Saudi Arabia, China Sign Strategic Deals Worth $30 Billion

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December 9, 2022

Saudi Arabia and China showcased deepening ties with a series of strategic deals on Thursday during a visit by President Xi Jinping, including one with tech giant Huawei.

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership agreement” with Xi. Agreements worth about $30 billion were being signed on Thursday, Saudi state media said.

Earlier on Thursday, Saudi state media announced 34 investment agreements in sectors including green hydrogen, information technology, transport and construction. State broadcaster Al Ekhbariya said another 20 agreements worth 110 billion riyals ($29.3 billion) were due to be signed.

XI and King Salman “agreed to hold a heads of state meeting between the two countries in turn every two years,” Chinese state media said.

A memorandum with China’s Huawei Technologies, on cloud computing and building high-tech complexes in Saudi cities, was agreed.

Huawei has participated in building 5G networks in most Middle Eastern countries.

WTO Report Shows Increase in Trade Restrictions On Food, Fertilizer

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Elizabeth Williams

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December 9, 2022

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The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General’s annual overview of developments in the international trading environment has shown that trade restrictions are increasing, particularly on food, feed and fertilizers, while the stockpile of import restrictions in force also continues to grow.

Speaking at her annual WTO Trade Monitoring Report presentation at a meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body, the Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on WTO members to refrain from adopting new trade-restrictive measures.

According to her, particularly export restrictions that can further contribute to a worsening of the global economic outlook, while urging them to cooperate to keep markets open and predictable in order to allow goods to move around the world to where they are needed.

“Members have increasingly implemented new trade restrictions, in particular on the export side, first in the context of the pandemic and more recently in the context of the war in Ukraine and the food security crisis. Although some of these export restrictions have been lifted, many others persist,” she said.

“Out of the 78 export restrictive measures on food, feed, and fertilizers introduced since the start of the war in late February, 57 are still in place, covering roughly $56.6 billion of trade. These numbers have increased since mid-October, which should be a cause for concern.

Cash Withdrawal Limits: Controversies Trail Deadline, CBN Says Subject To Review

By

Elizabeth Williams

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December 9, 2022

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In a bid to put Nigeria at the forefront of digital payment innovations in Africa and the world at large, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, insisted that contrary to speculations, the cashless policy was not targeted at anybody, adding that there was no going back on the policy.

The CBN governor also said the Apex bank would honour the invitation by the Senate to brief the lawmakers on its recent policy direction.

Emefiele, insisted that the apex bank’s policies were in the interest of Nigerians and the economy, in general, adding that it was, “just meant for the good and development of the Nigerian economy”. As he clarifies that the new cash withdrawal limits expected to be implemented from next month was not politically motivated, insisting that it was for the overall benefit of the economy.

He insisted that cash withdrawal limits is subject to review, the deadline of January 31st to deposit all old notes remains sacrosanct.

In addition, the CBN governor disclosed that deposit money banks were now in possession of the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes and would start to dispense them to customers, earlier than the December 15 timeline initially projected.

Emefiele disclosed this to journalists after a meeting he had with President Muhammadu Buhari in his hometown, in Daura, Katsina State.

This was as the president reiterated his firm support for the central bank’s Naira redesign project and well as the revised cashless policy which put a cap on the amount of physical currency that could be withdrawn at any particular time.

The CBN had on Tuesday introduced new cash withdrawal limits for banks and other financial institutions. The new policy followed its recent currency redesign project in which it had expressed concerns over the high volume of cash outside the banking system.

Under the new dispensation, the central bank among other limits, restricted the maximum cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by individuals and corporate organisations per week to N100,000 and N500,000 respectively.

Stakeholders urge Govt to Implement Family Planning Policies

By

Cleopatra Okohai

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December 9, 2022

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Stakeholders in healthcare services have tasked the government at all levels to implement family planning policies to improve its uptake in the country.

They made the call at a media roundtable held in Abuja, ahead of the 7th Nigeria Family Planning Conference coming up from December 12-16, 2022 with the theme ‘Journey to 2030: The opportunities ahead.’

The chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Family Planning and NFPC, Dr. Ejike Oji urged the government to implement policies made on family planning.

He said, “We are happy the government has launched the national policy and committed to including one per cent of the health budget into family planning from the federal to the sub-national level. We are also happy that the national population commission is going to have its census next year which will give us accurate and reliable data.

“But the government should take action on all the things. They should make sure we have a country where women and men can access qualitative family planning services to plan their families.

“They’ve said that family planning services should be free at all public health facilities and to make sure that the $4 million that they have agreed they will put on the table to support what donors are giving us. They should make sure that happens.”

Also, the Director of Population Management, National Population Commission, Ms. Margret Edison said the government needs to fund family planning services.

