Africa Business Radio

The US House of Representatives is moving to approve $6.3bn in emergency assistance to help resettle Afghan refugees in the United States after the country’s evacuation operation from Kabul last month.The funds are part of a larger $28.6bn disaster relief and stopgap government funding bill expected to be passed in the House.Representative Deborah Ross, a House Democrat says the funding will ensure the government agencies involved in the resettlement process have the capacity necessary to help our Afghan allies build new lives in safety in the United States.

Chinese President Xi Jinping says that China would no longer fund the construction of new coal-fired power projects overseas, surprising the world on climate for the second straight year at the United Nations General Assembly.China has supported coal projects in developing countries including Indonesia and Bangladesh and has been under heavy diplomatic pressure to put an end to the financing to help the world meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement to reduce carbon emissions.Xi’s announcement on Tuesday followed similar moves by South Korea and Japan earlier this year.

New data released by Johnson & Johnson says the COVID vaccine is more effective when given as a two-dose regime,.A second shot is given 56 days after the first provided 75 per cent protection against symptomatic Covid in a global clinical trial, with that level rising to 94 per cent in the United States.It was 94 per cent effective in preventing severe or critical Covid at least 14 days post final vaccination in America.The data is positive news for the almost 15 million Americans who received one dose of the J&J vaccine but have been left in the dark about if and when they might need a booster.

President Joe Biden told the world that the United States is not seeking a new Cold War with China as he vowed to pivot from post-9/11 conflicts and take a global leadership role on crises from climate to Covid.Biden promised to work to advance democracy and alliances, despite friction with Europe over France’s loss of a mega-contract.The Biden administration has identified a rising and authoritarian China as the paramount challenge of the 21st century, but in his United Nations debut, he made clear he was not trying to sow divisions.

Reuters reports that Oil and gas firm Neptune Energy has written to Britain’s energy minister asking for a change in regulation to allow it to produce more domestic gas from its North Sea field amid record gas prices.Neptune says a change in regulations that determine the way gas was blended would allow the company to safely produce 13% more gas at its Cygnus gas field in the North Sea.Neptune Executive Chairman Sam Laidlaw says enabling the proposed relaxation of the specification immediately under emergency powers would allow the use of gas at a lower calorific value.

Russia’s Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov says the economy is expected to grow by an average of 3% in the period 2022-24, with the central bank raising interest rates to curb inflation.The ministry also upgraded its growth forecast for this year to 4.2% from 3.8%, as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic and lower oil prices faster than expected.The Russian Central Bank this month raised its key rate for the fifth time this year, to 6.75%, as it tries to bring inflation under control, and has signalled that more hikes are possible.The ministry sees inflation returning to the central bank’s target of 4.0% next year and staying stable around that level through to 2024.

South Africa’s Jacob Zuma failed to appear in court for the resumption of a graft trial, as prosecutors argued ill health did not justify his absence.He was due in court on Tuesday for the resumption of the trial involving an arms purchase in 1999, when he was deputy president.State advocate Wim Trengove says attendance in court is not optional while contesting an instruction from Zuma to carry on with his case without him.Details of Zuma’s medical condition have been kept confidential.

Somali Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid says the International Court of Justice has set 12 October as the date for its ruling in the long-running maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya.The ruling will come despite the fact that Kenya has withdrawn from the case, alleging ICJ bias and calling for a Somali judge on the panel to recuse himself.The case concerns a 62,000 square miles triangle in the Indian Ocean.It has been going on for the last six years, keeping investors away because of a lack of legal clarity over who owns potential off-shore oil and gas reserves.

A protest has taken place in the Namibian capital Windhoek against an agreement made with Germany after it apologised for genocide in the southern African country in the early 20th Century.Various political parties and traditional chiefs have dismissed Germany's offer to pay $1bn in development aid and say the deal was made without properly consulting the victims.The agreement was widely criticised in Namibia for failing to include reparations for the affected communities.

Nigeria has written the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries requesting a higher production quota under the OPEC+ accord.The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the technical problems that had hampered the country’s output would soon be resolved.Sylva says the country’s full production capacity was closer to 2.2 million bpd, which should be reflected in a revised quota, even though Nigeria has struggled to produce at its current allocation.He says that the country deserves a higher quota, noting that aside its efforts to fix the technical difficulties, the basis for the current production quota, which was mainly because of the problems in the Niger Delta at the time, no longer exists.

