Newscast - Africa

Both sides in the two-year-long civil war in northern Ethiopia have now agreed to attend peace talks this weekend in South Africa. following an invitation by the African Union.
Tigrayan rebels confirmed they would take part after the Addis Ababa government confirmed its participation earlier.
The Tigray rebels have however raised some questions about the invited participants, observers, guarantors and the role of the international community.

The Indian health ministry says it has launched an investigation after the World Health Organization said cough syrups made in India were linked to 66 child deaths in The Gambia.
The WHO says the medicines contain dangerous substances that can cause kidney damage, and should be withdrawn immediately.
The Indian government says it has asked the WHO to share its evidence of the link between the syrups and the deaths of the children.
The manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, says it is trying to find out from its buyer in The Gambia details about what happened.

Kenya's telecom giant Safaricom has launched its network in Ethiopia, becoming the first private operator in one of Africa's biggest markets.
Safaricom switched on its network and services in the capital Addis Ababa following network pilots in 10 cities.
Safaricom leads a consortium which includes South Africa’s Vodacom and the UK's Vodafone.
Its entry into the Ethiopian market comes after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took power in 2018 with a promise to liberalise the economy.

President Muhammadu Buhari will present the proposed N19.76 trillion budget for the 2023 fiscal year to the National Assembly.
Presidential aide Femi Adesina says it was virtually one item in the Federal Executive Council meeting. The budget proposal for 2023 was presented and discussed at length.
He explained that the budget proposal would be taken to the National Assembly on Friday morning by the President.
Adesina, says the hybrid FEC sessions (in-person and online participants), was in line with the country’s COVID-19 guidelines.

The Director of Google Cloud Africa, Niral Patel, says Google has spent well above $200m in Nigeria and across Africa in the last year.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Pichai, stated he couldn’t disclose the exact amount the company had invested and said Google had invested well over 20 percent of its commitment on the continent.
At this year’s event, the firm revealed that its subsea cable, Equiano, would launch before the end of 2022.

President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the safe release of 23 train passengers held hostage by gunmen since March.
Officials say the victims, who were found in terrible conditions, were being checked by doctors at a military hospital.
The military announced that a committee it set up had secured the release of the hostages, but gave no details.
The secretary of the committee, Prof Umar Yusuf, told the BBC that no ransom was paid and there was no use of military force.
He said the victims had not changed clothes since they were abducted over six months ago.

The National Coordinator of Service Compact, Mrs. Nnenna Akajemeli, has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on its effective service delivery.
Akajemeli says the leadership of the EFCC has shown greater commitment to exemplary service delivery to all its stakeholders.
She commended the EFCC boss, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on his bold initiatives aimed at improving the environment of law enforcement in the fight against economic and financial crimes.

ASUU’s lawyer, Femi Falana, says the Union is set to sue the Federal Government over the registration of the Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics.
The minister of labor and employment, Chris Ngige, presented certificates of registration to CONUA and NAMDA while explaining that the two bodies will exist along aside from ASUU.
Falani says the registration of CONUA and NAMDA is illegal adding that according to the Trade Unions Act, only one unit is allowed to operate in every sector

Inflation in Turkey has climbed above 83% - a 24-year-high.
The transport, food, and housing sectors have seen the biggest rise in prices.
Independent experts the Inflation Research Group estimate the annual rate is actually 186.27%.
The transport sector saw the sharpest increases in annual prices at 117.66%, followed by food and non-alcoholic drinks at 93%.
Mr. Erdogan has described interest rates as the mother and father of all evil, and his economic policies include intervening in foreign exchange markets.
US Banking giant JP Morgan says Turkey's inflation would remain in the abnormally high range until policies get orthodox.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will set out his plan to get UK debt falling earlier than planned after markets reacted badly to his package of tax cuts.
Mr. Kwarteng said he wanted to move forward with no distractions.
Prime Minister Liz Truss says that abolishing the top rate of tax was only a tiny part of the plan for economic growth.
Mr Kwarteng acknowledged the turbulence caused by his mini-budget, which saw the pound's value plummet, borrowing costs soar, and the Bank of England bail out pension funds.