Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said coronavirus lockdown rules are set to be scrapped in seven weeks’ time, as he hailed the U.K.’s successful vaccine rollout ahead of key elections this week. On the campaign trail, Johnson said the pandemic data was likely to allow people in England to stay overnight with friends or relations, with indoor hospitality able to reopen from May 17. Remaining social distancing rules are also likely…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Bill and Melinda Gates, who for decades have overseen one of history’s greatest fortunes and philanthropic operations, said they plan to divorce. The announcement Monday that the couple is splitting after 27 years of marriage has the power to ripple through the technology industry, a vast portfolio of business and real estate holdings and into the realms of global health, climate change policy and social issues including equality for…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been forced to deny he broke the law, as a series of rows from lobbying to what the opposition has dubbed “sleaze” threaten to engulf his government. The Electoral Commission opened a probe into whether funding arrangements for the refurbishment of his apartment breached election legislation last year. The inquiry could last months. With more claims likely to emerge from disillusioned former aide Dominic Cummings…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — A deadly wave of the coronavirus pandemic such as that ravaging India could yet happen in Africa and with even worse consequences, according to the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. “The situation in India shows we as a continent can’t put our guard down,” John Nkengasong told an online webinar on Thursday. “If what is going on in India unfolds in Africa it will overwhelm our…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry has approached AstraZeneca Plc about acquiring the rights to manufacture the U.K. company’s vaccine locally, a move that could boost supplies and speed up the inoculation program in the country. The West African nation has to date received 966,850 doses of the inoculations from sources including the Covax initiative, which aims to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 shots, and has been allocated about 1.4 million more….

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, warned the gap in access to Covid-19 vaccines threatens the global recovery from the pandemic as India and Brazil face a virus resurgence. The Swiss firm pledged more than 6 million francs ($6.6 million) to accelerate the delivery of shots to under-served communities around the world and partnered with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The World Health…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Former Prime Minister David Cameron helped Lex Greensill lobby the Bank of England to make as much as 20 billion pounds ($28 billion) of funding available to companies as part of the financier’s campaign to get access to the government’s coronavirus assistance programs. As Cameron made “persistent” calls to Treasury officials as the firm sought to get access to financing from the Bank of England, he also contacted officials…