Newscast - Africa

The Federal Government has disbursed no fewer than N38 billion in loans to support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises over the past four years.
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, lamented that the global COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp drop in income of most families in the country, as well as economies of the world.
Osinbajo also noted that employment has taken a dive, especially as the pandemic largely affected young people who make up the majority of the workforce.
He says the Federal Government has ensured that its social and entrepreneurial programmes have an affirmative component for the female folks.

Moscow’s mayor ordered the city’s first coronavirus restrictions since the summer, as Russia registered 1,015 daily COVID deaths.
The government is considering keeping people off work for a week to reduce social contact in a bid to lower the tide of infections.
President Vladimir Putin is expected to decide on Wednesday which government measures put to him should be implemented to curb the spread of the virus across the country.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered unvaccinated over-60s in the capital to work from home and extended mandatory vaccinations for service workers. Sobyanin also told employers to move 30 per cent of their staff to home working.

Many scientists are pressing the British government to reimpose social restrictions and speed up booster vaccinations as coronavirus infection rates, already Europe’s highest, rise still further.
The United Kingdom recorded 49,156 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the largest number since mid-July. New infections averaged 43,000 a day over the past week, a 15 per cent increase compared with the week before.
The Office for National Statistics estimated that one in 60 people in England had the virus, one of the highest levels seen in Britain during the pandemic.
Masks and social distancing are gone in most settings in England, including schools, though other parts of the UK remain a bit more strict.

The European Commission’s chief executive warned Poland that its challenge to the supremacy of European Union law called into question the very foundations of the 27-nation bloc and could not go unpunished.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled last week that parts of EU law are incompatible with the Polish constitution, undermining the legal pillar on which the union stands and raising fears that Poland could eventually leave the bloc.
Poland’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice party says it has no plans for a Polexit and - unlike Britain before its Brexit referendum in 2016 - popular support for membership of the EU remains high in Poland.

South Africa’s health products regulator, Sahpra, has withheld approval for Russia’s Sputnik V Covid vaccine over concerns that it could increase the risk of HIV infection among men.
The decision was based on two earlier studies that tested the safety of a modified form of adenovirus contained in the Russian jab.
The Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, says it would produce information to show that Sahpra's concerns were completely unfounded.
Sahpra says its concerns followed consultations with local and international experts.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has formed a crisis cell to resolve what he has called the country's most dangerous political crisis since the 2019 military coup, state news agency Suna reported.
Mr Hamdok announced the committee, which includes members of opposing political blocs, during an emergency cabinet meeting in Khartoum on Monday.
He called for restraint and dialogue to end weeks of political tensions that have threatened to derail the country's transition to democracy.
Sudan is currently run by a joint military-civilian Sovereign Council in a coalition that was troubled by a failed 5 September coup attempt.

A UN report warned that more than 100 million extremely poor people in Africa are threatened by accelerating climate change that could also melt away the continent’s few glaciers within two decades,.
Commissioner for rural economy and agriculture at the African Union Commission, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko says by 2030, it is estimated that up to 118 million extremely poor people will be exposed to drought, floods, and extreme heat in Africa if adequate response measures are not put in place.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas says that last year Africa saw temperatures continue to increase, accelerating sea-level rise as well as extreme weather events like floods, landslides, and droughts, all indicators of climate change.

Football legend Didier Drogba was named the World Health Organization's new Goodwill Ambassador for Sport and Health.
Mr Drogba, from Côte d'Ivoire, will promote WHO's top tips on how physical activity can lead to a healthier and happier life, and also highlight the value of sports, particularly for youth.
Mr Drogba says he was honoured to team up with WHO and support its work to help people reach the highest level of health possible, especially young people in all countries.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, hailed Mr Drogba as a proven champion and game-changer both on and off the pitch.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, brokered a reconciliation with youths in the state, promising not to give up his belief in them.
Youngsters across the state used the opportunity of yesterday’s Eid-Maulud national holiday to come together to participate in a peace conference aimed at creating a common platform for conflict resolution.
Amnesty International called on President Muhammadu Buhari to fulfil the promise he made to reform the Nigeria Police, one year after the #EndSARS incident.
Sanwo-Olu listened as the youths led the conversation on how they could effectively channel their grievances to the authorities.

The Kaduna State Government has warned that anyone who wishes to enter any of its offices must comply with Covid-19 protocols such as wearing face masks and vaccination as from October 31.
The government reiterated that the Ministry of Health has since commenced the vaccination of all civil servants, and this is expected to be completed by the end of October.
A statement by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, says visitors to government offices will need to present their vaccination cards.
The statement added that the Commissioner of Health Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni has announced that residents are encouraged to register at the nearest primary health centre for Covid-19 vaccinations so that the relevant authorities can easily contact them as more Covid-19 vaccines become available.