Newscast - Africa

The United Kingdom’s domestic intelligence service has alleged that a woman suspected of working on behalf of China’s governing Communist Party has sought to improperly influence members of the UK’s Parliament.
House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s office said that MI5 had found that the woman has been engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Hoyle added that the Chinese national had engaged with legislators and facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring Parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China.

The United States Supreme Court has blocked Joe Biden’s effort to require employees at large businesses to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing.
The top court also ruled in favour of allowing the federal government to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers in the country.
The court says the Biden administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rule requiring workers at US businesses with at least 100 employees to either be vaccinated or tested weekly.

The World Health Organization has added two more drugs to its guidelines for recommended treatments for COVID-19, as the more infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus triggers an unprecedented surge in cases around the world.
The drug baricitinib used to treat rheumatoid arthritis is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19, in combination with corticosteroids, The UN agency’s panel of international experts said the drug reduces the need for ventilation and had been found to improve patients’ chances of survival with no sign of an increase in adverse reactions.
The panel also gave a conditional recommendation for sotrovimab, an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment, for those with non-severe COVID-19 but at the very highest risk of hospital admission.

The European Union says it will impose sanctions on Mali after the military leaders who carried out last year's coup went back on a pledge to hold elections next month.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, says despite all the warnings to the Malian authorities there'd been no sign of progress.
He says the sanctions were also in response to the arrival of Russian private military contractors.
The EU says despite the sanctions it plans to keep soldiers in Mali.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has joined international voices calling on Ethiopia's prime minister to end the country's 14-month-long civil war.
They said Abiy Ahmed who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 has a special responsibility to see an end to the bloodshed.
Mr Abiy’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum had previously said that the Nobel Peace Prize was not a shackle for inaction when the country is threatened.
The calls from the Committee are expected to increase the pressure to find a peaceful resolution for the war.

Deliberate internet blockages across sub-Saharan Africa resulted in $1.9bn in losses last year - eight times more than in 2020.
Top10VPN says Nigeria was by far the worst-hit African country losing nearly $1.5bn, second globally to politically troubled Myanmar, which lost about $2.8bn.
Top10VPN's report came as Nigeria lifted a ban on Twitter that had lasted for seven months, though many people circumvented it by using VPNs.
Ethiopia was the second-most affected country in Africa has lost around $164m, followed by Sudan at almost $152m and Uganda at more than $109m, according to the report.

Rwanda has lifted a ban on concerts under its new coronavirus regulations.
The cabinet has resolved that concert organisers will seek permission 10 days before the event.
The concert tickets will be sold online and the recommended capacity is 50% for indoor venues and 75% for outdoor.
Those attending concerts must show proof of vaccination. Theatres and cinema halls have also been allowed to reopen with 50% capacity.

A UNICEF official disclosed that Poorer nations last month rejected more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the global programme COVAX, mainly due to their rapid expiry date.
The big figure showed the difficulties of vaccinating the world despite growing supplies of shots, with COVAX getting closer to delivering one billion doses to a total of nearly 150 countries.
The Director of Supply Division at UN agency, UNICEF, Etleva Kadil told lawmakers at the European Parliament that more than 100 million have been rejected just in December alone adding that the main reason for rejection was the delivery of doses with a short shelf-life.

The federal government warned that it would not condone any act of abuse and mishandling of equipment and facilities provided to tackle security threats in the country.
The president expressed optimism that the Inspector-General of Police and his management team, would commit officers and men of the Nigerian Police to reciprocate the government’s efforts through judicious and effective use of the facilities for improvement of Nigerian security architecture.
Buhari tasked officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force to continue to show commitment in the discharge of their duties and to adopt a holistic internal security mechanism in the country.

The federal government has warned the reconstituted governing board of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against being involved in corruption.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha urged the members to carry out their duty with responsibility, saying the federal government would not hesitate to sanction all infractions.
The SGF also decried the effects of financial crimes on the image of the country, saying it had prevented the country from attracting foreign investments.