Newscast - Africa

Saudi Arabia says it will allow one million people from both inside and outside the kingdom to perform the Hajj this year compared with only a few thousand local pilgrims over the past two years.
The kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, would only be allowed for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are under the age of 65.
The ministry in a statement says Pilgrims travelling from abroad will also need to have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure for Saudi Arabia.

A World Bank forecast shows that Ukraine’s GDP output will contract by more than 45 per cent this year as a result of the Russian invasion.
The World Bank also forecast Russia’s GDP output to fall by at least 11 per cent as a result of punitive sanctions.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine faces a critical week as Russia prepares for a renewed assault in the east of the country.
Russia threatens legal action if the West forces it to default on its debt.

Russia has rubbished allegations that Russian mercenaries were involved in the alleged killing of hundreds of civilians in the central Mopti region.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova however says it had been a successful operation by Mali’s army alone in which around 200 jihadists had been killed.
Ms Zakharova added that the success was achieved by the Malian military against the backdrop of the ongoing withdrawal from Mali of the French troops.
Ms Zakharova says accusations against Russian mercenaries were part of a disinformation campaign against Russia linked to Ukraine, where its troops are accused of involvement in war crimes.

The US has called for the release of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans who reportedly remain detained arbitrarily in Ethiopia, and wants access to be granted to international monitors.
A joint report by rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had earlier accused Amhara forces of waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing against ethnic Tigrayans in disputed areas.
The two rights groups also claimed that the federal government have approved or possibly participated in the alleged atrocities.
The US expressed concern over what it called ethnically-motivated atrocities against Tigrayans in western Tigray.
Ethiopia has called the humanitarian report unhelpful but pledged to examine the allegations.

Guinea's military junta has told foreign mining companies they must share profits equally with the country and must comply with a deadline set for May to present plans to build local refineries.
The presidency says a more equitable partnership with foreign firms was a win-win.
He added that If the end of May deadline is not met penalties will

The corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma will resume on Monday at Pietermaritzburg court as several roads have been closed to the public.
Mr Zuma faces multiple charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to the 1990s arms deal with a French company.
He however says the charges are a witch-hunt by political rivals.
Mr Zuma’s lawyers on Monday will respond to the prosecution's affidavit, which seeks to introduce new evidence.
He has also applied to have the supreme court reconsider appeals rejected in March that sought the removal of the lead prosecutor citing bias.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Mohammed Musa Bello, has summoned an emergency meeting of the FCT Security Committee on how to strategise to contain the escalating banditry, kidnapping and robbery on the fringes of the seat of power, Abuja.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Babaji Sunday, says the emergency meeting raised a lot of concerns about kidnapping and banditry in FCT suburbs, adding that the security agencies also resolved to do their best to ensure the incidents were brought to the barest minimum.
He added that all the security chiefs would meet again to further strategise on what was discussed at the emergency meeting.
He, however, advised FCT residents to be security conscious and provide security agencies with actionable intelligence on criminal activities.

The Nigerian Correctional Service has described the allegation that some of its officials are in the habit of arranging for convicts to evade serving terms as wild, unsubstantiated, unpatriotic and most unfortunate.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana had alleged that some officials of the NCoS allow criminals to escape court verdicts by getting young men who will serve jail terms for criminals.
The spokesman of the NCoS, Francis Enobore says the statement is a wild and unsubstantiated allegation that is unpatriotic and most unfortunate, especially coming from a respected lawyer of international recognition.

Lagos has been chosen by the African Table Tennis Federation to host the World Championships regional qualification tournament, the African Club Championships and African Cup.
ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy says the choice of Lagos was based on the remarkable organization of previous tournaments coupled with the positive comments from players, coaches, and participating teams.
The ATTF boss says the African Cup would now be a continental qualification for WTT Cup Finals.
The World Championships regional qualification for West Africa teams will kick-start the tournament on May 19 to 21 while the African Club Championships follow on May 23 to 25.

Justice Binta Nyako has dismissed eight out of the 15 charges brought by the government against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu.
His camp sees the ruling as a step in the right direction - though he still faces the serious charges of terrorism and treason.
Justice Binta Nyako ruled that any rendition would have been legal as Mr Kanu had skipped bail and was regarded as a fugitive at the time while also refusing to grant him bail.
He faces life imprisonment if convicted of terrorism and treason - charges he pleaded not guilty to in October.