Newscast - Africa

Former US president Donald Trump sued CNN accusing the cable television news network of defamation and seeking $475 million in punitive damages.
Trump, in the lawsuit filed in a US District Court in Florida, accused CNN of waging a campaign of libel and slander” against him because it fears he will run for president again in 2024.
Trump’s lawyers say CNN has sought to use its massive influence purportedly as a trusted news source to defame the plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically.
Trump, who requested a jury trial, had a caustic relationship with CNN and other major news outlets like The New York Times during his presidency, branding them “fake news” and repeatedly raging against them on social media.

A Kenyan court has given a community in northern Kenya 60 days to lodge compensation claims over a fire that destroyed thousands of acres of land during a military training exercise by the British army in March last year.
A lawyer representing the British Army Training Unit Kenya says a liaison committee formed by the Kenyan and UK governments will be publishing the compensation process later this week.
The petitioners say the fire caused an environmental disaster.
Lawyer Kevin Kubai representing more than 1,000 members of the community confirmed receiving the claim forms from those affected and he plans to submit them next week.

South Sudan's health officials are testing samples from five people to see if they have contracted the Ebola virus.
The suspected cases were detected in three regional states bordering neighbouring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Uganda is currently dealing with an outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever. Forty-three cases have been confirmed and nine deaths have been recorded.
Mabior Kiir, the head of planning and information at the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre says that one suspected case was detected in Eastern Equatoria state’s Nimule town on the border with Uganda.

Kenya has authorised the cultivation and importation of genetically modified crops and animal feeds, ending a decade-long ban that had been imposed due to health fears.
It comes as the country is experiencing a devastating drought. The worst drought in 40 years has left millions facing hunger.
President William Ruto's government has turned to genetically modified crops as a way of helping boost yields.
It says the country needs seeds that are resistant to drought, pests, and diseases.
It was clearly an unpopular decision with America, which is home to major producers of genetically engineered seeds.

A former Chief of Army Staff, General Abdurrahman Dambazau says insurgency has gone beyond being a threat to Nigeria as it now affects about 15 countries in West Africa including the Benin Republic.
He says the insecurity has become a regional issue because it is an issue that has engulfed the whole of the Lake Chad Basin region and it is an issue that also has connection with the Sahel region as a whole.
He, however, says the countries have now joined the fight against terrorism through the Multinational Joint Task Force established by the Nigerian Government to checkmate trans-border security challenges.

The Federal Government is set to re-open the Trans Niger Pipeline that transports about 180,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The pipeline was shut down six months ago due to vandalism and theft at the oil export facility.
The pipeline also serves as part of the country’s gas liquids evacuation infrastructure, which is vital for domestic power generation and the export of liquefied gas.
The Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti, says his team visited the people of Bodo Community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, which was part of efforts to re-open the TNP.
Wunti says this was part of the company’s continuous journey to re-strengthen its trust with one of the communities where NAPIMS and its partners were conducting business.
He says NAPIMS was able to achieve this because of the support and commitment of the leadership of NNPC, noting that the national oil firm had continued to focus on strengthening partnerships with communities, operating partners, states and relevant stakeholders.

The federal government has announced plans to revitalize Nigeria’s textile industry with the introduction of Bt Cotton, noting that the move would create massive employment, particularly for Nigerian farmers in the country.
The Director-General, National Agricultural Biotechnology Development Agency, Abdullahi Mustapha, stated that the federal government determined to solve the challenge, has introduced commercialized Bt cotton in Nigeria, maintaining that the initiative is already been accepted by farmers.
The Country Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology, Dr. Rose Gidado, says the workshop was designed to keep farmers and stakeholders abreast with new trends in the cotton industry.
Gidado also noted that there was a need to collect the experiences of farmers who already adopted the Bt cotton, so as to know how to help them achieve better results in the production of cotton.

The Biden administration has announced a new round of sanctions against Iran, vowing to impose financial penalties on a regular basis in an effort to severely restrict Iranian oil and petrochemical exports.
The measures announced target several firms and front companies based in China, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and India that the United States accuses of involvement in the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.
The administration of US President Joe Biden also explicitly linked the sanctions to the failure to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Treasury Department official Brian Nelson says the United States is committed to severely restricting Iran’s illicit oil and petrochemical sales.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the independence of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson as Russia prepares to formally proclaim the annexation of Ukrainian territory in a major escalation of its seven-month invasion.
The two regions are set to be incorporated into Russia along with the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk at a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday after hastily-organized referendums in the Russian-occupied regions, which claimed majorities of up to 99 percent in favor of joining Russia.
Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk in February.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in New York City that Russia’s annexation would violate the United Nations Charter and had no legal value.

The US says it seems Russia is to blame for this week's leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says an investigation was being carried out into the cause of what she called an act of sabotage.
Russia has dismissed suggestions that it was to blame.
It said suggestions it had damaged the pipelines were stupid and absurd.
President Putin described the damage as unprecedented sabotage, in fact, an act of international terrorism during a phone call with Turkey's President Erdogan, according to the Kremlin, which added Russia plans to bring it up for "urgent discussion" at the UN Security Council.