Newscast - Africa

Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments agreed to pursue debt forgiveness for the continent from creditor-nations.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, felt parliament should be involved and speak as one voice and speak to creditors and make a case as to why they need debt forgiveness.
He says they are going to push for a tripartite agreement between the creditors, the executive other governments and the legislators.

The Senate passed a bill to enact the Arbitration and Mediation Act to provide for a unified legal framework for the settlement of commercial disputes.
The Senate Leader, says the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2022, sought to repeal the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Cap A18, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
He disclosed that the piece of legislation recognised and enforced the New York convention on foreign arbitration awards to any award made in Nigeria or in any contracting state arising out of international commercial arbitration.
He added that it also sought the application of the Singapore convention on the international settlement agreements resulting from mediation.

The Senate amended the Electoral Act, 2022, to allow statutory delegates all those elected to participate and vote in the conventions, congresses, or meetings of political parties.
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, who sponsored the ‘Bill to amend the 2022 Electoral Act No. 13,’ says it seeks to amend the provision of Section 84(8) of the law.
He says the provision of the section does not provide for the participation of what is generally known as statutory delegates in the conventions, congresses or meetings of political parties.

Political parties in the country have asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to extend the timelines for the 2023 general elections by two months.
Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yusuf Yabagi, made the appeal at a meeting of the electoral umpire and leaders of various political parties at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
Yabagi says the extension is necessary to help political parties put things in order for the forthcoming general elections.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu informed the party leaders that the commission would not review the existing timelines and appealed that primaries be conducted credibly in order to minimise litigations.

The Taliban has issued another decree imposing further restrictions on Afghan women, and criminalising their clothing.
The Taliban’s recently reinstated Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced that it is required for all respectable Afghan women to wear a hijab or headscarf.
The ministry statement says any garment covering the body of a woman is considered a hijab, provided that it is not too tight to represent the body parts nor is it thin enough to reveal the body.

Israel’s central bank says it had received public support for its plans to possibly issue a digital shekel on grounds it would help the economy by supporting innovation in the payments system, reducing the amount of cash and bolstering the fintech sector.
The Bank of Israel says a digital shekel was unlikely to significantly erode the banking system’s business results.
The central bank however says all of the responses to the public consultation indicate support for continued research regarding the various implications on the payments market, financial and monetary stability, legal and technological issues, and more.

Indonesia is coming under growing international pressure over its ban on palm oil exports amid soaring food prices worldwide.
The ban by the world’s largest palm oil exporter has put pressure on edible oil prices at a time when supplies are already under strain due to poor harvests, the Ukraine war, and labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Joko Jokowi Widodo has justified the ban as a short-term measure after domestic prices of cooking oil, of which palm oil is a key ingredient, soared more than 50 per cent.
Analysts say it is likely that governments are making vocal representations to Jakarta behind the scenes.

The Biden administration announced that 20 internet companies have agreed to provide discounted service to people with low incomes, a program that could effectively make tens of millions of households eligible for free service through an already existing federal subsidy.
The $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year included $14.2bn in funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides $30 monthly subsidies on internet service for millions of lower-income households.
Biden made expanding high-speed internet access in rural and low-income areas a priority.

The second phase of an UN-led intra-Sudanese political dialogue is scheduled to begin on Tuesday amid divisions among the country's political parties over their participation.
Several parties said they will boycott the talks aimed at resolving the political crisis that followed the 25 October military coup.
The UN, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development bloc are seeking to mediate between the military, pro-democracy activists and opposition parties.
The US has urged all Sudanese civilian and military actors to utilise the process to achieve democratic progress and national stability while supporting the UN-led talks.

The International Monetary Fund has approved financial assistance for Mozambique, the first such aid by the fund to the country after a six-year suspension.
The suspension was imposed after the country was found to have more than $2.7bn of undisclosed state debts - money which the government borrowed to set up a sophisticated tuna industry - to buy trawlers and military patrol boats, but much of it was allegedly diverted to corrupt officials.
The IMF board approved a three-year $456million aid that will support economic recovery and help reduce public debt.