Newscast - Africa

South African scientists are investigating the highly plausible hypothesis that the emergence of new Covid-19 variants could be linked, in some cases, to mutations taking place inside infected people whose immune systems have already been weakened by other factors, including, though not limited to, untreated HIV.
Researchers have already observed that Covid-19 can linger for many months in patients who are HIV positive but who have, for varying reasons, not been taking the medicines that would enable them to lead healthy lives.
Professor Linda-Gayle Bekker says normally the immune system would kick a virus out fairly quickly, if fully functional.

The federal government has vowed not to relent in its efforts to ensure that 100 million Nigerians are lifted out of poverty.
The Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, says the federal government would remain committed to ensuring that the vision of Job for all becomes a reality in no distant time.
The Kogi State Coordinator of NDE, Mallam Abubakar Zakari assured that the training would certainly add value to the beneficiaries respective homes and society at large.

The Federal Government has fixed the National Sports Festival for November 2 to 15, 2022 in Delta State following the resolution of the Technical Committee of the National Council on Sports.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare described Delta State as the incubator of talents for the nation’s sports development, noting that the successes of Nigeria in sports won’t be complete without the contribution of the oil-rich state and the giant strides of her athletes.
He says the National Council on Sports meeting has become necessary in order to update the Council on developments, and deliberations on issues that concern the hosting of the 21st National Sports Festival.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu says the commission will require N305 billion to conduct the 2023 general elections.
The INEC boss says that the amount will enable the commission to prepare for the election and purchase all the election materials needed and also cover several bye-elections across the country.
He, however, stated that the commission has already received N100 billion out of the required amount for the elections.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says the country was now experiencing a fourth COVID-19 wave.
The Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa says Nigeria has recorded a 500% increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks across the country caused by the Delta and Omicron variants.
The NCDC says the response to the virus requires a collaborative approach.
He added that individuals, families and institutions also need to play their part in protecting each other by ensuring adherence to COVID-19 public health and social measures.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission says that three neighbouring countries did not make any payment for the second quarter of 2021.
The NERC revealed that Togo, Benin Republic, and Niger and some other special customers were issued a total bill of N770m by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading company and the Market Operator of the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
The report however stated that no payment was made, adding that it is hoped the outstanding will still be paid when things begin to look up for those economies, as the pandemic played a great role in the non-remittance experienced.
The Commission further stated that it has through the applicable orders set a minimum remittance threshold for each Disco having adjusted for their tariff shortfall.

French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer says that the government has no plans to extend the Christmas school holidays because of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Some European countries have brought Christmas holidays forward, and French conservative presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse has called for an extension of them in order to help ensure any infections caught over year-end holidays are discovered before children return to school.

Member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are holding a special meeting in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad to discuss solutions to address the humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials say a total of 70 delegations were taking part, including Taliban foreign minister Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi and delegates from the US, China, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.
The president of the Islamic Development Bank, Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, has offered to manage trusts that could be used to move money into Afghanistan, jumpstart businesses and help salvage the deeply troubled economy.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says fallout from the deepening crisis could mean mass hunger and a flood of refugees.

Iran’s health ministry has confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country.
A ministry official says that the highly contagious variant was detected in a middle-aged Iranian man who had recently travelled back from neighbouring UAE.
The news comes as Iran has, for weeks, experienced relative calm with low infection, hospitalisations and death figures amid a widespread vaccination campaign.
More than 60 per cent of the eligible population has received two doses of a vaccine, and most people can now receive a booster shot.

The United Arab Emirates says it will no longer censor cinematic releases, introducing a 21 and above age rating for films it classifies for mature audiences.
The UAE is considered one of the more liberal countries in the Gulf region, where movies with adult content are routinely cut or edited.
The country’s Media Regulatory Office says that it had introduced a 21+ age category to its motion picture content rating system.
It added that the international version of movies will be shown in cinemas, with an emphasis on the strict following of age classification standards for audience entry.