She said, “We need money. We need to fund commodities. We need to make the consumables available because you can have commodities but without the consumables, the women will say they don’t have needles and will never come back.

“We want to make sure all the Primary Health Centres owned by the government are well-funded in terms of commodities, consumables, and staff training needed to attend to the women. Family Planning is not just tablets or commodities, it’s beyond that. It has to do with counselling and services, so we need money to do that.

“We need to build the capacity of people who give the services. We’ve talked a lot at the national level, we also need the communities and the local government to get involved. We need to talk to the governors as the custodians of the state, the local government chairmen, traditional institutes.”

FCCPC Extends Deadline For Registration Of Digital Money Lenders

By

faith Jegede

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December 9, 2022

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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has extended the deadline for the registration of Digital Money Lenders (DMLs).

A statement by, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the commission in Abuja Babatunde Irukera said the deadline of 90 days expired on Nov. 14.

He said the commission considered that some DMLs were still in the process of their registration and extended the deadline to Jan. 31, 2023.

On Aug. 18 in furtherance of the collaboration of the Inter-Agency Joint Task Force, the FCCPC conducted enforcement actions in Lagos with respect to certain DMLs.

According to Irukera “In view of the desire to promote fair, transparent and beneficial alternative lending opportunities, the Joint Task Force (JTF) established a mutually adopted Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022.

“Subsequently, the commission commenced the registration of DMLs.

“By an Order and Notice of the Commission on Aug. 17, existing DMLs were required to comply in not later than 90 days to confirm their business is uninterrupted.

“The commission has also created a publicly accessible list of the DMLs that have been granted approvals/conditional approvals.”

The CEO said the list of DMLs granted approval would be updated regularly and could be accessed online

INEC Plans Voting Centers For Two Million IDPs

By

faith Jegede

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December 9, 2022

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Ahead of the 2023 elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission plans to set up voting centres for over two million Internally Displaced Persons across the country, to be sighted in IDP camps.

The Chairman, of the Board of Survey and Technical Committee on Equipment Acquisition, INEC, Mohammed Haruna, confirmed that the commission was working on setting up voting centres for the displaced persons to ensure that no one was disenfranchised in 2023.

Haruna explained that with the spread of insecurity across the country, INEC would conduct elections in IDP camps where they still exist, but would adopt a different approach for the internally displaced persons living in communities.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development indicate that many of the IDPs are living in Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Nasarawa and 23 other states.

A majority of them were displaced from their communities by either Boko Haram insurgents, armed herdsmen and bandits or natural disasters or other emergencies.

Although no official number has been given for the number of IDPs affected, about two million IDPs in camps and communities may fall into this category.

Haruna further explained that the issue of people voting in IDP camps is complicated. When insecurity was essentially restricted to the North-East ahead of the last general elections in 2019, it was easy to create IDPs camps. This time, however, many of the camps in the North-East and the few elsewhere have closed and most displaced persons have dispersed inside communities away from where they registered.

‘’Besides, insecurity has now spread nationwide. We will conduct elections in IDP camps where they still exist. But for the internally displaced persons living in communities, we need a different approach. We will do our best to see that no one is disenfranchised.’’

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, had disclosed then that voting modalities were established for 930,000 IDPs in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, FCT, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe states.

“These displacements are the result of insurgency, farmers/herders’ clashes, land disputes, banditry, natural disasters and other emergencies.

“It is estimated that there are around 930,000 IDPs in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, FCT, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe. INEC has classified the IDPs by location, surveyed their voter registration status and designed a special voting regime and procedure for them,” Okoye said.

Officials of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development confirmed on Monday that about 3.2m IDPs are in the country. This includes children and infants. According to analysts, eligible voters among the number may not be less than two million IDPs.

Abu Dhabi Energy Giants Complete Landmark Deal To Acquire Stakes In Masdar

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 8, 2022

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Abu Dhabi’s energy giants have completed a transaction that will see them consolidate their renewable energy and green hydrogen efforts into a single global clean energy powerhouse under the Masdar brand.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., known as TAQA; Mubadala Investment Co. and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have become shareholders in Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. or Masdar – Abu Dhabi’s flagship clean energy company.

TAQA will head up Masdar’s renewable business with a 43 percent shareholding, with Mubadala retaining 33 percent and ADNOC holding 24 percent, the companies announced in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Thursday.

The deal comes in alignment with the UAE’s plans to invest 600 billion dirhams ($163 billion) by 2050 in renewable and clean energy capacity and achieve net-zero emissions in the next three decades.

Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, CEO of ADNOC and chairman of Masdar said: “As the founding CEO of Masdar, I am excited to see Abu Dhabi’s energy leaders coming together to take Masdar to the next level. The Masdar clean energy powerhouse will unlock a new chapter of growth, development, and opportunity for renewable energy and green hydrogen projects, both in the UAE and worldwide.”

In the filing, the companies said Masdar has an ambitious target of at least 100-gigawatt renewable energy capacity and the production of up to 1 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030, with aspirations to grow its renewable energy portfolio to more than 200GW.

The filing said as part of the deal, TAQA, which paid $1.02 billion in cash for its stake, will offer to contribute its ownership interests in future Abu Dhabi renewable power projects to Masdar.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, chairman of TAQA said: Over the next decade, Masdar will rapidly expand its renewable energy and green hydrogen investments to accelerate decarbonization.”

Last year, he said TAQA committed to a renewable energy share of 30 percent of its total power generation capacity by 2030. “Our stake in Masdar is a key part of delivering on this target, while supporting the UAE’s ambition to cut greenhouse gas emissions and be a driving force in the global energy transition.”

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s primary sustainable urban development, will continue to remain under Mubadala’s ownership as the sole shareholder.

Masdar was established by Mubadala in 2006 to lead the UAE’s role in the global energy sector and drive the country’s climate action agenda.

It is active in over 40 countries and has developed and invested in global projects with a combined value of $20 billion.

Lebanon Fails To Elect President For 9th Time

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 8, 2022

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Lebanon’s divided parliament failed to elect a new president Thursday for a ninth time, despite the damage the political deadlock is doing to efforts to bail out its bankrupt economy.

Moawad’s candidacy is opposed by Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah called last month for a president ready to stand up to Washington.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri reiterated calls for dialogue among lawmakers to find a consensus candidate to prevent the process dragging on for months.

Aoun’s election in 2016 followed a more than two-year vacancy at the presidential palace as lawmakers made 45 failed attempts to elect a president before reaching a consensus on his candidacy.

By convention, Lebanon’s presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.

A cabinet meeting exacerbated divisions between Hezbollah and its main Christian ally the FPM, which says the caretaker government should not meet until a new president has been named.

Lebanon can ill afford a prolonged power vacuum as it grapples with a financial crisis dubbed by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history, with a currency in free fall, severe electricity shortages and soaring poverty rates.

The country’s caretaker government has limited powers and cannot enact the sweeping reforms demanded by international lenders to release billions of dollars in bailout loans.

Parliament will convene for a 10th attempt to elect a president on December 15.

Throwback Thursday – German-US Friendship Treaty Signed

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 8, 2022

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December 8, 1923 – The Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Consular Relations between Germany and the United States of America was an agreement for the improvement of relations between the US and German governments, signed in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 1923.

The US Senate advised and consented to ratify on February 10, 1925. Ratifications were exchanged in Washington on October 14, 1925, and the treaty became effective on the same day.

It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on August 3, 1926

Exploring Freedom Monument, Macedonia

By

Angel Gimalo

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December 8, 2022

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The Freedom Monument, also known as Memorial Complex Freedom, is an artistic memorial that is located on the Lokubija hilltop overlooking the city of Kochani, which is in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia.

The monument represents the struggle of, firstly the people from Kochani, but also the struggle of the Macedonians from the Ilinden Uprising up to the Second World War, which is shown through one of the biggest and most interesting mosaics in the region.

Designed by the Macedonian painter and sculptor, Gligor Chemerski, together with some construction design carried out by Radovan Ragjenovik, the Freedom Monument was conceived as an idea in 1979 when the Assembly of the city of Kochani, assisted from the then Yugoslavian Government began with the plans of the construction.

As there were not many funds at that time which would support the building of the memorial, it was up to the people from Kochani who gathered the necessary means to build this impressive artistic masterpiece.

Even though the construction work was finished by the end of 1970s, the monument was unveiled on 28 November 1981, a date which was chosen since it was only a day before the anniversary of the forming of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The memorial is a large complex of irregularly shaped open wall constructions on which the famous mosaics are applied, and all of them are converging around a central amphitheater.

The alluring mosaics cover an area of about 335 square meters (3,606 square feet) and all of them are showing the historic struggle of the Macedonians for their freedom. There are also the names of the fighters from the city and the surrounding area engraved on the monument.

Proclaimed as a Monument of Culture of Macedonia, it is inscribed on the list of the National Conservation Center, however, with the gained independence of the country, the monument has fallen into a state of disrepair and neglect. There are some parts that have been damaged, while significant part of the monument is covered in graffiti.

Even the calls for restoration, there were also a couple of unsuccessful attempts to raise funds, it seems like the people in the city are not so interested in the preservation of this unique monument, and whether if some organization will attempt to restore it, is not just a question, but it will be more like a miracle too.