South Africa’s Pres Ramaphosa encouraged by progress made in Lesotho

PRETORIA, Feb 6 (NNN-SANEWS) — President Cyril Ramaphosa and Lesotho Prime Minister, Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane have held bi-lateral discussions on the progress being made in the Kingdom of Lesotho since the Prime Minister’s ascension to office.  President Ramaphosa hosted Prime Minister Matekane at his official residence at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, Pretoria,…

Tanzania set to sign 1tri/- deal to end power outages: Energy Minister

Minister for Energy, January Makamba DAR ES SALAAM, Feb 5 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — THE Tanzanian government is on Feb 15 expected to sign an agreement of a project dubbed ‘Grid Imara’ worth about 1tri/- to restructure and stabilise the electricity situation in the country, Energy Minister January Makamba informed the National…

Zanzibar: Pres Mwinyi bans food exports to curb food shortage, price hike

ZANZIBAR, Feb 5 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — President Dr Hussein Mwinyi has banned exports of all food commodities as an immediate measure to curb shortages and price hike. According to the statement availed to the media by the Zanzibar Directorate of Presidential Communications Unit, the President imposed the ban while speaking to…

Cattle thieves kill 41 vigilantes in Nigeria’s north

KATSINA (Nigeria), Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A gang of cattle thieves has killed 41 vigilantes in Nigeria’s troubled north in a forest ambush, police said. The incident happened on Thursday in Katsina state when scores of vigilantes from several villages in the Bakori district mobilised to track down the gang,…

Cuba puts state-owned car owners on commuter aid duty

 HAVANA, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cuba has warned drivers of state-owned cars to pick up people at bus stops or face prosecution, as Havana faces painful shortages of diesel fuel, authorities said this week. Diesel has been in very short supply since being diverted in March to run oil-fueled power…

Inter-church rivalry: Three killed in attacks on Ethiopian Orthodox church

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three people have been killed in attacks on a church in southern Ethiopia on Saturday, according to reports by a religious media outlet. The violence erupted against a backdrop of tensions in the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church after rebel bishops created their own…

Abducted WHO doctor freed in Mali

BAMAKO, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A World Health Organization doctor abducted in Mali has been freed, local authorities said on Saturday. “Diawara Mahamadou, a WHO support doctor with the regional health directorate in Menaka, was released on February 2,” said a health official in the town of Menaka in northern…

Peru unrest: 7 Haitians have died this year while waiting to leave Peru – UN

LIMA, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seven Haitian migrants have died this year in the Andean highlands of Peru as their efforts to cross into Bolivia have been stymied by protests against the Lima government, the UN refugee agency said. Six of the deaths, including that of a minor, occurred in…

US cargo train derails, causing huge fire and leaking hazardous gas

EAST PALESTINE (Ohio, US), Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A cargo train derailed in the midwestern United States, sparking a massive fire and triggering the release of small amounts of vinyl chloride, a hazardous chemical, officials said Saturday. No injuries or fatalities were reported after around 50 cars of the 140-car…

East African leaders urge ‘immediate ceasefire’ in east DR Congo

BUJUMBURA (Burundi), Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — East African leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at an extraordinary summit called to find ways of calming the raging conflict. The Saturday talks were hosted in Burundi by the seven-nation East Africa Community (EAC), which is…