Angola bans opinion polls during electoral campaign period

Angola will hold its general election in August 2022 LUANDA, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Angolan government has banned opinion polling on elections during the electoral campaign period, an official said.Angola will hold its general election in August 2022 and the start of the electoral campaigns is yet to be…

Guinea opposition parties reject junta’s proposed 39-month transition timeline

CONAKRY, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guinea’s main opposition parties have rejected the ruling military junta’s proposed 39-month democratic transition timeline, they said in a statement. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the head of the junta that took power in a coup last September, said this month that it would probably take more…

Coups undermining Sahel anti-militant force: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso – two members of the G5-Sahel anti-militant force – are undermining the mission’s operational capacity, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “I am deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the Sahel, as well as by the…

US Pres Biden seeks to keep China in focus by welcoming ASEAN leaders

WASHINGTON, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Joe Biden will host Southeast Asian leaders in Washington this week, seeking to show his administration remains focused on the Indo-Pacific and the long-term challenge of China despite the Ukraine crisis. A two-day summit with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) begins…

Burkina Faso trapped miners: Families have hope after three weeks

Rescue efforts are continuing day and night OUAGADOUGOU, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The families of two of eight miners trapped by flood waters in a zinc mine in Burkina Faso last month are hopeful the workers will be found alive. “It’s been three weeks of sleepless nights for all of…

Plane with 11 aboard crashes in Cameroon: ministry

YAOUNDE, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A plane carrying 11 people crashed in a forest in central Cameroon on Wednesday, the Ministry of Transport said. Air traffic controllers “lost radio contact with the aircraft” which was later “located in the forest” near Nanga Eboko, around 150 kilometres northeast of the capital…

Covid-19: One million dead – five things to know about America’s pandemic

WASHINGTON, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One million dead from Covid-19: two years ago it would have been unimaginable, but now the United States is on the verge of surpassing this terrible milestone. It will be the first country known to do so, although experts warn that the true death toll…

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Truce in Ukraine is not a prospect of near future, says UN chief

VIENNA, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres does not see the possibility of concluding peace or achieving a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine at the moment. “At the present moment, there are no immediate chances of a peace agreement or immediate chances for a global ceasefire,” he…

UN demands probe into killing of Al Jazeera journalist by Israeli soldiers

Palestinian cameraman Mujahed al-Saadi (C) of Palestine Today TV mourns with other journalists over the body of veteran Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh (Akleh), who was shot dead as she covered a raid on the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp at the hospital in Jenin. GENEVA, May  12 (NNN-AGENCIES) —…

EU lifts mask mandate for flights, airports from Monday: agency

 BERLIN, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU will lift its mask requirement for flights and airports from next week, its aviation safety agency said on Wednesday, as the pandemic eases in Europe. “The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued an…