Africa Business News

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposed ban on wearing full-face veils including Muslim burqas in public, citing national security grounds, despite a United Nations expert’s comment that it would violate international law.The cabinet approved the proposal by Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera at its weekly meeting on TuesdayWeerasekara has called burqas, a garment that covers the body and face worn by some Muslim women, a sign of religious extremism and says a ban would improve national security.The UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Ahmed Shaheed tweeted that a ban would be incompatible with international law and the right to free religious expression.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear a mask when they are outdoors.The new guideline says those who have received all required jabs can ditch their face coverings if alone or in small groups of vaccinated people.The CDC however left in place its guidance to don a mask indoors and in crowded settings or venues.President Joe Biden celebrated the new guidance as extraordinary progress and also urged Americans who have not yet received their shot to do so, calling it a patriotic act.

The UN refugee agency's high commissioner has crossed the border from Rwanda into Burundi alongside 159 refugees who are being repatriated.Filippo Grandi joined the convoy as an observer while visiting the Great Lakes region.A spokeswoman tells the BBC that more than 23,000 refugees have been repatriated since last August.Many more have registered to go back home since March when the UN's food agency reduced cut food aid by 60% to refugees in Rwanda blaming a sharp fall in international aid.David Ngarura of Mahama refugee camp told BBC that many refugees in Rwanda said they expected solutions from Mr Grandi's visit, but they haven’t heard any comforting news from him.

Unicef says the vaccines distributed under the global Covax initiative expire on 24 June.About 1.3 million doses out of the 1.7 million doses will now go to other countries including Senegal, Comoros, Ghana and Angola.DR Congo had delayed its rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccines, which it received in March, over concerns that they could be linked to rare blood clots.While the vaccination campaign was initially scheduled to have started on 15 March, the drive was postponed to 19 April.

The Lagos State Government defended the recently signed Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Act, saying that anybody who is dissatisfied with the law should challenge it in court.Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso downplayed concerns by critics that the law was meant to protect a former governor of the state, Senator Bola Tinubu, or any politician.The state government is to establish an anti-corruption agency to take over graft cases concerning present and former officeholders from the Economic and Financial Crimes CommissionOmotoso however says there was no ulterior motive behind the enactment of the law as the state House of Assembly reserves the right to make laws for the good of the state.

Members of the organised private sector have urged the federal government to rise to the occasion and arrest the worsening insecurity in the country in order to salvage the nation’s economy from a total collapse.They say the economy could slide back into another recession if the government fails to combat insecurity.They also warned that insecurity could hurt manufacturing, severely undermine microeconomic stability, scare away investments and constrain multinationals to shut down businesses and vacate the country.they added that the worsening insecurity could impair Nigeria’s hope of benefiting from the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.

The lawmaker representing Kogi West senatorial district, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has decried the rate of insecurity in the land.The lawmaker says the president cannot pretend that they are not capable of confronting the situation at hand.He acknowledged that he remained a supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress but insisted that the President must be told the truth.

Members of the House of Representatives have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately declare a state of emergency on security.Considering the present situation, they believe this will ensure the fast track of all measures towards restoring peace in the country.The call formed part of the resolutions reached at the closed-door session to discuss pressing national issues, which lasted about four hours on Tuesday at the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, noted that the House Security Committees were mandated to immediately commence a comprehensive audit of all military and paramilitary assets and arms and revert back within four weeks.

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked United States to reconsider relocating US Africa Command from Stuttgart, Germany, to Africa, so it can support Nigeria in tackling the insecurity challenges facing the country.President Buhari says AFRICOM, which partners with countries to counter transnational threats, should be relocated to Africa to strengthen ongoing efforts to check the security situation, with likely effect on other nations.He says the security challenges in Nigeria remain of great concern and impacted more negatively, by existing complex negative pressures in the Sahel, Central, and West Africa, as well as the Lake Chad Region.President Buhari says Nigeria will enhance collaborations in all forms, with friends and strategic partners, to work together for greater security for all, which remain the most significant condition for overcoming the existential challenges.

The White House says the US will share up to 60 million doses of its AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries as they become available.The doses will be able to be exported in the coming months after a federal safety review.The US has a stockpile of the vaccine even though its regulators have not yet authorised it for public use.Critics have accused the government of hoarding the vaccine, while other countries are in desperate need.Last month President Joe Biden pledged to share about four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with Mexico and Canada - both of which have approved the jab.The White House says it expected that about 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine could be released when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finishes its review in the coming weeks.White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said FDA officials would carry out quality checks on doses before they were exported.