World Bank grants $1.2 bln loan to Ukraine

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (NNN-TASS) — The Board of Directors of the World Bank made the decision to approve the extension of a $1.2 bln loan to Ukraine, the World Bank’s press service said. Money will be allocated to support 29 social aid programs for “the most vulnerable people in Ukraine”…

Canadian mining firm seeks to suspend 7,000 workers in Panama

   PANAMA CITY, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals on Thursday asked the Panamanian government to suspend the contracts of some 7,000 workers at Central America’s biggest copper mine, due to be closed under a court ruling. The company said it had been forced to suspend production after…

Brazil invited to join OPEC+ from next year

VIENNA, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Major oil producer Brazil has been invited to join OPEC+ from next year, officials announced, following a meeting of the cartel to further slash production. Brazil is among the world’s top 10 producers and has been the largest oil producer in Latin America since 2016.…

Horn of Africa floods displace more than two million

MOGADISHU, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than two million people across the Horn of Africa have been forced from their homes by torrential rains and floods, according to a tally compiled from government and UN figures. Almost 300 people have also lost their lives in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia as…

Indigenous community in Ecuador wins legal fight to reclaim ancestral land after more than 80 years

Indigenous people of the Siekopai nation demonstrated outside the National Court of Justice (CNJ) QUITO, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An indigenous community has won a court battle to regain ownership over its ancestral homeland in the Ecuadorian Amazon, more than 80 years after they were displaced because of war.An Ecuadorian…

China donates 450 generators to address South Africa power cuts

The gasoline generators are meant to alleviate the country’s severe power cuts PRETORIA, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa has received a consignment of 450 gasoline generators donated by China to alleviate the country’s severe power cuts.The generators have arrived in South Africa and were officially received on Thursday by…

DR Congo regrets EU cancellation of poll observer mission

DR Congo is scheduled to hold general elections on Dec 20 KINSHASA, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo has expressed regret at the European Union’s decision to withdraw its electoral observation mission from the country.DR Congo is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections…

Four Moroccan migrants die off Spain’s coast

The police have opened an inquiry into the incident MADRID, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Four Moroccan migrants died off Spain’s southern coast, near Cadiz, with four others being taken to hospital for severe hypothermia.The bodies of the four, who drowned, were found on Wednesday near their boat that had been…

South Africa: Call to end discrimination against people with albinism

PRETORIA, Dec 1 (NNN-SANEWS) — The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has joined the National Albinism Task Force of South Africa (NATF) in calling for the end of discrimination, hostility and violence against people with albinism. The call was made ahead of the court appearance of South…

South Africa tackles plastic pollution

CAPE TOWN, Dec 1 (NNN-SANEWS) — The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, says government’s initiatives aimed at tackling plastic pollution are making progress. South Africa has achieved this through a combination of voluntary approaches to the plastics industry, coupled with improved household and community waste disposal…