16 MAR 2022 · The UN human rights chief condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of a record 81 people in a single day and urged the kingdom to stop using the death penalty. Michelle Bachelet says war crimes may have been committed if people were beheaded following court cases that do not offer proper fair trial guarantees. Saudi Arabia earlier said it had executed a record 81 people in one day for terrorism-related offences, exceeding the total number killed in the whole of 2021 and sparking criticism from rights activists. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says that among those beheaded, 41 belonged to the Shiite minority, and had taken part in anti-government protests in 2011-2012.

16 MAR 2022 · The EU adopted new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, with diplomats saying the oligarch Roman Abramovich was among the individuals listed. The EU presidency tweeted that the ambassadors of the bloc’s 27 member nations approved the fourth package of sanctions, hitting individuals and companies implicated in the assault on Ukraine. It says their names were to be made public in a quick publication of the EU’s Official Journal legally announcing all the European Union’s decisions adding that the sanctions were worked out in concert with Western partners.

16 MAR 2022 · Digital and mobile app money lenders in Kenya have been given until the end of September to either apply for an operating licence or cease operations. The Central Bank of Kenya Governor Peter Njoroge says regulations governing the lenders will be gazetted later this month, meaning all the apps will be regulated by the government. He says they are guilty of predatory behaviour, high-interest rates and customer harassment for those who failed to pay the loans on time. The government has since early 2020 blocked digital lenders from listing defaulters with Credit Reference Bureaus - saying the companies had abused the system.

16 MAR 2022 · Mozambique's governmnet says the country must reduce its reliance on imported cereals warning that current wheat and fertiliser shortages may result in price rises. Agricultural Minister Celso Correia says by 2030 Mozambique plans to produce all of its own rice. It is one of several African nations reliant on wheat imports from Ukraine, now struggling as European nation enters its third week of conflict with Russian invaders.

16 MAR 2022 · The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari says Aviation jet A1 fuel is to be sold at N500 within the next three days to prevent airlines from shutting down. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Wase, says the meeting was in continuation of the investigation over the scarcity and high cost of aviation fuel, which has led to an increase in air fares. Mr Kyari says a better pricing mechanism is to be put in place within the next three days to arrive at an acceptable price. He added that airline operators will be granted license to import aviation fuel

16 MAR 2022 · FIFA has made minor changes to the list of match officials for this month’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 playoff clash between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Black Stars of Ghana. They will compete in a two-leg fixture that will confirm who picks one of Africa’s five slots at this year’s FIFA World Cup finals, first in Cape Coast on Friday, 25th March, and the return leg in Abuja on Tuesday, 29th March. Moroccans Rédouane Jiyed (referee), Lahsen Azgaou (assistant referee 1), Mostafa Akarkad (assistant referee 2), and Samir Guezzaz (fourth official) are retained for the first leg duel in Cape Coast, but Mandu Humphrey of Uganda has now replaced South African David Junse Van Vuuren as a security officer.

16 MAR 2022 · The Senate has rescinded its decision on the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Bill 2022. The House took the decision during plenary on Tuesday and subsequently sent the bill to its Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters and Anti-Corruption for more legislative work. Senate Leader Yahaya Abdullahi explained that the re-amendment of the bill became imperative in view of the amendment that was made to Clause 74 which placed the burden of proof on the investigating agencies but not on the defendant as recommended by the Joint Committee in its report. He says these concerns are fundamental issues which requires fresh legislation.

16 MAR 2022 · Nigeria’s consumer price index has increased to 15.70 per cent for the month of February. The National Bureau of Statistics in a report state that this is 1.63 per cent points lower compared to the rate recorded in February 2021per cent, indicative that the headline inflation rate slowed down in February when compared to the same month in the previous year. There were increases in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index. On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased to 1.63 per cent in February 2022, this is a 0.16 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in January 2022 per cent.

15 MAR 2022 · France lifted most COVID-19 restrictions abolishing the need to wear face masks in most settings and allowing people who aren’t vaccinated back into restaurants, sports arenas and other venues. The move had been announced earlier this month by the French government based on assessments of the improving situation in hospitals and following weeks of a steady decline in infections. People in France are no longer required to show proof of vaccination to use interregional transport or to enter places like restaurants, bars, cinemas, theatres and fairs.

15 MAR 2022 · The Philippines confronts Beijing’s ambassador after a Chinese navy ship was caught illegally lingering in the Southeast Asian nation’s waters, in the latest diplomatic row between the two countries. Manila and Beijing are locked in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost its entirety, but the Philippines’ foreign ministry said the Chinese vessel entered its archipelagic waters without permission. The vessel claimed it was exercising innocent passage as it reached the Cuyo islands off Palawan and Apo island off Mindoro. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade pass annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.