Newscast - Africa

A New York state judge has ruled that former US President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in a New York civil investigation into his business practices.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr, to comply with subpoenas issued in December by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is probing Trump’s real estate development group.
James says her investigation has revealed evidence Trump’s company used fraudulent or misleading valuations of assets like golf resorts and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits.

An overwhelming majority of Iranian legislators have set to define strict conditions for a return to the country’s 2015 nuclear deal as an agreement with world powers in Vienna appears close.
250 legislators in the 290-member parliament called on President Ebrahim Raisi to adhere to their conditions in restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
They say the cruel and terrorist American government and its weak and contemptible followers France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – have shown they are not bound by any agreement over the past few years, so Iran must learn from the experience and set clear red lines.

Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal have partnered with German biotechnology company, BioNTech SE, to fill, finish, and package BioNTech mRNA vaccines in Africa.
Germany, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and President Macky Sall of Senegal, as well as President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, witnessed the official presentation of a BioNTech modular production facility, for the production of mRNA vaccines in Africa.
The BioNTainer is equipped to manufacture a range of mRNA-based approved vaccines specifically to the needs of African member states.

Ethiopia began producing electricity for the first time from its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated electricity production on Sunday from the mega-dam, a milestone in the controversial multibillion-dollar project.
The prime minister sought to assure neighbouring nations his country did not wish to harm their interests.
Egypt’s foreign ministry, however, accused Ethiopia of persisting in its violations of a preliminary deal signed between the three nations in 2015, prohibiting any of the parties from taking unilateral actions in the use of the river’s water.

Somalian president and the country's prime minister have rejected the oil exploration deal inked by one of the ministers.
The leaders said they are protecting the country's national resources.
The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed announced that production sharing agreements had been signed with a US-based firm, Coastline Exploration Ltd.
Ahmed says the deal would accelerate the roadmap of hydrocarbon exploration offshore.

Protests broke out in cities across Morocco against rising prices and to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the launch of a major reform movement.
Many speakers addressed the crowds and lamented that none of their demands for social justice, gender equality among others, have been achieved in 11 years.
A similar campaign has been taking place on social media platforms under the hashtag no to price hikes.

The Federal Executive Council has approved the National Policy on the Government, Second Level Domain aimed at safeguarding official communications using government top-level domains.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, stated that government officials must now migrate from using generic domains in their websites and their emails to the second level under the government top-level domain.
He says the use of private emails like yahoo.com; hotmail.com or gmail.com for official communications by government officials would no longer be tolerated.

The Central Bank of Nigeria kicked against plans by the Senate to enact a new anti-money laundering law.
The apex bank put forward this position during a public hearing by a Senate Joint Committee – anti-corruption, financial crimes, judiciary and human rights – on three different anti-corruption bills.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, says an amendment of the existing Money Laundering Prevention Act 2011 will better serve the interest of Nigerians than repeal and re-enactment.

The National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.98% in Q4 2021, sustaining a positive trajectory.
A report by the NBS disclosed that the fourth-quarter growth indicates a steady economic recovery accounting for annual growth of 3.40% in 2021.
It further stated that the Q4 2021 growth rate was higher than the 0.11% growth rate recorded in Q4 2020 by 3.87% points and lower than 4.03% recorded in Q3 2021 by 0.05% points.
The report noted that quarter on quarter, real GDP grew at 9.63% in Q4 2021 compared to Q3 2021, reflecting a higher economic activity than the preceding quarter.

The Police Service Commission has suspended an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sunday Ubua, and Assistant Superintendent of Police, James Bawa, who both worked under the embattled Abba Kyari in the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force.
The PSC noted that the move is in line with the Public Service Rules 030406 and that the suspension, which took effect from Monday, 14th, February 2022, will stand until the outcome of the investigation into the allegations levelled against them.
The commission maintained that Kyari, who is in custody, remains suspended until investigations into the matter are completed.