Newscast - Africa

Senior lawyer, Femi Falana has faulted the legal advice issued by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of Lagos State on the case of Sylvester Oromoni’s alleged murder.
He says the Authorities are aware of the fact that the Chief Coroner of the State has ordered that an inquest be conducted into the circumstances surrounding the unnatural death of Sylvester Oromoni.
Mr Falana insists that the report has not laid the allegations surrounding the gruesome murder of Sylvester Oromoni to rest.

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to assist Mali in every way possible within the ambits of the Economic Community of West African States.
The president made the promise when he received a special envoy from Mali’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga at the State House.
Buhari says that every country has its issues and even Nigeria had fought her own civil war, it is impossible to know the totality of the internal politics within Mali.
He also met with the head of the ECOWAS Mediation Team and former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan in a parley, at the statehouse.

Canada has reached an agreement-in-principle to compensate Indigenous children who were discriminated against and placed in the welfare system, the government has announced after Indigenous advocates waged a years-long fight for justice and reform.
The federal government says $15.75bn would be allocated to First Nations children who were removed from their homes, as well as those who did not receive or faced delays in accessing services.
Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu says for too long, the Government of Canada did not adequately fund or support the wellness of First Nations families and children.

Hong Kong announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries and tightened restrictions as authorities feared the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says Incoming flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain and the United States, including interchanges, would be banned from Jan. 8 to Jan 21.
Lam says the government would ban indoor dining after 6.00 pm from Friday, and close swimming pools, sports centres, bars and clubs, museums, and other venues for at least two weeks. Future cruise journeys would be cancelled.

The French parliament approved the government’s latest measures to tackle the COVID-19 virus, including a COVID vaccine pass, offering some respite to President Emmanuel Macron after criticism of Macron’s attack on the unvaccinated.
The measures will then go up to the Senate, which will examine them before any further approval.
Macron said he wanted to piss off unvaccinated people by making their lives so complicated they would end up getting the COVID vaccine.
He also called unvaccinated people irresponsible and unworthy of being considered citizens.

Australia has cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa and denied entry to the men’s number one tennis player saying the sportsman failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet entry requirements.
The Australian Border Force said Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled”.
Djokovic is expected to be flown out later on Thursday, although Djokovic’s lawyers have filed an injunction, which is scheduled to be heard at 4 pm

The United States condemned North Korea’s firing of a suspected ballistic missile and urged Pyongyang to sit down for talks.
A State Department spokesperson says the launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK’s neighbours and the international community while referring to the North by its official name.
The spokesperson also said that the US commitment to defend both South Korea and Japan, two treaty-bound allies, was ironclad.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are already set to meet virtually Thursday for regular security talks with their Japanese counterparts.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has condemned sanctions imposed on Eritrea, as he concluded a visit to the one-party state long been regarded as a pariah by Western powers.
Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Meskel says Mr Wang held talks with President Isaias Afwerki and invited him to China to strengthen their strategic partnership.
The foreign ministers of the two nations issued a joint statement after the meeting, condemning interferences in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli held a meeting to discuss the proposed amendments to the law on taxes on capital gains.
The premier pointed out that the meeting aimed to review steps agreed upon at the previous meeting and reach an agreement on these amendments in a prelude to taking the necessary procedures on this score.
The finance minister noted that they are related to tax files, costs on shareholding and share acquisition, investment funds and profits.
A spokesman for Cabinet Nader Saad says that the respective legislative procedures will be taken through referring the proposed amendments to the cabinet and the parliament.

A night curfew has been declared in parts of Lamu County as security forces kicked off a major operation following the killings of 7 people.
The curfew was declared Wednesday by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi who listed affected areas as Mukunumbi, Witu, Mpeketoni, and Hindi.
Inspector-General of Police Hilary Mutyambai has since said the attack was linked to land disputes and other motives.
Police said the assailants stabbed and beheaded a local elder and razed his home, and shot dead another man whose body was found on a roadside nearby.