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India’s capital under siege from COVID-19

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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India’s capital New Delhi recorded 25,500 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, with about one in three people tested returning a positive result, its chief minister said.

Less than 100 critical care beds were available in the city of more than 20 million people, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday, as social media was flooded with people complaining about lack of beds, oxygen cylinders and drugs.

“The bigger worry is that in last 24 hours positivity rate has increased to around 30% from 24% … The cases are rising very rapidly. The beds are filling fast,” Kejriwal told a news briefing.

In a separate statement, the city government said it had informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal administration about “the dire need of beds and oxygen” and beds were now being set up in schools.

New Delhi, which has imposed a weekend curfew, is among the worst hit cities in India, where a second major wave of coronavirus infections is straining health infrastructure.

Nationwide, India reported 261,500 new cases on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.8 million, second only to the United States, which has reported more than 31 million infections.

The country’s deaths from COVID-19 rose by a record 1,501 to reach a total of 177,150.

As cases rise across India, criticism is mounting over how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has handled the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies attended by thousands continue.

India’s government relaxed almost all lockdown curbs of last year by the beginning of 2021, although some regions including New Delhi and the state of Maharashtra, home to financial hub Mumbai, have introduced localised restrictions.

While Mumbai remains under curfew on all days as per state guidelines, New Delhi has allowed cinema halls to operate at 30% capacity and people to move freely during weekdays.

Amid reports of severe shortage of oxygen supplies and critical medicines such as the anti-viral drug Remdesivir, Modi on Saturday asked authorities to pull out all the stops to ramp up production of COVID-19 vaccines and asked his teams to work closely with local governments.

But opposition parties, including the Congress party, criticised Modi for addressing large election rallies to help his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the state assembly election in the eastern state of West Bengal.

Amit Shah, the government’s interior minister and Modi’s close aide, addressed an election rally in the state on Sunday which was attended by thousands of people, few of whom followed social distancing norms, according to a video on his Twitter account.

Adding to the crisis, at least five coronavirus patients died in a hospital fire late on Saturday in Raipur, the capital of the central state of Chhattisgarh.

Reuters

SEC sets April 30, deadline for CMOs licence renewal

Hauwa Abubakar Anaja
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The Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), has given Capital Market Operators, April 30, 2021, as deadline to renew their operation licences.

Director General of SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda said while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the first virtual quarter Capital Market Committee meeting licence renewals will now be periodical.

He explained that the “rationale for this is to ensure that operators in the market are fit and proper at all times and to strengthen the supervision and monitoring activities of the Commission. The renewal process is electronic and the deadline for 2021 renewal is 30th April, 2021”.

Yuguda therefore advised all registered CMOs to “refrain from providing any form of support to unregistered entities operating unlawfully within our market, as such action would not be condoned. Furthermore, we urge CMOs to improve on their level of compliance, timeliness and correctness of disclosures and other filings made to the Commission”.

He addd that at April 8, 2021, there were still 4,012,311 accounts with incomplete know your customers, KYC, information, reminding CMOs to update their KYC information

“This exercise is critical to deepening the participation of retail investors and we direct all CMOs to accord it the highest level of priority”, he stressed.

He also stated that the Nigerian Stock Exchange has concluded the Demutualization process.

“As a result of this, the Organisation would now be known as the Nigeria Exchange, NGX, Group Plc. While NGX has informed us that a formal launch of the Group would be made at the end of April, we used the platform of the meeting to congratulate the new management of the Group. The Shares of NGX Plc have also been admitted on the NASD platform for trading.

“As part of measures to support the development of the commodities ecosystem, the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) revalidated its 59.9% holding in the Nigerian Commodities Exchange (NCX) to ensure its appropriate positioning for effectiveness. This addressed the funding problem plaguing the NCX and several engagements are ongoing with relevant authorities to promote trading on the Exchange”.

 

 

Vanguard/Hauwa Abu

 

 

 

 

 

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits southern Iran

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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A magnitude 5.9 earthquake has struck Iran’s southern province of Bushehr, where a nuclear power plant is located, but there were no immediate reports of considerable damage.

At least five people were injured, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. The epicentre of the earthquake on Sunday was the town of Rig.

Hospitals in nearby cities and provinces were put on alert with rescue teams and 50 ambulances sent to the area, a regional official told state TV.

Electricity and landline telephone and internet in the regional city of Gonaveh were cut off “and people are taking to the streets for fear of earthquakes”, semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.

