The Federal Government on Monday said it had positioned enforcement teams within and outside airport terminals to enforce all safety protocols against the spread of COVID-19 at airports.

It said the protocols had been approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and were in accordance with the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

The Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Rabiu Yadudu, disclosed this at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International, Abuja.

Yadudu spoke when members of the House of Representatives Committee on aviation visited the NAIA to examine the guidelines ahead of commercial flight resumption on Wednesday.

He said a lot has been done a lot in the past few weeks. The protocols have already been established and approved by the NCAA and are in accordance with the guidelines of the NCDC as set out at the national level.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Government has decided to write off 60 per cent of the N7bn owed by radio and television stations in licensing and renewal fees.

The government has also slashed the existing licence fee by 30 per cent for all open terrestrial radio and television services with effect from July 10.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed these at a press conference he addressed with the acting Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, in Abuja on Monday.

Mohammed however said for any debtor station to benefit from the 60 per cent debt relief, it must be ready to pay the 40 per cent balance within the next three months.

He said the debt relief offer would open on July 10 and close on October 6, 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The valuation of Asian shares surged to a 10-1/2-year high in June, tracking a rally in global stocks, as upbeat U.S. and China data renewed hopes of a swift economic recovery, offsetting concerns over rising coronavirus cases.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares gained 4.83% last month, topping the MSCI’s World index’s. 3.03% gains.

The index’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio rose to 15.62 at the end of June, compared with 14.34 a month earlier. This was the index’s highest forward P/E ratio since December 2009, according to Refinitiv-Eikon data.

Benchmark equity indexes in India, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan, gained more than 6% each last month.

New Zealand, India and Malaysia shares were the most expensive in the region, with P/E ratios of 30.7, 19.3 and 17.4, respectively.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology firm Fujitsu has said it will halve its office space in Japan as it adapts to the new normal of the coronavirus pandemic.

It said the Work Life Shift programme will offer unprecedented flexibility to its 80,000 workers in the country.

Staff will be able to work flexible hours, and working from home will be standard wherever possible.

The announcement follows a similar move in May by social media platform Twitter.

In a statement sent to the BBC, Fujitsu said it will introduce a new way of working that promises a more empowering, productive, and creative experience for employees that will boost innovation and deliver new value to its customers and society.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government has received a report into Huawei that is likely to change its policy over the Chinese firm's role in the UK's telecoms networks.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre had delivered its findings, and officials were now examining them before advising the prime minister.

NCSC is believed to have said it can no longer assure the security of Huawei's products because of new US sanctions, Huawei said it was open to discussions.

One of the company's spokesmen however took a tougher line over the weekend, following newspaper reports that the government might ban the purchase of new Huawei 5G equipment by the end of the year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lloyds Banking Group chief executive António Horta-Osório will step down next year after spending a decade at the helm.

Mr Horta-Osório said he had "mixed emotions" about the decision, which the bank said would see him leave the role by the end of June 2021.

Lloyds also appointed industry veteran Robin Budenberg as new chairman.

Last year, Lord Blackwell said he would retire as Lloyds chairman during 2020.

Lloyds in a statement said that the 12-month timeframe for the appointment of a replacement chief executive would allow a smooth transition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South African petrochemicals giant Sasol Ltd on Sunday said it has opted to give up its licence to explore for gas off the Mozambique coast, the company said on Sunday.

The firm in a statement said Sasol will return Block 16/19 in its entirety to the Government of Mozambique. To this end, a withdrawal notification has already been sent to the relevant Mozambican authorities.

Sasol was awarded the research licence in 2005. It is still exploring for gas onshore in the fields of Pande and Temane, in the northern province of Inhambane.

Sasol, the world’s top producer of motor fuel from coal, is trying to shed assets to pay off its debt pile and avoid a rights issue of up to $2 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Africa’s rand gained early on Monday, as the dollar was dragged down by a steady rise of coronavirus infections in the United States.

At 0630 GMT, the rand was up 0.66% at 16.9425 per dollar after closing at 17.0500 on Friday.

Trading in the Asian session saw a return of risk appetite after last week’s narrow ranges, with demand growing for the rand and other emerging-market currencies.

Rising coronavirus infections in the United States have discouraged some investors from taking big positions in the currency market, but most remain focused on the growing likelihood that major economies will continue to recover.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state planning agency on Sunday said Morocco’s economy is expected to contract by 13.8% in the second quarter under the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

It said the economy was expected to shrink by a further 4.6% year-on-year in the third quarter as restrictive measures are loosened.

It said the economy grew 0.1% in the first three months of this year. Both domestic and foreign demand are expected to improve in the third quarter after taking a hit in the previous three months.

The central bank forecasts economic growth at -5.2% in 2020 against +2.5% last year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chief executive of Kenya Airways in an internal memo seen by Reuters said Kenya Airways will lay off an unspecified number of workers, reduce its network and also get rid of some assets due to the coronavirus crisis.

The coronavirus crisis has hit the global aviation industry hard, with African carriers alone expected to lose $6 billion this year in revenue.

Allan Kilavuka wrote in the memo dated July 3 that their short and medium-term projections indicate that they must inevitably reduce their operations before they begin to scale up again adding that the exercise will be completed by Sept. 30.

The carrier, in which Air France-KLM holds a small stake, was struggling long before the outbreak, posting 2019 losses of almost 13 billion shillings ($122.2 million).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices