Newscast - Africa

Central African countries including Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo-Brazzaville have signed a deal to boost the energy supply in the region through the building of an oil and gas pipeline network.
There will be three gas pipelines measuring around 6,500 km.
Most of the countries that have signed up have oil reserves but do not have sufficient refining capacity, and have been struggling with energy supply after the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
The plan will also include at least three refineries and power plants fired by gas linking 11 countries.

Egypt's media regulatory body says that it will require streaming platforms to abide by certain regulations in a bid to make them adhere to societal values and traditions.
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation says it would also require Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming platforms to apply for licences to be able to operate in the country.
The statement noted that subscriptions to streaming platforms in Egypt had witnessed unprecedented and huge increases without providing specific figures.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, says nutrition-specific budget estimates are likely to be included in the 2023 Appropriation Bill even as efforts by the Federal Government to tackle malnutrition and its attendant challenges are beginning to take shape.
Prof. Osinbajo says they are at a point where we can move the needle, especially with the creation of nutrition departments in line ministries and ensuring that we get nutrition on the budget line and it is actually done correctly.

The Federal Government has dragged the Academic Staff Union of Universities to the National Industrial Court over the union’s ongoing strike which is in its seventh month.
The Head of Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, says the Federal Government took the decision after dialogue between it and ASUU failed.
The government wants the National Industrial Court to order ASUU members to resume work, while the issues in dispute are being addressed by the court.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been named leader of the governing Conservative Party, taking power as Britain’s next prime minister at a time when the country faces a cost-of-living crisis, industrial unrest and a recession.
Johnson was forced to announce his resignation in July after months of scandal and he will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday to officially tender his resignation.
He urged his ruling Conservative party to put aside their differences to tackle the energy crisis that looks set to dominate Truss’s immediate future.

Russia has warned that it will not resume gas supplies along a key pipeline to Europe until sanctions are lifted.
Moscow has blamed Western countries for its decision not to reopen the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after it was shut for three days for maintenance.
Europe has accused Russia of using gas supplies to blackmail European countries because of the Ukraine conflict.

Irish regulators have fined Instagram €405m for violating children's privacy.
The long-running complaint concerned children's data - particularly their phone numbers and email addresses.
Instagram's owner, Meta, says it planned to appeal against the decision. It is the third fine handed to the company by the regulator.
Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner says they adopted the final decision and it does contain a fine of €405m.

Tesla founder, Elon Musk says the world must continue to extract oil and gas in order to sustain civilisation, while also developing sustainable sources of energy.
The position of the world’s richest man aligns with that of Nigeria, which has always held the view that the world cannot jettison fossil fuels overnight with the high energy poverty on the continent.
He says Global leaders need to be reminded that for billions, the day does not start by switching on a light, opening a refrigerator or turning the ignition on a car.

The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Mozambique's publicly-owned ports and rail company, Miguel Matabele, has announced the introduction of an express train to South Africa and Eswatini, to facilitate the mobility of people and goods.
Mozambican Prime Minister, Adriano Maleiane, welcomed the initiative since the project will contribute to solving the transport problems in the country.
He praised CFM for its very strong contribution.

The Gambia Government announced that filling stations across the country have resumed selling fuel with immediate effect after hours of meetings and intense negotiations with Oil Marketing Companies.
The Gambia Government under President Adama Barrow will continue to preside over this crucial sector of our economy with the right policies and actions including regular consultations with stakeholders.