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CNN To Layoff 200 Staff Amid Attempts To Modernise Business

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US news network CNN will shed six percent of staff, some 200 people, the outlet said Thursday as it embarks on a major shakeup of staffing and programing amid a deluge of political news.

The broadcaster, which said overall employee headcount could remain stable with new roles created, follows other outlets restructuring amid the return of Donald Trump to the White House on Monday.

Some of today’s announcements mean significant new job opportunities at CNN, but others will lead to the loss of some valued colleagues,” CNN chief executive Mark Thompson told staff in a memo.

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Yes, there are job-losses — around 6 percent of the current CNN workforce will be impacted — but we don’t expect total headcount to fall much this year, if at all,” he added.

READ ALSO: CNN Reporter Protests Nigeria’s $215 Single Entry Visa Fee

“That’s because of the $70 million we’re investing in our digital plans and the many new jobs it will pay for.”

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It is unclear if the restructuring will follow the pattern of some other legacy media outlets where seasoned reporters and editors on higher salaries are cleared out to make way for younger, cheaper staff for digital projects.

In November the storied Associated Press news agency said it would slash almost eight percent of jobs as the US-based wire battles client cancellations and economic headwinds.

Last July CNN announced the elimination of around 100 posts, at the same time as the creation of a paid digital offering on its website to complement existing output.

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READ ALSO: MDCN Inducts 25 Graduating Medical Doctors In Bauchi

Thompson also announced on Thursday the future launch of a new paid streaming product, without giving details.

CNN previously launched a streaming service in 2022, CNN+, but it was shut down with little fanfare after a month amid a complex multi-billion-dollar merger between legacy media titans WarnerMedia and Discovery.

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The channel, emblematic of declining cable TV viewership, has also suffered from stiff competition.

Long overtaken by conservative favorite Fox News, which aired an exclusive interview with Trump on Wednesday, CNN has also been overtaken by MSNBC, which has positioned itself as a vanguard of opposition and criticism to Trump and his Republicans.

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Netanyahu’s Plane Takes Unusual Route To UN Summit

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane took an unusual route to New York on Thursday, skirting several European countries en route to the United Nations General Assembly.

Although France had authorised Israeli use of its airspace, according to a French diplomatic source who spoke to AFP, flight-tracking data showed Netanyahu’s aircraft instead took a southern path.

It crossed Greece and Italy, then veered south through the Strait of Gibraltar before heading across the Atlantic.

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READ ALSO:Netanyahu Has Become ‘A Problem’, Says Danish PM

Britain, France and Portugal were among a string of countries to recognise a Palestinian state this week, a move Netanyahu bitterly opposes. Ireland and Spain announced their recognition in May.

Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that the detour by Netanyahu’s plane was intended to avoid countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, which could enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in case of an emergency landing.

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The ICC in November issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

READ ALSO:Fresh World Trouble Looms As Netanyahu Tells Western Leaders ‘There Will Be No Palestinian State’

Spain last week announced it would support the ICC investigation and had set up a team to probe alleged human rights violations in Gaza, as part of its broader push to pressure Israel to end the war.

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Netanyahu is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday. He is also slated to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next week.

AFP

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Japan Scraps ‘Africa Hometown’ Project After Visa Confusion

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The Japan International Cooperation Agency has cancelled its ‘JICA Africa Hometown’ initiative, citing “misunderstandings and confusion” over the programme.

JICA announced the withdrawal in a statement on its website on Thursday, weeks after reports claimed Japan would create a special visa category for Nigerians who wished to relocate to Kisarazu, a city designated as “hometown” to Nigerians and other Africans under the scheme.

On August 26, the Japanese government denied the visa plan after the Director of Information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, issued a statement relaying that Japan would introduce a “special visa category” for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu to live and work.

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Clarifying its position, JICA said the use of the term “hometown” and the idea of “designating” Japanese municipalities as such led to “misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities.”

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The statement read, “Originally, under this initiative, it was envisioned that exchange programs would be coordinated and implemented among the Japanese local governments, relevant African countries, and JICA. The specific details were to be determined later.