Nigeria has raised $4 billion through Eurobonds after an intensive two days of virtual meetings with investors across the globe.The Debt Management Office explained that the Order Book peaked at $12.2 billion, which enabled the Federal Government of Nigeria to raise $1 billion more than the $3 billion it initially announced.The DMO says bids for the Eurobonds were received from investors in Europe and America, as well as Asia. There was also good participation by local investors.The Eurobonds were issued in three tranches, details, namely seven years–,$1.25 billion at 6.125 per cent per annum; 12 years -$1.5 billion at 7.375 per cent per annum as well as 30 years -$1.25 billion at 8.25 per annum

The Federal Government has denied reports that a Presidential University Visitation Panel has indicted the management of the University of Lagos on allegations of misappropriation of funds and maladministration. The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Mr Sunny Echeono, explained that the latest report by the University Visitation Panel has nothing to do with the Special Presidential Visitation Panel that was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2020, to address the crisis in UNILAG.Echeono stated that there was a crisis at the university in 2020 and a special presidential visitation panel was set up with very specific terms of reference.

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to amend the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.President Buhari explained that his proposal became necessary having carefully reviewed the administrative structure of both the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.He listed the three areas of the Act he sought to be amended to include the appointment of non-executive board members, removal of the Ministries of Petroleum Resources and Finance from the boards of the two institutions, as well as the appointment of executive directors.

A new report has revealed that at least 20 per cent of the full-time workforce in Nigeria lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, The report by the United Nations Development Programme and the National Bureau of Statistics assesses the impact of COVID-19 on business enterprises in the country.It says while there have been promising signs of recovery this year, COVID-19 has had an outsized socio-economic impact on Nigeria.

The Biden administration has signalled plans to double the United States’s refugee admissions cap for the next fiscal year, reaffirming a commitment to bolster a resettlement programme that was gutted by former President Donald Trump.The Department of State announced that the administration sent a report to Congress recommending that the limit be raised from 62,500 to 125,000 in the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2021.State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement says with the world facing unprecedented global displacement and humanitarian needs, the United States is committed to lead efforts to provide protection and promote durable solutions to humanitarian crises, including providing resettlement for the most vulnerable.

European Union leaders have rallied behind France in its anger over a multi-billion dollar submarine deal with Australia that was scuppered when Canberra signed up to a trilateral Asia Pacific security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom.The security pact includes the sale of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and has strained relations between western countries ahead of the start of this week’s annual gathering of world leaders for the United Nations General Assembly.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says more cooperation, more coordination, less fragmentation was needed to achieve a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific region where China is the major rising power.Borrell says the bloc’s foreign ministers expressed clear solidarity with France.

Bill Gates’ non-profit group Breakthrough Energy announced that it has raised more than $1 billion from seven major companies, including ArcelorMittal and General Motors, to fund clean energy development.A spokesman for the organisation told AFP that the amount raised so far tops $1 billion and has been given in the form of grants, shares, and commitments to acquire the technologies developed, The idea is to support the development of new energy solutions to combat climate change by bringing together the public and private sectors and funding the steps to commercialization.

Rights groups have accused the Taliban of steadily dismantling human rights in Afghanistan since their ascent to power in the country last month.Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation Against Torture accused the Taliban of a number of rights violations including limits on the freedom of the press, restrictions on women and targeted killing of civilians and former government officials.The rights groups’ report however said the Taliban merely attempted to portray themselves as a reformed group that acknowledges a semblance of women’s rights and freedom of expression but that such statements are only a cover for regression to their earlier regime of repression.

Bill Gates’ non-profit group Breakthrough Energy announced that it has raised more than $1 billion from seven major companies, including ArcelorMittal and General Motors, to fund clean energy development.A spokesman for the organisation told AFP that the amount raised so far tops $1 billion and has been given in the form of grants, shares, and commitments to acquire the technologies developed, The idea is to support the development of new energy solutions to combat climate change by bringing together the public and private sectors and funding the steps to commercialization.

India health minister says the country will resume exporting Covid-19 vaccines from October, five months after it stopped sending supplies abroad in the face of a deadly wave of infections, foreign ministry data shows that Exports stopped in April when a virus surge in India pushed the healthcare system to breaking point and there was a huge demand for jabs.Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya says more than 300 million vaccine doses would be produced in October and one billion in the last three months of the year.Mandaviya in a statement says the surplus supply of vaccines will be used to fulfil our commitment towards the world for the collective fight against Covid-19