Africa Business Radio

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has joined international voices calling on Ethiopia's prime minister to end the country's 14-month-long civil war. They said Abiy Ahmed who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 has a special responsibility to see an end to the bloodshed. Mr Abiy’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum had previously said that the Nobel Peace Prize was not a shackle for inaction when the country is threatened. The calls from the Committee are expected to increase the pressure to find a peaceful resolution for the war.

Deliberate internet blockages across sub-Saharan Africa resulted in $1.9bn in losses last year - eight times more than in 2020. Top10VPN says Nigeria was by far the worst-hit African country losing nearly $1.5bn, second globally to politically troubled Myanmar, which lost about $2.8bn. Top10VPN's report came as Nigeria lifted a ban on Twitter that had lasted for seven months, though many people circumvented it by using VPNs. Ethiopia was the second-most affected country in Africa has lost around $164m, followed by Sudan at almost $152m and Uganda at more than $109m, according to the report.

Rwanda has lifted a ban on concerts under its new coronavirus regulations. The cabinet has resolved that concert organisers will seek permission 10 days before the event. The concert tickets will be sold online and the recommended capacity is 50% for indoor venues and 75% for outdoor. Those attending concerts must show proof of vaccination. Theatres and cinema halls have also been allowed to reopen with 50% capacity.

A UNICEF official disclosed that Poorer nations last month rejected more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the global programme COVAX, mainly due to their rapid expiry date.The big figure showed the difficulties of vaccinating the world despite growing supplies of shots, with COVAX getting closer to delivering one billion doses to a total of nearly 150 countries. The Director of Supply Division at UN agency, UNICEF, Etleva Kadil told lawmakers at the European Parliament that more than 100 million have been rejected just in December alone adding that the main reason for rejection was the delivery of doses with a short shelf-life.

The federal government warned that it would not condone any act of abuse and mishandling of equipment and facilities provided to tackle security threats in the country. The president expressed optimism that the Inspector-General of Police and his management team, would commit officers and men of the Nigerian Police to reciprocate the government’s efforts through judicious and effective use of the facilities for improvement of Nigerian security architecture. Buhari tasked officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force to continue to show commitment in the discharge of their duties and to adopt a holistic internal security mechanism in the country.

The federal government has warned the reconstituted governing board of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against being involved in corruption. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha urged the members to carry out their duty with responsibility, saying the federal government would not hesitate to sanction all infractions. The SGF also decried the effects of financial crimes on the image of the country, saying it had prevented the country from attracting foreign investments.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has called for the implementation of the various MoUs between Nigeria and Namibia, especially in the areas of culture and tourism, to ensure that they translate into economic benefits for the two countries. He observed that the bilateral cooperation between the two nations, which dates back to 1992 on the platform of the 1st Nigeria-Namibia Joint Commission, expired without implementation, and expressed the hope that the MoUs will be revived for implementation this time around.

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike inspected two illegal refining sites recently discovered in Ikwerre and Emohua local government areas by the council chairmen. The Governor ordered the arrest of those sponsoring the operation of the illegal refineries in the state, some of whom are said to be prominent businessmen in the state. Wike urged the police to go after the culprits and directed the State Attorney-General, Professor Zacchaeus Adangor to take over the files of those arrested far from the police for state prosection. He also demanded the redeployment of a divisional police officer said to be involved in the illegal activities in Emohua local government area.

Cross-border humanitarian aid to northwest Syria has been extended de facto for six months without a new vote at the United Nations Security Council. The 15-member body had previously issued an authorisation for six months, allowing aid into rebel-held areas through the use of the Bab al-Hawa crossing at the Turkey-Syria border until January 10, 2022. UN chief Antonio Guterres had stressed the impossibility of replacing at this stage the cross-border mechanism for one that crossed front lines from Damascus, which President Bashar al-Assad ally and permanent Security Council member Russia favours as recognition of the Syrian government’s sovereignty over the whole country.

The United Nations says it needed nearly $5bn in aid for Afghanistan in 2022, as the global body launched its largest-ever humanitarian appeal for a single country to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. The UN humanitarian agency says $4.4bn was needed within Afghanistan, while a further $623m was required to support the millions of Afghans sheltering beyond its borders. UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths say a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe looms and don’t shut the door on the people of Afghanistan.

