Newscast - Africa

The House of Representatives has approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s loan request of 5.8 billion dollars and grant of $10 million.
The loans are to be sourced from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, China Exim bank, Chinese Africa Development Fund, and International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The House asked that the terms and conditions of the loan from the funding agencies be forwarded to the National Assembly for proper execution and commendation.

The National Security Adviser, Retired Major-General Babagana Monguno, has named some groups supporting terrorist organisations in the Sahel region.
Monguno says terrorism and the rapid escalation of violent activities by militant Islamist groups in the Sahel since 2016 have been primarily driven by the Islamic State in Greater Sahara which mainly operates in Mali and extends to the Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.
He says It is bolstered by activities of groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin, the Islamic and Muslim Support Group and ISGS, which have continued to pose an imminent threat to the stability of the region.
He added that there is a need to reassess and reset foreign and regional government strategies towards the Sahel and set aside faulty assumptions.

The UK government has removed Nigeria and 10 other countries from a red list in the wake of the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19. 
The red list was reintroduced in late November as a precaution after the emergence of the Omicron variant.
The ministers however have cited the further spread of the variant as a reason for reviewing travel rules.
All UK arrivals from red list countries must take COVID tests within 48 hours of setting off for the UK and PCR tests within two days of their arrival.

Britain announced additional measures to stop the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, including the extension of booster jabs to people over 30.
The Department of Health and Social Care says Fully vaccinated contacts of people who test positive for Covid-19 will be required to take daily lateral flow tests for seven days from Tuesday.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the Omicron variant is quickly gaining ground in the UK and is expected to become the dominant strain by mid-December.
Javid says anyone eligible for a booster should get it as soon as possible.

The World Health Organization says the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms according to early data.
The WHO says Omicron had spread to 63 countries as of December 9. The faster transmission was noted in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, and in Britain, where Delta is the dominant strain.
It however stressed that a lack of data meant it could not say if Omicron’s rate of transmission was because it was less prone to immune responses, higher transmissibility or a combination of both.
The WHO says early evidence suggests Omicron causes a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed a $717m defence deal.
The new defence deal allows South Korean defence company Hanwha to provide the Australian army with artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars.
It is the largest defence contract struck between Australia and an Asian nation and comes at a time of heightened tensions between Australia and China.
Morrison says the new defence contract would create about 300 jobs in Australia, where a division of Hanwha operates.
He says the contract signed speaks volumes about what they believe are the capabilities of the Korean defence industry.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says Russia faces massive consequences if it invades Ukraine at a meeting of top diplomats from the G7 group of leading industrialised nations.
Truss says there was a very much a united voice from the G7 nations being very clear that there will be massive consequences for Russia in the case of an incursion into Ukraine.
US intelligence assesses that Russia could be planning a multi-front offensive on Ukraine as early as next year, involving up to 175,000 troops.

The US has imposed visa restrictions on Isabel dos Santos, often described as Africa's richest woman, for her involvement in significant corruption by misappropriating public funds for her personal benefit.
A statement from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says her name appears among a list of other people from across the globe accused of corruption who are facing US sanctions.
Mr Blinken's statement does not go into details about what Ms Dos Santos is accused of having done.
The documents showed how she and her husband were allowed to buy valuable state assets in a series of suspicious deals.
Ms Dos Santos said the allegations against her were entirely false and that there was a politically motivated witch-hunt by the Angolan government.

French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot has announced her country will soon allow access to archive records related to criminal investigations during the Algerian War.
The classified documents are deemed to contain state secrets and it is hoped will help historians and researchers unravel a lot of cases of missing people and killings of Algerians under the French colonial administration.
The North African country had recalled its ambassador to Paris and closed its airspace to French military flights in October over comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Reuters and the AFP news agency has reported that Tigray rebels have recaptured the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela less than two weeks after government forces and their allies took control of the UNESCO World Heritage town.
Residents say Tigrayan fighters are in the town centre, there’s no fighting adding that they appeared to have come from the east, in the direction of Waldia.
They said the population are scared adding that most of the people already left because there might be an act of revenge.