Newscast - Africa

A new report has warned that a scheme set up to ensure mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo does not fuel conflict is being abused to launder tainted minerals.
Global Witness says companies - including Apple, Tesla and Intel - are relying on the due diligence scheme to source minerals that are widely used in electronic equipment such as mobile phones, computers and automotive and aeronautical systems.
Global Witness however says it has uncovered compelling evidence that the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative is failing.
It says the scheme is being used to launder tin, tantalum and tungsten from mines controlled by militia or where children work.

America’s prestigious Harvard University announced it will commit $100 million to redress its role in slavery, as more US institutions move toward reparations for historical injustices.
Harvard says it was putting the money into a fund to help tackle the educational and social gaps caused by the legacies of the slave trade and racism.
It also recommended identifying and supporting direct descendants of Black and Native American enslaved individuals who laboured on Harvard’s campus and who were enslaved by previous Harvard leaders.
Harvard president Lawrence Bacow says Harvard benefited from and in some ways perpetuated practices that were profoundly immoral.

The Central African Republic has adopted bitcoin as legal tender becoming the second country in the world to do so behind El Salvador.
Lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill that made bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA franc and legalised the use of cryptocurrencies, and President Faustin Archange Touadera signed the measure into law.
Namsio says the CAR is the first country in Africa to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

The International Monetary Fund warned that Bitcoin is not a cure-all for Africa’s economic woes after the Central African Republic adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender.
The head of the IMF’s African Department, Abebe Aemro Selassie, says that a robust payment system with financial transparency and a governance framework must be in place when adopting cryptocurrencies.
He says it is really important to not see such things as a panacea for the challenges that countries face.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that Nigeria’s relationship between Russia and Ukraine is still intact.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs says that other countries with similar curricula to Ukraine have offered Nigerian students, whose programmes were interrupted by the Russia-Ukraine Conflict admission, to complete their studies either online or physically.
He says all admission processing will be conducted through the Nigerian missions to authenticate students who were previously enrolled in various programmes in Ukraine.
He says Nigeria still maintains good diplomatic standing with Russia in spite of its condemnation of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

The Nigerian government says it will issue a Request for Qualifications in June for bidders interested in receiving concessions to begin the production of bitumen in the country.
The government says it will grant concessions of bitumen blocks to prospective local and international companies in a bid to end the importation of the mineral deposit in the country.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, says local bitumen production would save the country's foreign exchange and generate income for the government.
He explained that with the production of bitumen locally in the country, the cost of road construction would ultimately reduce.

President Muhammadu Buhari has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he did not order the Senate to remove the contentious Section 84 (12) from the amended Electoral Act, 2022.
The President says he only expressed reservations and concerns in respect of the aspect of the Electoral Act.
President Buhari and Malami – a Senior Advocate of Nigeria debunked the claims by the main opposition party in the suit.
The AGF explained that the President, on February 25, 2022, gave proper, full, and unconditional assent to the amended Electoral Act.
The defendants averred that the claims of PDP in its suit against them on the Electoral Act were totally false and replete with gross untruths aimed at misleading the court to give judgment against them.

The Federal Government has declared Monday and Tuesday, May 2 and 3 as public holidays to mark this year’s Workers Day and Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.
The Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, believes their efforts are largely responsible for the greatness of the country and the respect Nigeria commands in the comity of nations.
Aregbesola, therefore, enjoined the workers to imbibe the culture of productivity, saying the end of work is productivity.
The minister urged workers to raise the bar of their trade-in line with President Muhammadu Buhari-led's administration’s drive to rev up the vehicle of governance and make all the people of Nigeria derive maximum benefit from the nation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that an independent public inquiry will be held into the Canadian government’s use of emergency powers to disperse anti-vaccine trucker protests and border blockades earlier this year.
Trudeau says the Public Order Emergency Commission would examine the circumstances that led him to invoke the Emergencies Act, and what actions were taken to respond to the so-called Freedom Convoy.
The Emergencies Act itself requires the government to establish an independent inquiry into its use. A former Ontario judge, Paul Rouleau, will head up the new commission and present his findings and recommendations to parliament by February 20 next year.

Ukraine has denied reaching an agreement with Russia on evacuating civilians from a steel plant in the besieged port city of Mariupol and pushed for the United Nations to be the initiator and guarantor of any such deal.
Russia’s defence ministry says that it would open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the huge Azovstal steel plant where they are holed up with Ukrainian fighters and are under Russian attack.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says it is important to understand that a humanitarian corridor opens with the agreement of both sides.