Business Drive

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has joined several others in calling for the temporary halt of Artificial Intelligence experimentation. An Open Letter,” 1,332 signatories, including Musk, and Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak, called on AI labs to pause the training of advanced AI systems for at least six months. The letter sounded a note of warning regarding the possible costs of the continued creation of “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence The signatories raised the alarm that AI systems were currently poised to automate human jobs, flood information channels with untruths, and ultimately replace the human race.

Britain’s Charles III will address the German parliament on Thursday, becoming the first monarch to do so, on the occasion of his inaugural state visit as king. Germany marks the first trip abroad for Charles since ascending the throne and is being interpreted as a “strong gesture” to build post-Brexit ties with the continent. Arriving for his three-day trip on Wednesday, he and Queen Consort Camilla were greeted with military honours at the Brandenburg Gate, the first time the iconic site had lent the backdrop for such a ceremony. The two countries’ joint support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia’s unprovoked aggression epitomised their commitment to “protecting and advancing shared democratic values.

The United States has announced hikes in fees for certain Non-Immigrant Visa application processing fees. The increment, published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2023, will be effective from May 30, 2023. The US government in the document says, “The fee for B-1/B-2 visitor visas, Border Crossing Cards for Mexican citizens aged 15 and above, and student and exchange visitor visas will increase from $160 to $185. Also, the fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205. It says the NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing NIV services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of such services.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has appointed a new defence minister replacing Angelina Teny, who he sacked earlier this month. The appointment of Gen Chol Thon Balok has announced in a presidential decree read on the national broadcaster, the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), on Wednesday night. Gen Thon is from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) of President Salva KiirMs Teny is from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) of First Vice-President, Riek Machar.

The President of the National Institute of Credit Administration, Mr Andy Ojei, has announced the inauguration of committees set up by the governing council of the institute. A statement said that during the inauguration event in Lagos, the president thanked its members for accepting to serve the institute voluntarily, honourably, and consciously through the various committees.The committees are the education, training and research committee, membership and subscription committee, publication and events committees, government, and corporate relations committees.According to him, the committees are key to the successful operation of the National Institute of Credit Administration.

The Federal Government began an online registration of medical laboratories in Nigeria to enhance service delivery. Dr Tosan Erhabor, the Registrar of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria made this known in Abuja at a meeting with stakeholders and the agency’s consultants on automation led by Prof. Effiong Akpan of the University of Calabar. He called on stakeholders to avail themselves of the great opportunities offered by the new framework to enhance service delivery. Erhabor said that the registration would scale up efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, speed of service delivery, as well as data collation and management.

Dangote Industries has completed its listing of the firm’s N200bn series 1 and 2 Bonds on Nigerian Exchange Limited. The Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Olakunle Alake, speaking at the closing-gong ceremony to commemorate the listing of the bond held at the Exchange on Wednesday, expressed delight after the listing. Alake, who was represented by the Group’s Chief Finance Officer, Mustapha Ibrahim further noted that the listing of the bond recorded participation from a wide range of investors including domestic pension funds, asset managers and insurance companies and further demonstrates investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s credit reality. The listing is the largest aggregate local currency bond issued in the capital market so far, within the year.

Utah has become the first US state to require social media firms get parental consent for children to use their apps and verify users are at least 18. The governor says he signed the two sweeping measures to protect young people in the state. The bills will give parents full access to their children's online accounts, including posts and private messages. The move comes amidst heightened concern over the impact of social media on children's mental health. The bills also impose a social media curfew that blocks children's access between 22:30 and 06:30, unless adjusted by their parents.

The US and Canada have reached a deal to reject asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings, officials say. US President Joe Biden and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau will announce the pact on Friday during Mr Biden's visit to Ottawa. The accord is expected to allow officials on both sides of the border to turn back such asylum seekers heading in either direction. Canada will create a new refugee programme for 15,000 migrants fleeing persecution and violence in South and Central America.

Kenya’s interior ministry is proposing changes to security laws that will make it more difficult for people to hold protests. The constitution gives Kenyans the right to assemble, demonstrate and picket, but the participants must be peaceful and unarmed. The changes proposed by the ministry seek to limit the number of people holding protests on any occasion and make protesters pay the costs of cleaning up. Protesters must also seek consent from the people affected by the protests.The demonstrators will also be liable for paying damages to those harmed by their activities. The interior ministry also seeks the demarcation of areas where people can assemble and hold protests.