An Iranian government official told Reuters news agency there were no reports of damage at the Bushehr nuclear complex, situated on Iran’s Gulf coast.

The earthquake was centred 100km (60 miles) away from the plant and was relatively shallow – only 10km (6 miles) deep, according to Iranian media which also reported nine aftershocks and posted pictures that showed collapsed mud-brick walls in some villages.

Two people were injured in Gonaveh and were being taken to hospital, state media quoted the head of the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Saeed Kashmiri, as saying.

Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.

In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam.

Aljazeera

EU to discuss alleged Russian link to 2014 blast in Czech

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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The Czech Republic said on Sunday it had informed NATO and European Union allies about suspected Russian involvement in a 2014 ammunition depot explosion and the matter would be addressed at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday.

The central European country expelled 18 Russian embassy staff on Saturday over the issue and said investigations had linked Russian intelligence to the explosion, which killed two people.

Responding to the expulsions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova told Russian media on Saturday: “Prague is well aware of what follows these types of games.”

Russia’s Interfax news agency cited Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house’s international affairs committee, as saying Prague’s assertions were absurd and Russia’s response should be proportionate.

The expulsions and allegations by the Czechs have triggered its biggest dispute with Russia since the 1989 end of Communist rule, when Prague was under Moscow’s domination for decades.

The incident comes amid Western concern over a huge Russian military build-up on Russia’s Western borders and in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, following an increase in fighting between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine.

On Sunday, the EU’s executive commission confirmed remarks by acting Czech Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek on Twitter that the dispute with Russia would be addressed during a previously scheduled EU foreign ministers’ video conference on Monday.

Separately, Czech police said they were searching for two men in connection with serious criminal activity who were carrying Russian passports in the names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, and that the men were in the country in the days leading up to the 2014 explosion.

Those were the aliases used by two Russian military intelligence (GRU) officers who British prosecutors charged with the attempted poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury in 2018. Moscow denied involvement in that incident.

The United States and Britain said they stood in solidarity with the Czech Republic in the dispute with Russia.

British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said on Twitter the Czechs “have exposed the lengths that the GRU will go to in their attempts to conduct dangerous and malign operations,” referring to Russia’s military intelligence agency.

The U.S. Embassy in Prague said in a statement on Saturday that Washington appreciated the Czech Republic’s “significant action to impose costs on Russia for its dangerous actions on Czech soil”.

The United States imposed sanctions against Russia on Thursday for interfering in last year’s U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions, prompting Moscow to retaliate.

Last month U.S. President Joe Biden said he thought his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was a “killer” and Moscow recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations.

Reuters

US, China agree to tackle climate change crisis

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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China and the United States, the world’s two biggest carbon polluters, have agreed to cooperate with other countries to fight climate change.

The joint statement on Sunday followed two days of talks between Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart, John Kerry, in Shanghai.

“The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands,” their statement said.

The two countries will also continue to discuss “concrete actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions aimed at keeping the Paris Agreement-aligned temperature limit within reach”, it said.

In the Paris accord, countries agreed in 2015 to keep rising global temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

China and the US are the world’s top carbon polluters, pumping out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet’s atmosphere.

Their cooperation is key to the success of global efforts to curb climate change, but frayed ties over human rights, trade and China’s territorial claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea have been threatening to undermine such efforts.

Kerry’s trip to Shanghai marked the highest-level travel to China by a US official since President Joe Biden took office in January.

Biden, who has said fighting global warming is among his highest priorities, had the US rejoin the Paris climate accord in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the withdrawal ordered by his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Biden has also invited 40 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to a virtual summit to discuss the issue on April 22 and 23.

The US and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions before or during the meeting, along with pledging financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations.

When Kerry was still in Shanghai, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng signalled on Friday that China is unlikely to make any new pledges at next week’s summit.

“For a big country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered,” Le said during an interview with The Associated Press news agency in Beijing. “Some countries are asking China to achieve the goals earlier. I am afraid this is not very realistic.”

On whether Xi would join the summit, Le said, “The Chinese side is actively studying the matter.

During a video meeting with German and French leaders on Friday, Xi said climate change “should not become a geopolitical chip, a target for attacking other countries or an excuse for trade barriers”, though he called for closer cooperation on the issue, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xi pledged last year that China would achieve “carbon neutrality by 2060” and ensure its greenhouse gas emissions peak before 2030.

The top emitters of greenhouse gases are also preparing for the next United Nations climate summit taking place in Glasgow, United Kingdom, in November. The summit aims to relaunch global efforts to keep rising global temperatures to below 1.5C as agreed in the Paris accord.