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“However, JICA believes that the very nature of this initiative—namely, the term “hometown” and the fact that JICA would ‘designate’ Japanese local Governments as “hometowns”—led to misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities. JICA sincerely apologizes to the municipalities involved for causing such situation.

“JICA takes this situation seriously. After consulting with all parties involved, JICA has decided to withdraw the “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative.”

The initiative was launched in August during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development with the goal of promoting exchanges between four Japanese municipalities and four African countries through cultural and educational programmes.

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READ ALSO:Japan City Mulls Two-hour Daily Smartphone Limit

JICA, however, stressed that it had never undertaken initiatives to promote immigration and has “no plans to do so in the future,” adding that it would continue supporting other forms of international exchange.

In August, confusion arose after the State House announced that Japan had designated Kisarazu city as the “hometown” for Nigerians and would introduce a special visa category for young, skilled Nigerians wishing to live and work there.

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However, the Japanese government quickly dismissed the claim.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan clarified that while the JICA Africa Hometown initiative aimed to promote cultural and developmental exchanges between selected African countries and four Japanese cities, it did not involve immigration benefits or special visas.

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The clarification came after Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Japan, Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, and Kisarazu’s Mayor, Yoshikuni Watanabe, publicly received a certificate naming the city the “hometown” of Nigerians, further fuelling reports of migration opportunities.

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17 African Countries Back Electricity Reforms—World Bank

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The World Bank said seventeen African governments have committed to reforms and actionable plans to expand electricity access as part of Mission 300, an ambitious partnership led by the lender and the African Development Bank Group that aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

The lender said in a statement on Wednesday that governments from Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, and Togo endorsed National Energy Compacts at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum.

The Bank described the compacts as policy blueprints intended to guide public spending, drive reforms, and attract private investment, while serving as a model for the rest of the world.

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Nigeria was not part of the latest group; it had joined earlier this year alongside Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. Collectively, those countries pledged more than 400 policy actions to strengthen utilities, reduce investor risk, and remove bottlenecks.

READ ALSO:World Bank Appoints Africa’s Richest Man, Dangote

Electricity is the bedrock of jobs, opportunity, and economic growth.

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“That’s why Mission 300 is more than a target; it is forging enduring reforms that slash costs, strengthen utilities, and draw in private investment,” World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said.

Since the launch of Mission 300, 30 million people have already been connected, with more than 100 million in the pipeline.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said, “Reliable, affordable power is the fastest multiplier for small and medium enterprises, agro-processing, digital work, and industrial value-addition.
“Give a young entrepreneur power, and you’ve given them a paycheck,” he added.

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National Energy Compacts are at the core of Mission 300, developed and endorsed by governments with technical support from development partners. Tailored to each country’s context, these practical blueprints integrate three core tracks: infrastructure, financing, and policy.

The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group are working with partners, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Sustainable Energy for All, and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program trust fund, to align efforts in support of powering Africa. Many development partners and development finance institutions are also supporting Mission 300 projects through co-financing and technical assistance.

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President of Botswana, Duma Boko, said, “This National Compact is our shared pledge to ensure accessible, reliable and affordable energy as a basic human need, to transform our economy and create jobs, and to electrify our journey to an inclusive high-income country.”

President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, said, “The government of the Republic of Cameroon is committed, through its Energy Compact, to a determined transition towards renewable energies, promoting inclusive universal access and sustainable development based on partnerships and ambitious reforms to build a low-carbon future.”

READ ALSO:Police Restores Peace After Bomb Explosion Rocks Imo Community

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President of the Union of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, noted, “The Comoros Energy Compact is a call for collective action to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, to ensure the country’s emergence in dignity, equity, and shared progress.”

President of Ethiopia, Taye Atske Selassie, noted, “Our National Energy Compact exemplifies Ethiopia’s unwavering dedication to ensuring universal, affordable, and sustainable energy access for all.

“By unlocking our vast renewable resources and strengthening regional interconnections, we aim to foster inclusive growth domestically and propel Africa’s collective momentum toward ending energy poverty. Together, we are committed to building a resilient, equitable, and sustainable energy future for generations to come.”

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