Newscast - Africa

National Bureau of Statistics data showed that Mainland China’s birth rate dropped to a record low of 7.52 per 1,000 people in 2021 accelerating a downward trend that led Beijing last year to begin allowing couples to have up to three children.
China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit to try and counter a rapidly ageing population, but many couples do not want to have more children because of the high cost of urban living.
The birth rate was the lowest since 1949 when the statistics bureau began collating the data.
The natural growth rate of China’s population, which excludes migration, was only 0.034 per cent for 2021, the lowest since 1960.

Sudan has revoked the licence of the live-streaming channel of Al Jazeera's television network.
Al Jazeera Mubasher says its team had been barred from working in Sudan, which had accused them of unprofessional coverage of opposition rallies.
Activists say more than 60 people have been killed in a series of protests held against October's military coup.
Sudanese doctors protested against what they said were attacks against medical personnel by the security forces during pro-democracy rallies.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has called for drawing up a clear-cut African strategy for eradicating extremism and terrorism and drying up their sources of financing.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli reiterated Egypt's commitment to providing anti-terrorism training assistance to sisterly African nations, contributing to UN peacekeeping missions, and maintaining efforts through the Sahel and Sahara Counter-terrorism Centre in Cairo.
He says Egypt is also willing to offer more support on that score, whether through bilateral cooperation or AU cooperation mechanisms.
Sisi says that Egypt will spare no efforts to address the challenges facing the Dark Continent and achieve the aspirations of all African peoples.

The World Food Program warns Ethiopia is on the edge of a humanitarian disaster as escalating fighting in the north is preventing the delivery of needed food from reaching millions of people in battle-scarred Tigray province.
World Food Program spokesman Tomson Phiri says his agency's humanitarian operation in northern Ethiopia is about to grind to a halt. He says intense fighting in the region is blocking the passage of fuel and food.
Phiri says stocks of nutritionally fortified food for the treatment of malnourished children and women are now exhausted, and the last of WFP's cereals, pulses and oil will be distributed next week.
The World Food Program says 9.4 million people in northern Ethiopia now require humanitarian food aid, an increase of 2.7 million from just four months ago.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali has temporarily suspended flights.
This will affect the delivery of aid to the country whose neighbours have imposed sanctions and closed borders.
The peacekeeping mission has about 13,000 troops stationed in the country trying to contain an Islamist insurgency in the region.
The European Union has also said it will impose sanctions and the UN has said it is essential for the military authorities to present an acceptable election schedule.

The federal government has limited companies involved in the trade or business of gas utilisation in downstream operations in the country to a once in a lifetime tax-free regime, according to the latest changes effected in the Finance Act, 2021.
The new law states that additional investment, re-organisation or other forms of corporate restructuring shall not qualify for a further tax incentive under the gas investment programme.
Such companies are further barred from similar incentives under any other sections of the Companies Income Tax Act or other law.
Companies engaged in upstream petroleum operations however would continue to have obligation to withhold VAT, even when they have not commenced commercial operations or have not reached N25 million turnover.

President Muhammadu Buhari moved against criminal elements in the country when he instructed the military to go after terrorists and kidnappers with force.
The president ordered an immediate major military operation in Niger State, which has, for instance, faced continued attacks on its communities by bandits and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists, fleeing theatres of war in the Northwestern and Northeastern parts of the country.
He directed the Defence Headquarters a few days ago, to respond robustly to the cases of killings and kidnappings in the Niger State and to give effect to the strategic objectives through the use of force.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has offered to support the Federal Government to end terrorism and other evils in the country.
Tinubu made the pledge when he visited Katsina State to condole with the State Government and people of the state over the gruesome murder of the State Commissioner of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Rabe Nasir as well as the recent insecurity upsurge in the state.
He urged residents to share relevant information to security agencies on suspicious movements of characters urging residents to continue preaching for peace, change their attitudes and support leaders with determination to bring terrorism to its knees.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to use his good offices and leadership position to direct the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to provide the organization with a copy of the agreement recently signed with Twitter, Inc, and to widely publish the details of any such agreement.
SERAP also urged him to direct Alhaji Lai Mohammed to clarify the manner and scope in which the agreement with Twitter will be enforced, including whether the agreement incorporates respect for human rights, consistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and international obligations

The Federal Government has asked Saudi Arabia to lift the travel restrictions it imposed on Nigerian travellers following the outbreak of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 in South Africa that was later discovered among some travellers said to have visited Nigeria.
Ambassador Zubairu Dada, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, urged the Saudi Authorities to review the travel restrictions it placed on Nigerians over the Omicron outbreak as already done by many countries who have earlier banned Nigeria.
The Minister expressed optimism for a timely response to Nigeria’s request from Saudi Arabia.