Newscast - Africa

South Africa's prison service says it will challenge a court decision that sent former president Jacob Zuma back to jail.
The Department of Correctional Services says having carefully studied the judgment, Correctional Services is convinced that another court may arrive at a different conclusion.
The Supreme Court of Appeal had on Monday ordered Mr. Zuma to return to prison after upholding an earlier ruling that his medical parole had been unlawful.
The 80-year-old was given a 15-month sentence last year for contempt of court over his refusal to testify during an investigation into corruption.

African leaders have declared a cessation of hostilities to start on Friday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where M23 rebels have been making substantial gains in recent months.
The statement was signed at the end of a mini-summit in Angola's capital, Luanda, attended by the Rwandan foreign minister and the presidents of DR Congo, Angola, and Burundi.
The signatories agreed an East African regional force would attack M23 positions if the rebels did not withdraw immediately from occupied areas.
The US has welcomed the roadmap outlined in the Luanda summit and urged Rwanda to end its support to the M23.

The Federal Government has called on the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and other stakeholders to synergize with the Nigerian Customs Service to achieve 15, 000 monthly scanners’ capacity.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, urged the management of the Nigeria Customs Service to collaborate with contractors of the scanners for easy maintenance.
Ahmed says that the newly commissioned scanners had the capacity to detect prohibited imports concealed in cargoes, adding that the scanners would also help to boost the revenue of the service.

The Appellate Court in Abuja has upheld the conviction of Faisal, the son of Abdulrasheed Maina, for conspiracy and money laundering.
Maina, the former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, is serving an eight-year jail term at Kuje Prison in Abuja for pension fraud to the tune of N2 billion and his son has been named an accomplice.
In the judgment by Justice Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu, the court held that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja was right to have convicted Faisal.

The British High Commission, says it was committed to a successful general election in 2023 because the world would be watching Nigeria.
The BHC says the execution of the 2023 election would be a significant milestone for Nigeria while admitting that worsening economic crisis and security challenges would be potential threats to the election,
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says the commission was mobilizing every national institution to track campaign financing and combat the illicit flow of funds.
The Convener of NCSSR, Ene Obi, says the forum would critically assess the current political environment and make recommendations and suggestions in the preparations and conduct of the 2023 general elections.

The Nigerian parliament has passed a bill seeking to establish a bank that can grant loans to students in higher institutions of learning - which include universities and colleges.
The sponsor of the bill and speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says that the Nigerian Education Bank will offer interest-free loans to higher education students in Nigeria.
If signed into law, it is expected to enable students get more financial support from the government. The bill says the bank shall have the powers to approve and disburse the loan to qualified applicants.
It will also monitor the students’ loan account/fund and ensure compliance in respect of disbursement.
The loan beneficiaries are expected to start paying back the loan as soon as they gain employment, upon completion of their studies and mandatory national service.

President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the re-designed Naira Notes as proposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele debunked insinuations suggesting that the early unveiling of the new notes is a means to target some Nigerians.
Mr. Emefiele appealed to members of the public, urging them to desist from making such speculation, adding that there is no need to perpetuate any such information.
He says the CBN will intensify the monitoring process and interrogate the process of withdrawals.
The president appealed to Nigerians and urged them to embrace the new policy to re-design the naira.

The Federal Government says it has made a recovery of one billion dollars since the inception of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in May 2015 till date.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami noted that the recovered assets, deployed to various sectors of the economy particularly to address poverty alleviation, have made a huge impact on poverty levels and the nation's economy.
He declared that the Council has given approval for an anti-corruption strategy document to strengthen the anti-graft fight in the country.
The AGF expressed the Federal government’s worry over recurrent cases of budget padding, asserting that necessary measures would be explored to tackle it.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has warned of escalation and violence after emergency talks between Kosovo and Serbia failed to resolve their long-running dispute over car license plates used by the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo.
The EU’s high representative, Josep Borrell, invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to Brussels for emergency talks on Monday.
Borrell says that there is an important responsibility on the sides of both leaders for the failure of the talks today and for any escalation and violence that might occur on the ground in the following days.
Serbs in the northern part of the country have resisted, sometimes violently, but Kosovo has said it will start issuing fines from Tuesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the UK will not pursue any post-Brexit relationship with the EU that relies on alignment with EU laws.
It follows reports that some in government want to move towards a Swiss-style deal, with less trading friction and more migration.
Mr. Sunak told business leaders that control of migration was one of the immediate benefits of Brexit.
He argued that the UK was now able to have proper control of its borders.
He says the UK was free to pursue trade deals with the world's fastest-growing economies.