Newscast - Africa

The Defence Ministry in Pyongyang says that Washington and hostile forces had spread a rumor of arms dealings aimed at tarnishing North Korea’s image.
A senior official at the ministry’s equipment bureau says they have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says that the U.S. had no evidence that any sales had actually taken place.
Military experts believe that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, probably as a result of sanctions and export controls.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says Tehran has a strong will to resolve issues regarding an agreement on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal fairly if the Iranian nation’s interests are guaranteed.
The Iranian presidency, Raisi says Iran accepted an agreement in 2015 in good faith and with a solid intention, but the United States was breaking its promise and imposing sanctions, the most unprecedented sanctions in history.
He says Iran’s negotiation logic is adherence to commitments

A Kenyan court is due to hear submissions in a case where a former Facebook content moderator has sued the American social media giant's parent company, Meta, over alleged poor working conditions.
The petition filed against a local outsourcing firm, Samasource Kenya EPZ, also known as Sama, alleges that staff moderating content on Facebook are subjected to unfavorable working conditions such as poor pay, inadequate mental health support, and violations of privacy and dignity.
The court will determine if Meta can be tried in Kenya since the 12 petitioners were working for a third-party firm that it was using for moderation services.
Meta made an application in June seeking to have the case thrown out, arguing that the court had no jurisdiction to determine it - since the company is not based in Kenya.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema says he will push for the scrapping of a controversial law that criminalizes insulting the president.
It follows an outcry from rights groups who say about a dozen people, including opposition activists, have been arrested and charged for breaking the law during President Hichilema’s first year in office.
Mr. Hichilema pledged a break from the past when he took office last year. His successes included halving inflation, receiving a billion-dollar IMF bailout, and introducing lower taxes and free education.
Critics however say despite an election promise to do so, the government has been slow to abolish the colonial-era insult law often used to silence critics.

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group said it has rescheduled its 28th summit adding that the summit scheduled to take place in October had been shifted to November.
The group said it made the difficult decision to reschedule the summit after close consultations with key stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.
It attributed the postponement to unforeseen circumstances regretting the inconveniences the rescheduling might cause all stakeholders preparing for the summit.

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, has set aside a consent judgment in favor of Panic Alert Security Systems Limited against the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Justice Tsoho held that the said consent judgment was entered without jurisdiction in its entirety.
The company is one of the beneficiaries of the payment of $418 million to consultants and is said to be for payment for professional services in the Paris Club refund to State Governments. \
The state governors had accused the Attorney-general of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, of alleged involvement in the controversial payment
By the ruling, all approvals by the AGF, the president, the minister of finance, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Debt Management Office (DMO) arising from, related to, or concerning Panic Alert’s claims have been voided.

Three agencies of the Federal Government, alongside the Ministry of Environment in Rivers State, are currently making efforts to address a gas leak incident on the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company’s Well 6, in Sangama community, Bonny Local Government Area in Rivers.
The Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, says that the NUPRC, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, Rivers State Ministry of Environment as well as community representatives and the Nigerian Police Force were working to deal with the leak.
Komolafe, says the NUPRC has been notified of a gas leak incident on NPDC’s Well 6, in Sangama community, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The NUPRC boss stated that during the joint visit, the team observed a gas leak from one of the valves on the wellhead.
He, however, stated that the community did not agree with the regulators and as a result, would not sign the joint investigation report in spite of the technical explanation by the team.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai, has faulted the power sector privatization, saying that Nigeria has lost nearly 15 years of energy sector investment.
He says clear roadmaps for structural reforms set up by the Obasanjo government in the electrical, power, and oil and gas sectors were protracted or abandoned by his immediate successors.
El Rufai, says investments in power generation and transmission infrastructure that were initiated by the Obasanjo government were either put on hold between 2007 and 2010 or largely dumped.
The Kaduna state governor also says the first version of the electricity industry bill initiated by him was not put into law.

The Federal Government through its National Agricultural Seeds Council has commenced moves to make Nigeria a full member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in order to boost the country’s export of seeds.
The Director-General, NASC, Dr. Philip Ojo, said Nigeria’s seeds would be sold globally with ease once the country attained the status of an OECD membership, noting that this would halt all forms of seed dumping in Nigeria.
Ojo stated the professionals from OECD would assess Nigeria’s facilities after the workshop and expressed optimism that the country would scale through.

Tunisia’s president issued an electoral law reducing but not ending the role of political parties in a reformed parliament that will have fewer powers under a constitution passed in July.
Under the new law, voters will choose candidates in the December 17 election individually rather than by selecting a single party list – a switch that will weaken the influence of parties.
President Kais Saied says they are passing through a new stage in the history of Tunisia towards the sovereignty of the people after previous sham elections.
He says political parties were not being excluded and such accusations constituted lies and fabrications.