Newscast - Africa

French Defence Minister Florence Parly warned Mali against a deal with Russian private security group Wagner amid claims the West African country’s junta is close to hiring 1,000 mercenaries.
Two French sources told AFP that the Malian government was nearing a deal with the controversial Russian firm, which would underline Moscow’s growing influence in the region.
A spokesperson for the Malian defence ministry says Mali intends to diversify its relationships in the medium term to ensure the security of the country.
The spokesperson says they haven’t signed anything with Wagner, but they are talking with everyone.

Qatar says it will not take responsibility for Kabul airport without clear agreements with all parties involved, including the Taliban, about its operations.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says his country cannot take responsibility for the airport’s operations if all issues are not clearly addressed.
Doha has become a key broker in Afghanistan following last month’s withdrawal of US-led NATO forces, helping evacuate thousands of foreigners and Afghans, engaging the new Taliban rulers, and supporting operations at Kabul airport.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has told Al Jazeera the group is now securing and operating the site, indicating it was in talks with Qatar and Turkey about the facility’s future.

The United States will withhold $130m in security assistance to Egypt this year, releasing the funds only if the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ends the prosecution of rights and civil society organisations.
US media reports that Washington also demanded the release of 16 American prisoners in return for aid.
The decision by the US State Department is to make good on its promise to have a human rights-leading foreign policy and to curtail a portion of the $1.3bn in security aid the US annually provides to Egypt, a country it considers a key ally in the Middle East and North Africa.

The military junta in Conakry has announced the gradual reopening of borders with neighbouring countries in a statement read on national TV.
Some of the borders have been closed since last week’s coup and others for months beforehand.
The Senegal, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau borders were ordered closed by President Alpha Condé in September 2020, for security reasons, before the 18 October presidential election.
This closure caused diplomatic tension given the significant movement of people and goods in the region.

Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has criticised the United States for its actions towards the new Taliban government and for severing economic assistance after the group seized power last month.
Muttaqi says that the group would not allow any country to impose sanctions or embargoes on Afghanistan, including the US.
He says they helped the US until the evacuation of their last person, but unfortunately, the US, instead of thanking them, froze their assets.
The US Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have cut off Afghanistan’s access to funds, resulting in a widespread liquidity crunch in the cash-dependent economy.
Muttaqi thanked the international community for pledging more than $1bn of aid for Afghanistan at a UN donor conference on Monday.

People entering Ivory Coast will from Monday be required to present a health pass showing that they have been vaccinated, or taken a Covid-19 test in the last 72 hours.
President Alassane Ouattara says that the validity of coronavirus PCR tests would be reduced from five to three days for travellers arriving in Ivory Coast by air.
Ivorian authorities recently warned that they might ban unvaccinated people from accessing public places.

The World Health Organization and its partners have said they hope to provide Africa with about 30 per cent of the COVID-19 vaccines the continent needs by February, badly missing the 60 per cent vaccination coverage goal that African leaders had once hoped for this year.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the massive disparity in vaccination rates between rich and poor countries a solvable problem and urged pharmaceutical companies to prioritise the UN-backed COVAX initiative, which is designed to share vaccines globally and provide shots at no cost to lower-income countries.
The African Union accused manufacturers of COVID-19 shots of denying African countries a fair chance to buy them and urged manufacturing countries – in particular India – to lift export restrictions on vaccines and their components.

The United Arab Emirates has released the names of six Nigerian financiers of the terrorist group, Boko Haram.
The terror sponsors named by the UAE are Abdurrahaman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad, all Nigerians.
The six terror sponsors were reportedly placed on the Emirate’s watch list.
A Nigerian government official was allegedly said to be involved in sponsorship of the dreaded sect that has killed over 100,000 civilians and security forces and inflicted untold economic damage on the country since its campaign began in 2009.
The government official, it was gathered was yet to be publicly identified by the Emirati authorities, amidst claims that there was mounting diplomatic pressure not to publish the name.

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Musa Nuhu says there is marked improvement in the safety of domestic airlines following strict compliance to safety regulations.
He assured air travellers that Nigerian carriers have kept to the highest standard of safety in their operations.
Nuhu also said Nigeria’s domestic aviation was growing as new entrants recently joined the sector, saying more operators were still processing their Air Operator’s Certificates with the authority.
He noted that despite the devastating effects of Covid-19 on aviation globally, there has been a discernible growth in domestic flight service, which has prompted more entrepreneurs to invest in the airline business.

President Muhammadu Buhari urged the banking and financial services sector to play stronger roles in ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises become fit for purpose as well as provide them full support to excel.
He says such financial intermediation would be essential at a time like this when Nigerians are grappling with the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, also hinted that the Nigerian International Financial Centre which would act as an international gateway for capital and investments, driven by technology and payment system infrastructure, would also be established within the next 12 months.
Buhari hailed the institute and the entire banking and finance industry for the commitment towards charting a practical path for economic recovery and transformation of the country and Africa in general.