Experts say that an alleged hybrid coronavirus mutation dubbed Deltacron reportedly discovered in a Cyprus lab is most likely the result of lab contamination and not a new worrying variant. Cypriot media reported the discovery describing it as having the genetic background of the Delta variant along with some of the mutations of Omicron. Jeffrey Barrett, the head of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at Britain’s Wellcome Sanger Institute, says the alleged mutations are located on a part of the genome that is vulnerable to an error in certain sequencing procedures. He says this is almost certainly not a biological recombinant of the Delta and Omicron lineages.

Taiwan’s parliament has passed an extra spending bill of $8.6bn, in the latest bid to boost defence capabilities against growing military threats from China. Lawmakers agreed unanimously to pass the special budget, which comes on top of a record annual defence budget of about $17bn set for 2022. The government says the additional resources are aimed at acquiring precision missiles and mass-manufacture high-efficiency naval ships in the shortest period of time to boost the island’s sea and air capabilities. The budget includes a coastal anti-ship missiles system, a locally developed Wan Chien cruise missile as well as an attack drone system and the installation of combat systems on coastguard ships.

Kenya has suspended all inbound and transit passenger flights from the United Arabs Emirates, for seven days. The suspension is effective from Monday this week. Kenya Civil Aviation Authority says this was done to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to UAE. The ban will not affect cargo flights, which will continue with normal operations. KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe says there was a scheme involving private medical testing centres colluding with travellers to issue fake Covid PCR results to aid their travel to Dubai.

South Africa’s prosecuting authorities have added a charge of terrorism against the man accused of setting the country’s parliament alight last week. The suspect is appearing in a Cape Town court to apply for bail. Zandile Mafe was initially charged with two counts of arson, housebreaking and theft. Prosecutors allege that Mr Mafe was found in possession of explosive devices and have charged him under a law aimed at protecting essential infrastructure in the country. Mr Mafe’s lawyer, Luvuyo Godla, says that his client is being made a scapegoat and wants him to be released on bail.

The National Identity Management Commission has assured Nigerians that its servers were not breached but fully optimised at the highest international security levels, as the custodian of the most important national database for Nigeria. The Director-General of NIMC, Engr Aliyu Aziz, says as the custodian of the foundational identity database for Africa’s most populous nation, NIMC has gone to great lengths to ensure the nation’s database is adequately secured and protected, especially given the spate of cyber-attacks on networks across the world. A hacker identified as Sam claimed that he successfully found a bug on the NIMC server, saying it was easy for him to breach the server and access the personal information of millions of Nigerians.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, has condemned the recent attacks that claimed the lives of scores of residents in Zamfara State. He condoled with the families whose loved ones were lost to the attacks. He also called for the arrest and prosecution of the assailants and assured the Nigerian government of the UN’s support in the fight against terrorists and other criminals. The Secretary-General urges the Nigerian authorities to spare no effort in bringing those responsible for these heinous crimes to justice.

President Muhammadu Buhari endorsed the establishment of the Nigerian Diaspora Investment Trust fund, a private sector investment window through which Nigerians in the diaspora can invest in the country. President Buhari says that Nigeria is open to embracing the diaspora direct investment by compatriots abroad. The President noted that the foreign exchange remittances by Nigerians in the diaspora have not only helped families but enhanced the development index of Nigeria while pledging support for the establishment of the diaspora intervention fund to support the commission to fulfil its mandate.

Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed will continue in her role as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, made the assertion to formalise his prior announcement that the former Minister of the Environment would continue in her role during his second term. The UN scribe set in motion the most ambitious reform in the history of the organisation’s development system. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the Deputy Secretary-General’s leadership of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group and her determination to reinforce collective results and maximise the impact of the United Nations development’s system on the ground

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast, effective from the 12th to 14th of January, 2022, as a mark of respect for the former Head of State Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan, who died on Tuesday, January 11. Chief Ernest Shonekan, who headed the Interim National Government that succeeded the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, died on Tuesday at the age of 85. He was the interim head of the Nigerian Government between August 26, 1993, and November 17, 1993, but was ousted in a coup led by late General Sani Abacha.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain along with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Nayef bin Falah al-Hajrah have arrived in Beijing for a five-day visit. The visit follows a flurry of diplomatic activity by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, including a tour of Africa as well as visits to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The officials are expected to discuss strengthening energy ties with Beijing. China has sought to bolster its ties with the Gulf states, with President Xi Jinping in 2014 aiming to more than double trade with the region by 2023.