Newscast - Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is fully in support of the Central Bank of Nigeria's move to redesign the naira notes.
The CBN had last week said it will redesign the N1,000, N500 and N200 notes, effective December 1, a development that has elicited mixed reactions.
President Buhari says reasons given to him by the CBN convinced him that the economy stood to benefit from the reduction in inflation, currency counterfeiting, and the excess cash in circulation.
He says he did not consider the period of three months for the change to the new notes as being short.

The Northern Elders Forum has called on Nigerians to question presidential candidates on how they intend to tackle the country’s challenges if elected.
The spokesman of NEF Baba Hakeem-Ahmed says Nigerians need to press their candidate and find out who among these people should be trusted.
He says the recent town hall meeting the group organised was to give the candidates a platform to tell the northern region and Nigerians what they have in store if elected in the 2023 poll.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is being urged to raise UK defense spending by a key eastern European ally.
Estonia, which borders Russia, has hosted British troops on rotation for years.
Foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu says it was vital all Nato countries spend 3% of gross domestic product on defence.
The new prime minister has previously described such targets as "arbitrary".
He however says he believed in investing in our armed forces" during his campaign to be Tory leader over the summer.

Germany's coalition government has agreed on a plan to legalize recreational cannabis use among adults.
Possession of up to 30g for personal use would be allowed. Licensed shops and pharmacies would sell it.
The plan has yet to be approved in parliament - but also receive the green light by the European Commission. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the plan could become law in 2024.
The German plan would also allow home cultivation of three cannabis plants per adult.

South Africa has appeared to downplay a warning by the US embassy of a possible threat of a terrorist attack over the weekend in the commercial hub, Johannesburg.
The US embassy advised its staff to avoid crowds of people and other large public gatherings in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg”.
The South African presidency noted the US’s terror alert was part of the US government’s standard communication to its citizens.
The presidency says it was the responsibility of the South African security forces to ensure security and safety for all people in the country.
It says law enforcement agencies were monitoring any threats to the citizens and the nation.

Kenya's new 22-member cabinet is set to swear a day after they were approved by parliament.
President William Ruto has retained one minister from his predecessor's cabinet as an adviser on national security and introduced the position of a prime cabinet secretary.
Former head of the central bank, Njuguna Ndung’u, will be the new treasury secretary, while former parliament speaker, Justin Muturi, will be the new attorney general.
The president rewarded his political allies with cabinet appointments. The new cabinet's immediate focus will be to tackle the rising cost of living and the food crisis caused by failed rains.

Lawmakers from Ghana's governing party have suspended their push for Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be removed from office until a relief package is negotiated with the International Monetary Fund.
Ghana is facing its worst economic crisis in years. Its currency has lost 52% of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of the year and annual inflation has climbed to 37%.
The ruling New Patriotic Party said that President Nana Akufo-Addo told them their demands would be acted upon after the 2023 budget reading and culmination of ongoing IMF support talks.
A section of legislators demanded the immediate sacking of the finance minister and his deputy over the state of the economy and the depreciating cedi - the local currency.

The Federal Executive Council has approved the sum of N17.4 billion for the provision of broadband infrastructure for micro, small and medium enterprises as well as tertiary and higher learning institutions across the six geo-political zones.
This will come in the form of a supply of IT communications equipment and furniture for communication centers in the nation’s six geo-political zones by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed added that N660.422 million was also approved for the procurement of operational vehicles for the Federal Road Safety Corps.

The Federal High Court presided by Justice Evelyn Anyadike has ordered the Federal Government to restore Nnamdi Kanu to his status quo before 19th June 2021.
She also ordered the government to pay N500m as damages to him. In Wednesday’s ruling on fundamental human rights and extraordinary rendition of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra.
The Court in its further rulings issued an injunction restraining the Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami from prosecuting Kanu consequent upon his extraordinary rendition.
Kanu had in March this year filed a suit through his special counsel Aloy Ejimakor to enforce his fundamental rights stemming from what Ejimakor had termed his extraordinary rendition from Kenya in June last year.

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it will redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this during a special press briefing in Abuja. The new design and issues will be effective from December 15, 2022.
The CBN boss says the action was taken in order to take control of the currency in circulation,
Emefiele stated that the apex bank has secured the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to roll out new notes to replace the existing currency in circulation.