Newscast - Africa

The World Trade Organization has found that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that were imposed by the US under former President Donald Trump violate global trade rules.
The WTO rebuffed that argument, saying the duties did not come at a time of war or another emergency.
Assistant US trade representative Adam Hodge says the US strongly rejects the ruling and has no intention of removing the measures.
He says the Biden administration is committed to preserving US national security by ensuring the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries adding that the reports only reinforce the need to fundamentally reform the WTO dispute settlement system.

National Grid has ordered two coal plants to begin warming up in case electricity supplies to the UK are disrupted because of the cold weather.
The company says it had asked power station operator Drax to prepare two coal-fire units for use.
National Grid says that while the two plants will not necessarily be used, this measure should give the public confidence in Monday's energy supply.
The UK receives electricity via subsea cables from European countries including France, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.
National Grid says it has these tools for an additional contingency to operate the network as normal and the public should continue to use energy as normal.

Twitter's paid-for verification feature is rolling out once again on Monday. It was paused last month after being swamped by impersonators.
It is still $8 per month - but there is now an increased fee of $11 for those using the Twitter app on Apple devices.
Twitter's owner Elon Musk has previously said in tweets that he resents the commission fee Apple charges on in-app purchases.
Twitter Blue's additional features include an edit button.
Blue-tick subscribers will also see fewer ads, have their tweets amplified above others, and be able to post and view longer, better-quality videos.

Rwanda and Nepal are expected to sign an air service agreement to operate flights connecting both countries.
The agreement will be under the liberal skies policy which Nepal has adopted.
It includes a provision for code sharing, such as third-country code share, where airlines of both countries can partner with other airlines to facilitate services to each other's markets.
Mukesh Dangol, an official at the Tourism Ministry of Nepal, says that this follows a proposal from Rwanda Civil Aviation Industry to establish air links between both countries to strengthen tourism and trade.

The South African rail agency and the Department of Transport recently launched new trains to revive the rail system that almost collapsed following vandalism, arson, and the theft of railway lines and cables.
The agency says Preaching, gambling, and trading in these trains are no longer permitted.
The agency added that abusing Prasa personnel and playing in the passageways or blocking them will also be a thing of the past.

The Comptroller General, of Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Dr. Vincent Isegbe, says the country is expected to earn about $3 billion annually from hibiscus exports to Mexico.
Isegbe, noted that the framework was designed to future-proof bilateral trade in hibiscus between Nigeria and the largest importer of Nigerian hibiscus against avoidable disruptions.
Isegbe pointed out that agro-export intensification will boost the country's overall agricultural productivity, generate sustainable wealth, and improve household incomes among the large swath of the 70 per cent population that is engaged in agriculture and agro-allied industries.

The World Bank has projected that debt servicing will gulp 123.4 percent of the Federal Government’s revenue in 2023.
A presentation by the new World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, projected that debt servicing would gulp 100.2 percent of Federal Government revenue by the end of 2022.
The Washington-based bank says that Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio could stand at 102.3 percent by the end of 2022.
It described the public debt in Nigeria as concerning due to the rising debt service-to-revenue ratio.

Political parties have kicked against the new cash withdrawal limits introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, stating that it could choke the political process.
Parties including the Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Africa Democratic Congress and African Democratic Party contended that the policy would affect the fundraising required by the candidates to sustain their campaigns ahead of the 2023 elections.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State had accused the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, of targeting the political class with the new cash withdrawal limit which restricts over-the-counter cash withdrawal by individuals and companies to N100,000 and N500,000, respectively, per week.
The CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, says withdrawals above the thresholds would attract processing fees of five per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, for individuals and corporate entities going forward.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; and his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa disclosed some of their plans to solve Nigeria’s major challenges if elected in 2023.
The PDP running mate says he will quell separatist agitations in the South-East through negotiation and restructuring.
Okowa says strategic inclusion in security architecture is important to give South-Easterners a feeling of being part of the nation.
Atiku says he won’t scrap security votes for governors and others but will rather advocate accountability for security votes, insisting that government officials must not expend security votes the way they liked.

The UK has agreed to double imports of US gas over the next year as it tries to stabilize soaring energy prices.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the plan would bring down prices for British consumers and help end Europe's dependence on Russian energy".
The UK does not import gas from Russia directly but has been hit by rising wholesale prices on the Continent.
The UK aims to double imports of liquefied natural gas from the US to 9-10 billion cubic meters over the next year.
The two countries will also boost collaboration over the development of new nuclear and green energy technologies.