Newscast - Africa

China is softening its tone on the severity of COVID-19 and has begun easing some coronavirus restrictions even as its daily case toll hovers near record highs after anger over the world’s toughest curbs fuelled protests across the country.
Health authorities announcing the relaxation of measures did not mention the protests, which ranged from candle-lit vigils in Beijing to clashes with the police on the streets of Guangzhou and at an iPhone factory in Zhengzhou last week.
The demonstrations marked the biggest show of civil disobedience in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago as the economy is set to enter a new era of much slower growth than seen in decades.
Vice Premier, Sun Chunlan, who oversees COVID efforts, says the ability of the virus to cause disease was weakening.

The Rwandan president has accused his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart of trying to find a way to have the next elections postponed by implicating Rwanda in the country’s crisis.
President Paul Kagame accused the Congolese leader Félix Tshisekedi of creating grounds for an emergency so that next year’s elections don’t take place.
Mr. Kagame says it was a shame many parties and countries "claim to want to resolve the problem that has remained for decades.
He cautioned powerful countries, mentioning the US, UK, France, and the UN, against accusing or believing that Rwanda was to blame for the instabilities in eastern Congo.
He accused UN forces of failing to eradicate the Rwandan rebel group - FDLR - and others operating in DR Congo.
He also denied claims that Rwanda was stealing minerals from DR Congo.

The Ethiopian ambassador to Kenya says that the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front will surrender its heavy weapons on Saturday following talks between the senior army and TPLF commanders.
Ambassador Bacha Debele, says the TPLF were supposed to surrender them on 17 November, but this was not implemented it has now been decided for them to surrender them on 3 December.
Mr. Bacha says the field commanders are meeting every day to discuss the disarmament process and TPLF combatants are being assembled in designated areas.

More than a million Kenyans have registered for a government loan scheme targeting the youth and informal traders just a day after its launch
The scheme, known as the Hustler Fund, was launched by President William Ruto on Wednesday and has already disbursed over 400m shillings ($3.3m; £2.7m) to borrowers.
Local media reports that the minister for co-operatives as citing an uptake of the loans, with up to 600 transactions per second, hours after the launch – which eased later.
Borrowers are able to access the money by dialling a USSD code or using an application on their mobile phones.
The loans start from between $4 and $408 for individual borrowers. Loans for groups and small enterprises will be launched at a later date.
Borrowers are expected to repay the loan within 14 days, and an annual interest of 8% calculated per day will be charged.

The Federal Executive Council has approved a new National Language Policy making the various mother tongues compulsory medium of instruction from primary one to six.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, noted that the policy takes immediate effect.
He stated that the government is aware that its implementation will be difficult but it is necessary to promote the cultivation and use of all Nigerian languages.
He revealed that 29 languages have become extinct, leaving the country with 625 languages.
Adamu says even though the policy has officially taken effect, it can only be fully implemented when government develops instructional materials and qualified teachers are available.

The Power generation, distribution, and transmission companies, gas suppliers, and consumers, among others, will conduct electricity transactions through an automated energy trading platform in 2023.
The government says the platform would facilitate an automated and transparent marketplace and would serve as a system for the consummation of bilateral contracts for energy using standard template contracts.
Managing Director, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Nnaemeka Ewelukwa stated that the platform would also serve as a spot market for real-time energy trading as the market developed further.

Nigeria's free trade zones attracted over $46.6 billion in investment into the nation’s economy.
Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Adesoji Adesugba, says trade zones being regulated by NEPZA attracted over $30 billion in investments since the inception of the scheme in 1992, while Kaura put the investments attracted by OGFZA since 1996 at $16.6 billion.
He says that the global business model was meeting its objective of fast-tracking economic growth and industrialization.
He says the decision of the Federal Government to key into this concept has remained legendary as the model has become a key driver of the nation’s economy.

The National Boundary Commission and its Benin Republic counterpart, have embarked on a joint campaign towards cementing the bond between both countries, prior to colonial rule.
The Director-General of NBC, Mr. Adamu Adaji, and issued by the Head of Information Unit, Mrs. Efe Ovuakporie, says socio-cultural activities such as sports were featured as part of its efforts to promote peaceful co-existence between the dwellers along the boundary of the two countries.
Adaji noted that the lack of a clear-cut demarcation of the boundary between the two countries had contributed to the issues of claims and counterclaims by border communities.
He enjoined the communities to continue to play pivotal roles in ensuring the welfare and protection of the border residents.

Controversial measures which would have forced big technology platforms to take down legal but harmful material have been axed from the Online Safety Bill.
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan denied weakening laws protecting social media users and said adults would have more control over what they saw online.
The bill - which aims to police the internet - is intended to become law in the UK before next summer.
The bill previously included a section that required the largest, highest-risk platforms" to tackle some legal but harmful material accessed by adults.
Tech giants are told to introduce a system allowing users more control to filter out harmful content they do not want to see.

The troubled crypto firm BlockFi has filed for bankruptcy in the US, as the dramatic collapse of FTX continues to reverberate across the industry.
The company had already halted most activity on its platform, citing significant exposure to FTX.
BlockFi says it was seeking court protection to restructure, settle its debts and recover money for investors.
BlockFi received a rescue deal from FTX earlier this year as the values of cryptocurrencies plunged.