Newscast - Africa

The suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has been released on bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the development of Channels Television.
The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, suspended Idris adding that the move was necessitated by the need to allow for proper and unhindered investigation into the serious allegations in line with Public Service Rules.

The Federation of International Basketball Associations has threatened further sanctions against Nigeria after kicking African champions D’Tigress out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Sports minister Sunday Dare stated that the withdrawal was part of the government’s efforts to restore the sport from the grassroots and put an end to the lingering leadership crises that had rocked the fictionalised Nigeria Basketball Federation for close to a decade.
The global body stated that Nigeria was withdrawn from the tournament due to NBBF’s failure to confirm D’Tigress’s participation.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that the Nigerian government may spend nearly 100 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing by 2026.
The IMF's Resident Representative for Nigeria, Ari Aisen, says the biggest critical aspect for Nigeria is that they have done a macro-fiscal stress test, and the interest payments as a share of revenue and as you see us in terms of the baseline from the federal government of Nigeria, the revenue, almost 100 per cent, is projected by 2026 to be taken by debt service.
IMF also warned that with fuel subsidy payments averaging N500 billion monthly, total expenditure on subsidy could hit a record N6 trillion by the end of the year.

Israel signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates its first with an Arab country, building on their US-brokered normalisation of diplomatic relations in 2020.
The Emirati envoy to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, hailed the deal as an unprecedented achievement that scraps customs duties on 96 per cent of all products traded.
Khaja says businesses in both countries will benefit from faster access to markets and lower tariffs as our nations work together to increase trade, create jobs, promote new skills and deepen cooperation.

UEFA announced it was opening an independent report into the security chaos before the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Paris.
European football’s governing body says the report would examine the decision making, responsibility and behaviours of all entities involved in the final.
UEFA says evidence will be gathered from all relevant parties adding that the findings of the independent report will be made public.

The United States joined Athens in strongly condemning Iran’s seizure of two Greek-flagged oil tankers in Gulf waters and demanding their immediate release, calling the abductions a threat to maritime security.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias agreed in a call that Iran must immediately release the seized vessels, their cargoes, and their crews.
Greece has condemned Tehran’s seizures as tantamount to acts of piracy and warned its citizens not to travel to Iran.

China’s finance ministry says the country will accelerate its issuance of special bonds by local governments in order to stabilise the country’s slowing economy.
The ministry says local governments had issued a net 1.85 trillion yuan in special bonds, a rise of 1.36 trillion yuan from a year earlier, accounting for 54% of a quota that had been allocated.
The ministry says local governments should ensure the basic completion of special bond issuance for 2022 by the end of June and the usage of the raised funds by the end of August.

France’s sports ministry has convened an emergency meeting of security and football officials, following the chaos that marred the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera placed responsibility on Liverpool for the mayhem on Saturday.
He also acknowledged that lessons had to be learned as Paris prepares for the 2024 Olympics.
The British also complained that the French authorities were in denial about their shortcomings that had turned Saturday’s event into a fiasco.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail says Pakistan’s government is unable to secure funding from the global bond market and commercial banks, making it even more important to secure an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Pakistan’s dollar bonds gained a key benchmark for the IMF to resume its loan program. Pakistan is seeking to secure a staff-level agreement with the fund in June.
Ismail says Pakistan needs about $36 billion to $37 billion in financing for the fiscal year starting June.

The African Development Bank says Russia's invasion of Ukraine and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic pose huge challenges to the continent.
The bank's president, Akinwumi Adesina, says that it will take a great deal of effort for Africa to fully recover.
An economist at the University of Ghana, Adu Owusu Sarkodie, says that African economies could recover quickly from the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war by trading among themselves and investing more in agriculture.
Sarkodie lauded the African Development Bank for recently approving $1.5 billion to avert a food crisis on the continent by providing seed and other supplies to 20 million farmers.