Newscast - Africa

A Ugandan MP who voted in favour of a bill that targets homosexual people has told the BBC that if the US withdrew funding in protest it would amount to modern genocide.
The US government says there could be repercussions should the measure be signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni.
MP Charles Ayume says that Uganda's sovereignty should be respected. He added that there were things he objected to in the US, but he did not want to interfere in the politics of that country.
Dr Ayume says that in backing the measure, he was representing the views of his constituents.

A court in Kenya's capital Nairobi has barred Meta, Facebook's parent company, from laying off its content moderators pending the determination of a lawsuit that is challenging their planned dismissal.
The labour court also barred Meta and its outsourcing firm, Sama, from hiring other moderators to replace the sacked ones.
The lawsuit was filed by 43 Facebook moderators in Kenya, hired by Sama on behalf of Meta. They allege that the redundancy exercise being undertaken was unlawful.

The International Monetary Fund says that subsidies, tax incentives, infrastructure development and protective regulations will help fast-track the growth of industries in Nigeria and other emerging market economies.
The Washington-based lender noted that when implementing industrial policy as part of their growth strategy, countries were often faced with competing objectives, such as securing sustainable economic growth, maintaining financial and fiscal stability, and establishing national champions.
The report says establishing national champions was often a distinct objective of a nation’s growth strategy.

The Federal Executive Council has approved over four billion nairas for the construction of barracks to accommodate the personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami says the project became necessary because of the unprecedented threats and attacks on personnel, officers, men and other ranks of the agency.
He says the need has arisen for the Federal Government to consider the possibility of security measures that will now provide the prerequisite protection to the officers and men of the agency for commission.

The French government has narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence, which was triggered when it forced through an increase in the pension age to 64.
It sparked new anti-government protests in Paris, where 101 people were arrested after stand-offs with police.
The vote, tabled by centrist MPs, had 278 votes in favour, falling short of the 287 votes needed.

China's anti-fraud watchdog has accused chip tycoon Zhao Weiguo of corruption, in the latest sign of trouble faced by the country's semiconductor industry.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection alleges that Mr Zhao took the state-owned company he managed as his private fiefdom.
The regulator says he handed profitable businesses to his relatives and friends and purchased goods and services from companies managed by his associates at prices significantly higher than the market.

Ethiopia's government has rejected a statement by the US alleging that members of its forces, along with Eritrean and Amhara forces, committed war crimes during the two-year war.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the US statement selective and inflammatory saying The partisan and divisive approach from the US is ill-advised.
It says that it was untimely, coming shortly after Ethiopia launched a national consultation on transitional justice policy aiming to bring peace and reconciliation.
It says the US statement would be used to advance highly polarised campaigns pitting one community against others in the country.

The Chief Economist at the Economic Commission for Africa, Hanan Morsy, says Africa currently accounts for more than half of the World’s poor 54. 8 per cent.
Morsy says the continent faced a tsunami of global shocks that have exacerbated existing socioeconomic operations and equity. Africa, as a result of these shocks, currently accounts for more than half of the world’s poor at 54.8 per cent.
Morsy says the situation was further exacerbated by existing inequalities, noting that even in times of high economic growth in Africa, the rate of inequality still rose.
She explained that several recommendations, both domestic and international, had been put in place to help tackle this.

President Vladimir Putin says that deepening ties between Russia and Africa was a key goal for the Kremlin, as Moscow seeks to expand its influence on the continent.
He added that Russia would continue supplying the continent with grain if Moscow exits a landmark agreement with Ukraine to allow exports from the country’s Black Sea ports.
Putin’s comments come as Moscow is seeking deeper political, economic and military ties in Africa and Asia as Russia becomes increasingly isolated on the international stage over the conflict in Ukraine.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 18. per cent.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, says the committee voted to keep the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR.
The governor stated the slight increase is to mitigate the effect of inflation and other economic issues.
He says the MPC committee voted to raise the MPR by 50 basis points to 18 per cent, and retain the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR.