Newscast - Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari called for the expansion of access to modern contraceptive methods across the country to address the nation’s rising population.
President Buhari explained that the overall goal of the policy is to improve the quality of life and standards of living of all Nigerians.
The President stated that more than 72 per cent of the youths are below 30 years while half of the female population are in their reproductive years (15-49 years).
He explained that other highlights of the revised population policy underscore the importance of investing in the quality education of young people, human capital development, advancing the holistic efforts to achieve the significant demographic transition.

The Federal Government says it has uncovered 96 financiers of terrorism across the country, especially those backing Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in 2020-2021, revealed 96 financiers of terrorism in Nigeria while 424 associates and supporters of the financiers were also uncovered.
He says about 123 companies and 33 Bureau de change, were linked to terrorists in addition to 26 suspected bandits/kidnappers and seven co-conspirators who have now been identified.

Thailand’s central bank plans to allow banks to invest more than a current limit of 3% of their capital funds in fintech, except in digital assets.
The central bank also expects to issue rules on virtual banks in the first half of the year.

India unveiled a bigger budget of 39.45 trillion rupees for the coming fiscal year, stepping up investment on highways and affordable housing to put growth on a firmer footing as the economy recovers from the pandemic.
The government has projected GDP growth at 8% to 8.5% compared with an estimated 9.2% for the current fiscal year and a 6.6% contraction the previous year.
The government’s annual economic survey says all macro indicators indicated that Asia’s third-largest economy was well-placed to face challenges, helped by improving farm and industrial output growth.

El Salvador’s government defended the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, rejecting calls from the International Monetary Fund to change course.
The IMF warned of large risks posed by the cryptocurrency’s volatility.
Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya says no multilateral body is going to force you to do anything, absolutely nothing. States are sovereign states and make sovereign decisions about their public policies.
The IMF board, comprised of representatives of member countries, urged President Nayib Bukele’s government to narrow the scope of the Bitcoin law by removing Bitcoin’s legal tender status.

Boris Johnson has vowed that a plan to overhaul EU laws copied over after Brexit will encourage businesses to invest in the UK.
The prime minister says a Brexit Freedoms Bill will make it easier to change thousands of EU-era regulations that remain in force.
He says it would allow the UK to set growth-friendly rules for "cutting edge technologies of the future.

The Kenyan government has expressed reluctance to drop stalled projects estimated to have already cost the taxpayer Sh390 billion in a new raft of conditions set by the International Monetary Fund.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi expressed dissatisfaction with the proposal
World Bank Country Director, Keith Hansen however says the institution will seek to develop Kenya's capacity support in favour of proper public investment.
The IMF Executive Board had earlier approved the immediate disbursement of Sh29.2 billion under the Extended Credit Facility, in a move meant to support Kenya's program to address debt vulnerabilities and aid in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The African Union says it had suspended Burkina Faso in response to the January 24 coup that ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
The bloc’s 15-member Peace and Security Council said it had voted to suspend the participation of #BurkinaFaso in all AU activities until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, had already condemned the coup the day it happened and before it was clear who was taking charge.
The West African bloc ECOWAS suspended Burkina Faso on Friday and sent a delegation to meet with the ruling junta Saturday.

The National Information Technology Development Agency engaged in 17 data breach investigations and issued N15m fines in 2021.
The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation Performance Report disclosed that seven investigations were concluded and sanctions were imposed on three entities.
It was also disclosed that the number of ongoing investigations on alleged data breaches rose from 15 in 2020 to 17 in 2021, while the number of investigations concluded rose from one in 2020 to seven in 2021.
The report further disclosed NITDA that was partnering with key stakeholders to ascertain appropriate sanctions for different kinds of violations of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria says the likelihood of interference between the aviation industry and 5G network frequency is very low.
The association says there is no greater risk of interference with 5G networks than there is with any of the existing transmissions taking place in the frequencies adjacent to those used by radio-altimeters.
ALTON says these bands of spectrum are structured in a way that prevents interference between them, by ensuring that a guard band exists between the frequencies.