Africa Business News

South Africa is increasing its Covid-19 restrictions to try and fight a surge in recent infections.A nightly curfew is to be extended meaning non-essential shops, bars and restaurants, will be forced to close by 22:00.President Cyril Ramaphosa says further restrictions were necessary to ensure that health facilities were not overwhelmed.South Africa has recorded more than 56,000 deaths and more than 1.5 million - more than any other Africa nation.Only about 1.5% of the country's 60 million people have so far received a vaccine.

Egypt will lift restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus from Tuesday.Restaurants will be allowed to operate long after the 6 May order for them to close by 21:00 local time.Businesses in Egypt have summer and winter working hours with closure time ranging from 22:00 local time to midnight.The restrictions were imposed after a rise in coronavirus cases.The country had imposed strict measures at the start of the pandemic last year but eased out slowly.

The Nigerian Army has reiterated its commitment to crushing Boko Haram terrorists, members of the banned Indigenous Peoples of Biafra and ending all forms of criminality in the country.Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya stated this during the passing out parade of the 80 regular recruits intake at the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria in Kaduna State.Major General Farouk explained that the military will not rest on its oars until the entire country is safe for all citizens to live in.He says that the contemporary security challenges orchestrated by bandits and terrorists across the country demand that the Armed Forces maintain a well-trained and disciplined force, congratulating them for the completion of their initial training at the institution

The House of Representatives has suspended its constitution review hearing scheduled to hold in Imo and Abia States.In a communique by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Wase noted that the House of Representatives Special Committee on Constitution Review Zonal Public Hearing scheduled to take place in Owerri Central (Imo and Abia States) has been suspended until further notice.This suspension of the constitution review hearing in the two South-Eastern states comes on the heels of the gruesome murder of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Agitators for the creation of new states in the South-east, South-south and the North-west geopolitical zones at the weekend intensified their lobby of the National Assembly to ensure that their demands sail through.THISDAY reports that the agitators made forceful arguments for new states in their memoranda submitted to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, which concluded its two-day public hearing in the six geopolitical zones of the country last Thursday.Their demand stemmed from the fact that of the six zones in the country, only the South-east has the least number of states, which is five. While the North-west has seven states, each of the other four zones has six states.

President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the heinous murder of Adamawa State politician, Hon. Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, Imo State capital, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen yesterday.He vowed that the federal government would spare no efforts in bringing the killers of Gulak, an All Progressives Congress chieftain, to justice.The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abutu Yaro, says a combined team of operatives of the command’s Tactical Units, Intelligence Response Team, and Police Mobile Force had killed the suspected killers of Gulak.Gulak was a consultant to the Constitution Review Committee whose assignment to Owerri ended last Thursday after a two-day public hearing.

The WHO says Africa needs at least 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine within six weeks if those who have had their first shot are to get the second in time.The World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti in a statement says Africa needs vaccines nowIt says any pause in the vaccination campaigns will lead to lost lives and lost hope.The WHO statement underlined the importance of respecting the recommended interval of eight to 12 weeks between doses to ensure a recipient’s prolonged 81-per cent protection rate.The statement added that another 200 million doses of any WHO Emergency Use Listed COVID-19 vaccine are needed so that the continent can vaccinate 10% of its population by September 2021.

US President Joe Biden has called for a ceasefire in Ethiopia's conflict in the northern region of Tigray.His comments are the strongest yet from the US about the conflict in Tigray and come as relations between Washington and Addis Ababa continue to deteriorate.The US announced visa restrictions against unnamed current or former Ethiopian and Eritrean officials that it sees as responsible or complicit in rights abuses as well as hindering a peaceful resolution to the fighting.Ethiopian says if the US continues to interfere in its internal affairs, it could be forced to reassess its ties with Washington.

Ex-President Jacob Zuma has failed in his attempt to recoup the personal costs he has incurred while challenging the constitutionality of the ongoing corruption inquiry against him.South Africa's Constitutional Court struck his application off the roll on Thursday when his legal team missed a deadline to file the appeal record.It means the former president will have the shoulder those costs of 10m rands himself.The State Capture Commission of inquiry was set up in 2018 to investigate corruption in state institutions.

The German government has confirmed more than a billion dollars in development aid for Namibia in a statement that recognised the genocidal killings carried out by colonial settlers against indigenous people in the first years of the 20th Century.Germany's Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, says his country bore historical and moral responsibility for the atrocities.He says Germany would ask forgiveness from Namibia and the victims' descendants.