Africa Business News

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed 163 new cases of coronavirus in the country. This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections recorded in the country so far to 60,266.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a tweet on its official handle on Sunday night showed the new cases were recorded in 11 states with Lagos having the highest figure of 113 cases.


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South Korea’s central bank has agreed to renew a currency swap agreement with China, adding details including the extension period and size will be disclosed later.
The bank, on Thursday, said it reached a working-level agreement with the People’s Bank of China to extend the currency swap deal, and will announce details as soon as necessary procedures are completed.
The existing 56-billion-dollar currency swap deal was set to expire on Saturday.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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The United Kingdom has agreed to settle a lawsuit over how it selected an IT contract for coronavirus testing at its Lighthouse labs.
The settlement will cost the government up to 2 million pounds. British company Diagnostics AI claimed it lost out to a European rival UgenTec despite spotting some positive coronavirus cases its rival missed. It then sued the government over the decision, claiming the selection process was "unfair and unlawful".
The dispute was due to be played out in court. It would have meant a public examination of the accuracy and speed of the testing system, at a time when it has come under serious criticism. But the government has decided to settle the case and will pay Diagnostics AI compensation and most of its legal fees.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Police in Ivory Coast have rescued 11 children and two teenagers working on cocoa plantations in the southwestern part of the country. The police commissioner, Luc Zaka, said three farmers were also arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.
Zaka said the children and arrests were made during an early operation in the two major cocoa-producing cities.
A report in June by the Swiss-based International Cocoa Initiative has shown that child labour increased in the world’s top cocoa producer during the coronavirus lockdown.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has inaugurated a Chinese-built industrial park constructed at 60 million U.S. dollars. The Bahir Dar Industrial Park, located 552 km north of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, was constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the Ethiopian PM said the industrial park will help in knowledge transfer and boost the science capacity of Ethiopia in addition to creating job opportunities for thousands of Ethiopians.
The Ethiopian PM also said the BIP and other industrial parks are expected to create linkages with agro-industrial parks, as part of efforts to transform Ethiopia's agricultural sector.
Amhara Regional President, Temesgen Tiruneh, said the construction and commissioning of the Bahir Dar Industrial Park, will help Ethiopia earn much needed foreign exchange from exports.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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The former chief financial officer of a South African bank that collapsed after a huge corruption scandal has been jailed for 10 years.
Phillip Truter pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering among other charges.
His former employer, VBS Mutual Bank, collapsed in 2018.
A central bank report says dozens of bank executives and politicians were accused of stealing 130 million dollars in a scam that stretched from impoverished rural villages all the way to the upper echelons of government. Truter's is the first conviction to follow the scandal.
Seven others, including the CEO, are still on trial.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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South Africa’s biggest trade union group, COSATU, has decried job losses, wage curbs and corruption cases in an outpouring of anger at how workers have been treated during the coronavirus crisis.
Members of the union federation expressed their grievances on Wednesday through organised motorcades, pickets and marches in the country’s nine provinces.
The union accused policymakers of presiding over “flagrant theft of taxpayer funds” after a spate of scandals.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has said his government is finalising an economic recovery plan to stimulate a rebound in employment and has promised tough action to deal with those implicated in corruption.
COSATU Secretary in KwazuluNatal, Edwin Mkhize, commended members for the huge turnout.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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The mayor of Tunisia's capital, Tunis, has said a night-time curfew will be reinstated for two weeks in a series of restrictions intended to control the spread of coronavirus, which has significantly risen in recent weeks.
The curfew will also be imposed in the neighbouring provinces of Manouba, Ariana, and Ben Arous.
On his part, the governor of Tunis said the 15-day night curfew will start on Thursday. It will run from 21:00 to 05:00 local time on weekdays, and 19:00 to 05:00 local time on weekends.
Weekly markets and Friday prayers have also been banned, and cafes and restaurants can no longer have seated areas.
The mayors of four other Tunisian cities, which have also seen a significant rise in Covid-19 cases, have also recently imposed a night curfew.
Since July there were only a few soft measures in place to control the rate of infection in Tunisia. But in the past month alone, more than 20,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19. The Tunisian government has so far ruled out a return to a nationwide lockdown that was imposed earlier this year, when it shut down its economy and borders, and imposed severe restrictions on movement.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Doctors in Tunisia will issue recovery certificates for cured COVID-19 patients so that they can resume work. This is according to the director general of the Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Hechmi Louzir.
During a press conference, Louzir clarified that recovered cases of the coronavirus will no longer be required to carry out another test to resume work. The health official noted that scientific studies have shown that in 10 days after the first positive test result, an asymptomatic case is completely cured and is no longer contaminating.
He added that for symptomatic cases, three days after the disappearance of the symptoms, mainly fever, the subject is completely cured.
Tunisian Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 2,312 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 24,542 with 364 deaths in the country.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Morocco has reported 2,776 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far. This takes the number of infections in the country since March 2 to 140,024.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health says the total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 118,142 after 2,788 new ones were added.
The death toll rose to 2,439 with 29 new fatalities, while 424 people are in intensive care units.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support