A Ugandan MP who voted in favour of a bill that targets homosexual people has told the BBC that if the US withdrew funding in protest it would amount to modern genocide. The US government says there could be repercussions should the measure be signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni. MP Charles Ayume says that Uganda's sovereignty should be respected. He added that there were things he objected to in the US, but he did not want to interfere in the politics of that country. Dr Ayume says that in backing the measure, he was representing the views of his constituents.

A court in Kenya's capital Nairobi has barred Meta, Facebook's parent company, from laying off its content moderators pending the determination of a lawsuit that is challenging their planned dismissal. The labour court also barred Meta and its outsourcing firm, Sama, from hiring other moderators to replace the sacked ones. The lawsuit was filed by 43 Facebook moderators in Kenya, hired by Sama on behalf of Meta. They allege that the redundancy exercise being undertaken was unlawful.

The International Monetary Fund says that subsidies, tax incentives, infrastructure development and protective regulations will help fast-track the growth of industries in Nigeria and other emerging market economies. The Washington-based lender noted that when implementing industrial policy as part of their growth strategy, countries were often faced with competing objectives, such as securing sustainable economic growth, maintaining financial and fiscal stability, and establishing national champions. The report says establishing national champions was often a distinct objective of a nation’s growth strategy.

The Federal Executive Council has approved over four billion nairas for the construction of barracks to accommodate the personnel of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami says the project became necessary because of the unprecedented threats and attacks on personnel, officers, men and other ranks of the agency. He says the need has arisen for the Federal Government to consider the possibility of security measures that will now provide the prerequisite protection to the officers and men of the agency for commission.

The French government has narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence, which was triggered when it forced through an increase in the pension age to 64. It sparked new anti-government protests in Paris, where 101 people were arrested after stand-offs with police. The vote, tabled by centrist MPs, had 278 votes in favour, falling short of the 287 votes needed.

China's anti-fraud watchdog has accused chip tycoon Zhao Weiguo of corruption, in the latest sign of trouble faced by the country's semiconductor industry. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection alleges that Mr Zhao took the state-owned company he managed as his private fiefdom. The regulator says he handed profitable businesses to his relatives and friends and purchased goods and services from companies managed by his associates at prices significantly higher than the market.

Ethiopia's government has rejected a statement by the US alleging that members of its forces, along with Eritrean and Amhara forces, committed war crimes during the two-year war. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the US statement selective and inflammatory saying The partisan and divisive approach from the US is ill-advised. It says that it was untimely, coming shortly after Ethiopia launched a national consultation on transitional justice policy aiming to bring peace and reconciliation. It says the US statement would be used to advance highly polarised campaigns pitting one community against others in the country.

The Chief Economist at the Economic Commission for Africa, Hanan Morsy, says Africa currently accounts for more than half of the World’s poor 54. 8 per cent. Morsy says the continent faced a tsunami of global shocks that have exacerbated existing socioeconomic operations and equity. Africa, as a result of these shocks, currently accounts for more than half of the world’s poor at 54.8 per cent. Morsy says the situation was further exacerbated by existing inequalities, noting that even in times of high economic growth in Africa, the rate of inequality still rose. She explained that several recommendations, both domestic and international, had been put in place to help tackle this.

President Vladimir Putin says that deepening ties between Russia and Africa was a key goal for the Kremlin, as Moscow seeks to expand its influence on the continent. He added that Russia would continue supplying the continent with grain if Moscow exits a landmark agreement with Ukraine to allow exports from the country’s Black Sea ports. Putin’s comments come as Moscow is seeking deeper political, economic and military ties in Africa and Asia as Russia becomes increasingly isolated on the international stage over the conflict in Ukraine.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 18. per cent. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, says the committee voted to keep the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR. The governor stated the slight increase is to mitigate the effect of inflation and other economic issues. He says the MPC committee voted to raise the MPR by 50 basis points to 18 per cent, and retain the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -500 basis points around the MPR.