Newscast - Africa

The United States says it stood firmly behind Lithuania and NATO commitments to defend it after Russia warned its neighbour over restrictions on rail transit.
State Department spokesman Ned Price says their commitment to NATO’s Article Five on the part of the United States is ironclad
Lithuania says that it would restrict the rail transit of goods sanctioned by the EU into Kaliningrad, an isolated Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland.
Russia warned that it would certainly respond to the hostile actions.

Germany’s economy minister says the country will limit the use of natural gas for electricity production amid concerns about possible shortages caused by a cut in supplies from Russia.
The move comes after Russia sharply reduced flows of natural gas in its pipelines to western Europe, driving up energy prices.
Robert Habeck says to reduce gas consumption, less gas must be used to generate electricity. Coal-fired power plants will have to be used more instead.
Russian state gas giant Gazprom says the supply reductions via the Nord Stream pipeline are the result of repair work, but European Union officials believe Moscow is punishing allies of Ukraine, where Russian forces launched an invasion in February

Telecoms regulator says mobile operators in Belgium have bid 1.2 billion euros for fifth-generation mobile licences.
The regulator says proceeds from the auction, which attracted bids from five operators, were 468.5 million euros higher than the minimum price.
The Belgian regulator cleared the five entrants to the auction in March, after the government said it would encourage a new entrant on the market to increase competition with the largest operators Proximus, Orange Belgium and Telenet’s BASE.

The government of Canada announced that it will ban the manufacturing and import of a number of harmful single-use plastics, with several new regulations coming into place in December.
The new rules will apply to checkout bags, utensils, food-service products with plastic that is difficult to recycle, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws with some exceptions.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the government is all in when it comes to reducing plastic pollution.
The government will also ban the export of six plastics by the end of 2025.

Imports from China's Xinjiang region are due to be banned in the US from Tuesday as new rules come into force.
Under the regulations, firms will have to prove imports from the region are not produced using forced labour.
US lawmakers say the law sends a clear message that they will no longer remain complicit in the Chinese Communist Party's use of slave labour and egregious crimes against humanity.

The European Union added three Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist commanders in West Africa to its terrorist sanctions blacklist for attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso.
The new asset freezes and visa bans target Sidan Ag-Hitta and Salem ould Breihmatt, senior commanders within the UN-listed Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin in Mali, as well as its Burkinabe branch Ansarul Islam and its leader Jafar Dicko.
The EU says the sanctioned group and individuals are responsible for several terrorist attacks, including against civilians, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali and defence and security forces in Burkina Faso.

East African heads of state have called for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the several rebel groups fighting in its eastern region.
The leaders also directed that rebel groups relinquish all territory they hold and that peace negotiations be intensified.
The meeting also condemned recent incidents of hate speech and attacks on certain ethnicities in DR Congo, allegedly sparked by accusations from DR Congo that Rwanda is supporting the M23 rebels.

The Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Dr Ayo Teriba, has faulted the decision of the federal government to borrow to fund its recurrent expenditure, stressing that such a decision flagrantly violates Section 41 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.
He urged the federal government to adopt a cost-effective approach to generating revenues by issuing asset-backed debt and not revenue-based debt.
He argued that not only that borrowing to pay salaries or generally for recurrent expenditure is against the law, but it is also not sustainable as it may lead to a debt trap which could quickly spiral out of control.

Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission from ending the voter registration on 30 June 2022.
Justice Olajueom granted an order of interim injunction following the hearing of an argument on motion exparte by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project.
The commission is further asking the court for an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to extend voter registration by a minimum of three months and take effective measures to ensure that eligible Nigerians are able to register to exercise their right to vote in the 2023 general elections.

The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has pledged to sustain partnership with security agencies in the state to ensure improved security of lives and property of citizens of the state.
The governor says the ban on motorcycles in the Benin metropolis is still in force.
The review came after a joint security meeting with representatives of various security agencies in the state.