According to the US-China statement, both Washington and Beijing “intend to develop” their respective long-term strategies to achieve carbon neutrality by the Glasgow meeting.

Other moves in the near term include boosting “international investment and finance” to support the transition to green energy in developing countries, as well as phasing out production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, gases used in refrigeration, air conditioners and aerosols.

Longer-term actions that need to be taken to keep the temperature goals of the Paris accord “within reach” include reducing emissions from industry and power generation while stepping up renewable energy, clean transportation and climate-resistant agriculture.

Aljazeera

Elections: Cape Verdeans move to the polls

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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Cape Verdeans headed to the polls to cast their ballots in the parliamentary elections..

Six parties are running for election in a vote where the prime minister has executive power. 

Among them Incumbent Prime Minister Correia e Silva, who is bidding for a second term with his centre-right Movement for Democracy (MpD) party.

“We will not develop or finance programs to manage poverty. On the other hand, we will do everything we can for people to escape poverty thanks to jobs, production and income so that they can be independent and autonomous,” Correia e Silva said

Meanwhile, Janira Hopffer Almada is hoping to make history as the first female head of government with her socialist PAICV party.

“I think that Cape Verdeans have a very clear notion that, more important than being a woman or a man, is having someone with the will to work to improve the country,” Almada said.

“I have always said that this fight is not a fight between men and women, it is a fight for Cape Verde, for love of Cape Verde, to build the land here that we all dream of.”

Both candidates have campaigned on measures to provide wide access to vaccination and to diversify the economy away from tourism.

Tourists, drawn to Cape Verde’s gentle hospitality, year-round warmth and turquoise seas, account for a full quarter of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

After growth of 4.5 percent in 2018 and 5.7 percent in 2019, the former Portuguese colony suffered a record slump last year — a retraction of 14.8 percent.

The West African Island nation is a bastion of stability.

After a campaign marked by festive rallies, where candidates danced to music the outcome Sunday is more than likely to be accepted serenely.

Provisional results are expected overnight on Sunday.

Suzan O/AFN

Dangote Sugar Factory to create over 150,000 jobs

Hauwa Abubakar Anaja
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The President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said close to $500m have been expended on the Dangote Sugar Refinery in Tunga, Awe Local Government of Nasarawa State, North central Nigeria, with the project expected to generate 90 megawatts of electricity, as well as provide direct employment for thousands of Nigerians.

Alhaji Dangote said this when he led the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as well as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adebayo, on a tour of the facility.

According to him, when the project fully takes off, the Dangote sugar refinery will produce ethanol, power, animal feed and provide thousands of direct employment, as well as 150, 000 indirect employment.

He added that with excess power generated, Nasarawa State will no longer have power issues, as the refinery will sell power to the state.

Dangote explained that with the first investment on the 60000 hectares farm already costing his company $480 to $500m, it is conceived that the project has the prospect of growing up to one-third of the country’s sugar consumption, which is almost half a million tonnes.

He however said the project will require the support of the CBN and banks, to make the refinery a reality.

“That is why you see everybody here. Stakeholders are here, the governor is here, the minister, the CBN governor that will support us, and he has been supporting us, to make sure that this becomes a reality,” he said.

“You can see here, we have cleared quite a lot of land. Here we have the seed cane, we have done most of the infrastructure”.

“I am sure when you come back next year, you will see the massive transformation here. In two years, you will see production. With sugar, you will do it in phases. Right now, by next year, we have 60000 hectares, by the time we plant, the factory would have been ready and then we start feeding the factory, ”  the Dangote Group president said.

 

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, CEO, Dangote Industries Ltd.

 

Backward Integration

Dangote thanked the Federal government for its sugar master plan, which he said, is encouraging the group to venture into backward integration for sugar, thereby stabilising the naira and generating employment.

He thanked Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, for his continuous support for the project.

“This project is only possible when you have a governor who is looking for the development of his people. Because you have to have the community support, you have to have the governor’s support, he has to own the project as his baby.

“Otherwise, you are bound to have a problem with the community once in a while. But when you have a governor who is interested in the development of his people, it’s very easy to do so,” Dangote noted.

Speaking shortly after undertaking a tour of the farm, the CBN Governor, Mr. Emefiele, restated the apex bank’s support for the project, as it will give credence to the backward integration program of the federal government.

He decried a situation where the government spends close to between 600 to one billion dollars importing sugar into the country.

The CBN boss commended Governor Sule for providing the land for the project, describing the governor as a visionary leader who is thinking about the development of his state.

