Africa Business News

China and India said on Friday they had agreed to de-escalate renewed tensions on their contested Himalayan border and take steps to restore peace and tranquillity” following a high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow.
The two countries in a joint statement said Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met in Moscow on Thursday and reached a five-point consensus, including agreements that troops from both sides should quickly disengage and ease tensions.


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First Minister Mark Drakeford said the change came as 20 people in every 100,000 in Wales now had coronavirus - the threshold used when deciding if people have to quarantine when coming back into the UK from abroad.
He said Lots of people in Wales do choose in any case to wear face coverings when they are out and about, what they will see now is that it will be compulsory for people to do that in shops.


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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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India has recorded the world's highest-ever daily number of cases, with more than 96,000 reported on Friday.
The Federal Health Ministry has now reported more than 4.5 million cases in the country.
The amount of cases is rising faster in India than anywhere else on the planet, but the death rate is lower than some countries.


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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 mission of a West African peacekeeping force in Guinea-Bissau has come to an end after eight years in the country.
They were deployed by regional bloc Ecowas in 2012 following a military coup against Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior after a disputed presidential election.
The force of about 1,000 soldiers was mandated to protect heads of institutions and public buildings.


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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 World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC) have launched a new laboratory network that will reinforce genome sequencing of coronavirus in Africa.
The initiative seeks to study the possible mutations of the virus in order to prepare better responses in public health.


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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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President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday received the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina in the Presidential Villa, praising him for his performance and successful re-election.
The President especially commended Dr Adesina for supporting Africa in general and Nigeria in particular, especially in terms of addressing infrastructural deficits.


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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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President Muhammadu Buhari’s on Thursday directed the Nigerian leader at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to give foreign exchange for food and fertilizer imports.
Buhari at a meeting of the National Food Security Council at the State House, in Abuja, reechoed his administration’s commitment to ensuring Nigeria is self-sufficient in food production.


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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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A United Kingdom judge has ordered P&ID to make an interim payment of more than £1.5 million to Nigeria within 21 days to cover legal costs the country incurred as part of its successful application for the extension of time to challenge the arbitration award of $9.6 billion to the company.
The judge gave the order on Thursday when Nigeria appeared before it in a hearing held to decide procedural and costs issues relating to the FRN’s applications to challenge the arbitration award and to determine the short-term directions to 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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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed 197 new cases of coronavirus in the country. This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections recorded in the country so far to 55829.
Plateau State which has now become the pandemic epicentre in the country had the highest infections for the day – 83 – according to a tweet on Thursday, by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).


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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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Malaysia’s central bank kept interest rates steady on Thursday as the coronavirus-hit economy showed some signs of recovery.
Bank Negara Malaysia left its overnight policy rate at 1.75%. The central bank said economic activity, supported by fiscal and monetary stimulus, had improved since a trough in April.
The Bank says it remains committed to utilise its policy levers as appropriate to create enabling conditions for a sustainable economic recovery.”
Malaysia’s benchmark KLSE and ringgit currency were little changed after the central bank’s announcement.
The decision to hold fire comes after the central bank has already delivered 125 bps of rate cuts this year, while the government has rolled out stimulus packages worth nearly 270 billion ring it.

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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