 1863 and one that won’t happen again until 2189, in 163 years. In France, the Great Mosque of Paris announced that Ramadan 2026 will begin on Wednesday, February 18, corresponding to 1 Ramadan 1447 AH, following a meeting of its religious commission and a review of astronomical data and lunar observations.
Lent is the 40-day period leading up to Easter for Christians that begins with Ash Wednesday, which falls on February 18, with Easter determined by the first full moon that occurs after the vernal equinox. Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan highlighted the spiritual significance of this convergence, describing Ramadan and Lent as traditional seasons of prayer, repentance, fasting, and charity that renew the heart and strengthen the call to live as brothers and sisters.
U.S., Iran hold high-stakes nuclear talks as war threat looms
The United States and Iran reached an understanding on “guiding principles” in nuclear talks held Tuesday in Geneva, though Tehran’s foreign minister cautioned that work still needs to be done to reach an agreement and head off the threat of an American military attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “the path toward an agreement has started but we will not reach it quickly,” adding that the two sides would separately work on draft texts before a new round of negotiations.
Just as the talks got underway in Geneva, Iranian state media reported that parts of the strategic Strait of Hormuz would close for a few hours due to “security precautions” while Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard conducts military drills there. President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would be involved “indirectly” in the Geneva talks and that he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal, saying, “I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal”.
Read Also: Ash Wednesday explained: Meaning of Lent, the ashes and the 40-day fast
Vatican declines Trump’s Board of Peace, backs UN
The Vatican will not participate in US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” with Cardinal Pietro Parolin stating that “at the international level it should above all be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations”. The papal government said it “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States”.
The board, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory’s reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel, but its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears that the US president wants to create a rival to the United Nations. While Italy will join the Board of Peace as an observer rather than a full-time member, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter, with permanent membership costing $1 billion.
MTN buys back IHS Towers in $6.2 billion deal
MTN Group has agreed to take over the approximately 75% stake in mobile infrastructure company IHS Holding, which it doesn’t already own, for $2.2 billion in cash, uniting Africa’s biggest wireless carrier with one of the continent’s largest tower operators. Under the terms of the merger agreement, IHS shareholders will receive $8.50 per ordinary share in cash, representing a 36% premium to its 52-week volume-weighted average price, and a modest 3% premium to its unaffected closing price of $8.23 on February 4, 2026.
The deal values the entire company at about $6.2 billion, including debt, with completion partly dependent on IHS successfully divesting its Latin American tower business and its fibre operations. Over the past decade, many African telecom operators sold tower assets to independent infrastructure firms to unlock capital and reduce balance sheet pressure, but as data demand surges and digital infrastructure becomes increasingly strategic, MTN is moving to regain direct control.
Nigeria loses N1.76 trillion from missing OPEC quota
Nigeria’s oil sector lost an estimated N1.76 trillion in potential crude oil revenue due to its failure to meet the production quota set by OPEC from January 2025 to January 2026, with the country’s crude oil production falling below the 1.5 million barrels per day target in nine months in 2025 and the first month of 2026. Nigeria produced 1.54 million bpd in January 2025, exceeding its quota by about 40,000 barrels per day, and also slightly exceeded the quota in June and July, but production fell short in the remaining months, with the largest deficit occurring in September when production averaged 1.39 million bpd, leaving a shortfall of about 110,000 barrels per day.
From January 2025 to January 2026, Nigeria’s OPEC shortfalls accumulated to 18.12 million barrels, with the underperformance highlighting structural challenges, including operational disruptions, infrastructure constraints, security issues in the Niger Delta region, and fluctuations in production efficiency across different fields.
