1. FG slashes JAMB, NECO, Basic education exams’fees
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the downward review of Examination registration fees for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Senior Secondary and Basic Education Certificate.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed this at the end of the Council’s meeting which was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the minister, the JAMB fee for the UTME has been reduced from N5,000 to N3,500, the Senior Secondary School fee charge by NECO is now N9,850 as against N11,350 while the Basic Education certificate by NECO is reduced from N5,500 to N4,000.
2. Kenya gay rugby player 'granted bail'
A gay rugby player from Kenya, who is facing deportation from the UK, has been granted bail, the Press Association reports.
Bristol Bisons team member Kenneth Macharia is being held in an immigration removal centre near Heathrow Airport in London.
More than 96,000 people have so far signed a petition to stop him from being deported and to grant him asylum in the UK.
The 38-year-old rugby player, who has lived in the UK since 2009, appeared on Wednesday before an immigration tribunal via video link, wearing a black and pink Bristol Bisons RFC T-shirt, PA says.
The agency quotes Judge Edward Woodcraft as saying: "The fact I have released you on bail is not an indication that you will forever more be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom."
Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya and punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
3. Plastic bottles 'a mistake' at anti-plastic summit
The organisers of the Blue Economy conference that has just closed in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, told the BBC the event had been a great success, but admitted they had made a mistake by allowing single-use plastic at the venue.
Ambassador Macharia Kamau said banning bottled water at the conference would have been a chance to lead the way in the fight against plastic pollution, and that it had been an oversight.
The BBC's Mayeni Jones at the conference said Norway and Canada committed hundreds of millions of dollars to improving maritime safety, protecting sea life and reducing ocean pollution.
Small island states, including Antiga and the Bahamas, pledged to ban plastic utensils and bags within the next two years.
4. Africa's ex-football bosses fined $27.9m
Issa Hayatou, the former Confederation of African Football (Caf) president, and Hicham El Amrani, Caf's former secretary general, have been fined $27.9m (£21.8m) each by the Egyptian Economic Court (EEC).
The EEC ruled that the pair flouted Egyptian law when signing a $1bn deal between Caf and French media company Lagardere in 2015.
The deal was not open to free and fair tender as required by Egyptian law, the EEC said.
Hayatou, who presided over Caf from 1988 to 2017, and El Amrani, who also left his position last year, will both appeal.
5. Nigerian media launch anti-fake news site
As part of measures to fight fake news ahead of Nigeria’s election in February, a new website called CrossCheck Nigeria has been launched.
It will allow journalists from newsrooms around the country to work together to investigate and debunk rumours, particularly those circulating on social media.
The public will be able to provide tips, post pictures, videos and other information via WhatsApp or the CrossCheck Nigeria website that they want verified.
Completed investigations will appear on the site only when at least five partners have approved the work, says the AFP news agency, which is participating in the project.
About 46 journalists from 15 media organisations have attended a two-day "boot camp" in Lagos organised by the backers of the project First Draft News, a British non-profit group, and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Nigeria’s Tribune paper reports.