Newscast - Africa

Sudan’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says he will not participate in any government that comes after a transitional period and denied that the army was responsible for the deaths of protesters rallying against the military takeover.
The independent Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors says at least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded.
Al-Burhan told Al Jazeera that It is our pledge that they are committed to completing the democratic transition, holding elections on time, and committed to not stopping any political activity as long as it is peaceful.

The Ethiopian authorities have described as impotent an alliance of nine anti-government groups formed to fight federal forces and their allies.
Government spokesman Kebede Desissa claimed the new coalition had no support and was the weakest political force in the country.
He says the rebel groups are baseless, have no social bases and they have no capacity to change anything.
Mr Kebede added that he regarded current events as normal Ethiopian politics because whenever there is a need for political stability in the country, Ethiopian diasporas come together and form an alliance thinking that the government cannot stay in power and the government is weakened.

The West African regional bloc Ecowas has imposed sanctions against Mali's transitional leaders and their families. The sanctions range from travel bans to a freeze of their financial assets.
It follows their failure to adhere to the timetable of returning the country to constitutional rule by February next year.
Ecowas says that the Malian authorities had informed them of their inability to meet the transition Deadline of holding elections.
It says Ecowas will be considering further sanctions next month if there's still been no progress towards elections in Mali.

The Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators has issued a-14 day ultimatum to the federal government to publicly parade and prosecute the perpetrators of the invasion of Justice Mary Odili’s house in Abuja.
The Coalition, in a statement, gave the ultimatum after its general assembly meeting.
The statement says If the government failed to answer and apologise to Odili’s family, Niger Delta people and prosecute the perpetrators within the next fourteen days.
The Coalition says it viewed the action as a ploy to intimidate, harass, humiliate and forcefully evict her from her current position in the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria says that it recorded a significant reduction in the volume and cost of foreign exchange procurement in 2020, the year of COVID when the entire world was on lockdown and businesses closed.
The bank says a total of $1.83 billion was procured over the period, representing a decline of $2.12 billion or 53.67 per cent compared to the $3.95 billion procured in 2019.
The annual report by the apex bank’s Currency Operations Department shows that the CBN also slashed its expenditure on currency printing from N75.52 billion in 2019 to N58.61 billion in 2020.
The central bank explained that this was used to fund Bureaux De Change operations, payment of estacode and Personal Travel Allowances to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency has commenced a controlled demolition at the site of the collapsed building in Ikoyi.
The two other towers beside the one that caved in on Monday, November 1 have been left untouched as agencies of government continue to clear the rubble at the site.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has, however, says that the other two structures would be subjected to ageing analysis.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has suspended the collation of results for the Anambra State governorship election.
INEC’s Chief Returning Officer for the election, Professor Florence Obi, says they have collated results from 20 out of 21 local government areas.
Professor Obi says a declaration would only be made after a supplementary election was conducted in the remaining local government – Ihiala.

The United States has approved a $650m sale of air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia in what would be the Biden administration’s first major weapons deal with the Gulf kingdom.
The Pentagon says the US State Department approved the sale to help Riyadh counter current and future threats.
The Pentagon says this proposed sale will support US foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political and economic progress in the Middle East.
It added that Massachusetts-based firm Raytheon would be the principal contractor for the sale of AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles and related equipment.

India has cut the taxes paid by consumers on petrol and diesel after the surging cost of crude oil pushed fuel prices to record highs.
The government says the decision aims to ease price rises and further spur the overall economic cycle.
Global commodity prices have soared this year as economies around the world recover from the pandemic. India's excise duty on petrol has been reduced by 5 rupees per litre, and by 10 rupees on diesel.
The government statement says the reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel will also boost consumption and keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says Global food prices have hit the highest level in over a decade after rising by more than 30% in the last year
The agency's figures highlighted the soaring cost of cereals and vegetable oils around the world.
The UNFAO says its measure of cereal prices was up by more than 22% compared to a year earlier.
The UNFAO says its index of vegetable oil prices was pushed up by rises in the cost of palm, soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils.
The UNFAO says in the case of palm oil, prices have been driven higher after output from Malaysia was subdued due to ongoing shortages of migrant workers.