Ethiopia-Tigray crisis: Kenya ex-President Kenyatta, other leaders launch AU monitoring mission

Mission launched by ex-Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria MEKELLE (Tigray,Ethiopia), Dec 30 (NNN-KBC) — The joint African Union Monitoring, Verification and Compliance Mechanism (MVCM) to monitor Ethiopia’s Tigray peace agreement has been unveiled. The three-member mission was officially launched by Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta together…

US: Search suspended for 4 missing from helicopter crash off coast of Louisiana

Debris from helicopter crash 10 miles off Southwest Pass, Louisiana NEW ORLEANS, Dec 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday night suspended the search and rescue mission for four people on board a helicopter which crashed off the coast of the southern state of Louisiana, officials said. The crew…

Brazil’s Lula unveils final cabinet appointments

BRASILIA, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday unveiled the final 16 appointments to his 37-member cabinet in the lead-up to his inauguration on Sunday. All will be sworn in during the inauguration ceremony at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, the seat of the executive…

South Africa: Government hosts memorial service for victims of Boksburg explosion

Police officers and forensic experts stand beside bodies in Boksburg, a city east of Johannesburg JOHANNESBURG, Dec 30 (NNN-SANEWS) — Mourners are expected to pay their respects to the victims of the of Boksburg explosion during a memorial service hosted by the Gauteng provincial government on Friday at the Boksburg…

US: Fierce winter storm death toll rises to 61 but situation improves

 WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from a fierce winter storm that gripped much of the United States over Christmas rose to at least 61 on Thursday, officials said. Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said two more deaths had been reported in the western New York region that…

Nearly 1,700 journalists killed worldwide over past 20 years: RSF

PARIS, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nearly 1,700 journalists have been killed worldwide over the past 20 years, an average of more than 80 a year, according to an analysis published by Reporters Without Borders. The two decades between 2003 and 2022 were “especially deadly decades for those in the service…

Covid-19: True death toll still elusive, three years in – University of Geneva

 PARIS, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The true global death toll of Covid-19 remains difficult to nail down three years after the first case was detected, though experts agree there have been far more fatalities than officially reported. The difference between the official and real figures could diverge even further next…

Covid-19: Concern over China’s surge ‘understandable’, says WHO chief

GENEVA, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Restrictions some countries have introduced in response to China’s Covid-19 surge are “understandable”, given the lack of information from Beijing, the head of the World Health Organization said. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged China to be more forthcoming on the pandemic situation in the…

UN won’t halt aid to Afghanistan despite ban on women in NGOs

 UNITED NATIONS, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations said Thursday it would not stop providing help to Afghanistan despite the Taliban ban on women working in the country’s aid sector. “Let me make it very clear that the United Nations and humanitarian partners are very committed to the delivery…

Pres Biden signs $1.7 trillion US government spending bill

 SAINT CROIX (US Virgin Islands), Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden on Thursday signed off on a $1.7 trillion spending bill that will keep the US government funded through the next fiscal year — notably including another big package for Ukraine’s war effort. Biden, vacationing over the New Year’s…