Somalia president says soldiers training in Eritrea to return home this month

MOGADISHU, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that soldiers training in Eritrea will begin returning home this month in an exercise expected to last until January. For months, rumours have swirled in Somalia that the soldiers may have been deployed to the war-torn Ethiopian region of…

Norway queen says King Harald ‘very well’ in hospital

     OSLO, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Norway’s Queen Sonja said King Harald V was doing “very, very well”, a day after her 85-year-old husband was admitted to hospital following an infection.      Harald, who has reigned over the Scandinavian nation for more than 30 years, was admitted to an Oslo…

COP15 Biodiversity Summit: Global ‘peace pact’ signed to protect nature

 MONTREAL, Dec 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Countries reached a historic deal on Monday to reverse decades of environmental destruction threatening the world’s species and ecosystems, in what the UN chief hailed as “a peace pact with nature.” After the marathon COP 15 biodiversity summit in Montreal ran into the small hours,…

US: Severe turbulence on Hawaii-bound flight injures 36

HONOLULU (Hawaii, US), Dec 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Thirty-six people were injured Sunday after a Hawaiian Airlines flight hit severe turbulence before landing in Honolulu, the capital of the US state of Hawaii, local media reported, citing officials. The plane from Phoenix, Arizona, experienced severe turbulence roughly 30 minutes outside of…

Somalia: New US airstrikes kill 15 militants

MOGADISHU, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US military has reported two new airstrikes against al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia’s Hirshabelle State. In a statement, the US military in Africa says it conducted two “collective self-defense” strikes against the group on Dec 14 and 17 in the vicinity of the coastal town…

Zanzibar: Pres Mwinyi orders strict use of Kiswahili in government

ZANZIBAR, Dec 19 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — ZANZIBAR President Hussein Mwinyi has directed Ministries and public institutions in the Isles to implement directive of using Kiswahili in meetings, forums, seminars, workshops and in documents writing to promote the language. “Kiswahili should also be used in policies, laws and regulations, agreements, naming streets,…

South Africa: Army deploys to guard power plants amid energy crisis

PRETORIA, Dec 19 (NNN-NEWVISION) — South Africa has begun deploying the military to protect the country’s electricity plants as the long-running power crisis worsens, state-owned energy utility and the presidency said Saturday. Scheduled blackouts have burdened the continent’s most industrialised country for several years, but got more frequent this year…

Cuba: Municipal governments begin a new stage

Havana, Dec 19 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The National Electoral Council (CEN) validated on Saturday the constitution of the 168 municipal assemblies of Popular Power, as a fundamental piece of the government apparatus in Cuba.     According to the results collected by the CEN, these bodies were constituted “with total adherence to…

ANC conference: Mkhize rivals Ramaphosa in tight ANC Party race

Ramaphosa (L) seen as favourite ahead of Mkhize (R)  JOHANNESBURG, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is in a tight party leadership race against his former health minister – who he forced to resign amid corruption allegations. Zweli Mkhize is enjoying a last minute surge at the…

International Migrants Day: UN Chief urges protection of migrants

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called for the protection and respect of migrants, who he described as powerful drivers of “economic growth, dynamism, and understanding.” “They must be respected without discrimination — and irrespective of whether their movement is forced, voluntary, or formally…