“Because by the time this factory kicks off, it will create jobs for his people. It will increase the revenue of his state and it’s going to help improve the economic viability of Nasarawa State among other states in this country,” Mr. Emefiele stated

Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otumba Adebayo, pledged that the federal government will continue to give every single support to see to the realization of the project, in a bid to make the country self-sufficient in sugar.

Commenting also, Nasarawa State Governor, appreciated Alhaji Dangote for bringing the sugar refinery project to the state.

According to the governor, the state government is more interested in the development that has come to the state, stressing that revenue will come only when the project itself begins to generate revenue.

 

 

Hauwa Abu

SEC, CBN to review Crypto, Digital Banking Regulations

Hauwa Abubakar Anaja
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The Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), is “in discussion with the CBN towards better understanding and better regulations for the digital currency market.”

Director General of SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda stated this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the first quarter Capital Market Committee meeting held virtually.

“We would be able to come back at some point later to tell of the result of our engagement but because of the lack access to commercial banking accounts, we have to suspend our circular of September 2020. “The implementation of that circular is suspended until these operators are able to have access to Nigerian banking accounts”, he added.

Speaking on the controversy over restriction placed on trading in digital currencies and other digital assets, the DG said the lack of access to commercial banking accounts as a result of ban imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria means the market no longer exists.

According to him, “the Commission recognises the impact of FinTechs on capital market activities, and wishes to assure the public that we remain accommodative of this development. We shall continue to engage players and support them to cooperate lawfully. Our aim is to ensure the delivery of safe products and services without stifling innovation, I therefore encourage FinTech firms to approach the Commission for due registration and desist from operating illegally”.

Giving details during questions and answers, he said:

“In the area of crypto assets, you know that with the recent prohibition by the CBN of access to Nigerian banking accounts by the crypto exchanges, that market has been disrupted.

“The truth of the matter is that while the SEC has issued guidelines in September 2020 aimed at regulating this market, for now, for all intent and purposes because these exchanges do not have access to commercial banking accounts in Nigeria, the market now does not exist. “

 

Vanuard/Hauwa Abu

 

 

Potential for Unrest in Somalia – Lawmakers

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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Potential for unrest in Somalia, warns opposition lawmakers after the police chief was fired for opposing a move by President Mohamed to extend his term.

On Saturday, military soldiers guarded the former police chief Sadaq Omar Hassan.

The rift could see forces turn on each other and create an opportunity for the al Shabaab insurgency to exploit.

“We have been advising them to drop their guns for the last 20 years. It is the beginning of war tonight,” said Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow, Somali Senator.

“But we urge the government not to force people to take up guns against them. Otherwise, fighting is inevitable.”

The country has been in the grips of civil war since 1991 and is trying to rebuild with international help.

Somalia has accused some of its foreign backers of undermining its sovereignty after the embattled government was threatened with sanctions over a decision to extend its mandate by two years.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Wednesday signed into law a “special resolution” extending his time in office, despite his term expiring in February, and repeat warnings that such a move would not be supported by western powers.

It followed a total collapse in UN-backed talks between the central government in Mogadishu and two of Somalia’s semi-autonomous states over how to proceed with delayed elections in the fragile nation.

Key foreign allies and financial supporters have rebuked the decision in strong terms.

They say the mandate extension threatens peace and stability in Somalia and distracts from its fight against the Al-Shabaab Islamist group.

The United States, a key partner in the war on terror, and the European Union has warned of sanctions and other penalties should talks toward elections between the feuding parties not urgently resume.

“While we appreciate the concerns of our friends and international partners for Somalia’s stability and security, it is regrettable to witness champions of democratic principles falling short of supporting the aspirations of the Somali people to exercise their democratic rights,” Somalia’s foreign ministry said in a statement issued late Wednesday,

“Inflammatory statements laden with threats, which undermine the political independence and sovereign rights of national institutions, will only serve to embolden terrorist organizations and anti-peace elements in Somalia.”

It said the government stood by the lower house of parliament in its decision to approve the mandate extension, declaring it lawful and necessary to pave the way for free and fair elections.

The government has promised a one-person, one-vote election within two years. Past administrations have made similar pledges but no such vote has been held in half a century in the Horn of Africa nation.

Suzan O/AFP

COVID-19 death toll tops 3 million worldwide

Mosunmola Ore
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The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people on Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France.

This was according to a report  compiled by Johns Hopkins University, lives lost is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.

And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.

MTO/Vanguard

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