Uganda: 7 traders killed in nasty accident in Lira

KAMPALA, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least seven traders were killed and scores injured in an accident that occurred in Agali sub-county, Lira district.The seven were killed when a truck they were traveling aboard with over 50 other market vendors and their merchandise, overturned at Piiawac along Abako-Lira road at…

Mali’s ruler urges ECOWAS to reconsider ‘inhumane’ sanctions

Government said rampant insecurity means peaceful elections cannot be guaranteed BAMAKO, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mali’s military ruler Assimi Goita has said Bamako is open to dialogue after the 15-member West African economic bloc, ECOWAS, imposed additional sanctions on the troubled Sahel country over delayed elections.Military commander Goita seized power…

Covid-19: Over 50% of Europeans on track to contract Omicron, says WHO

  COPENHAGEN, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than half of people in Europe are on track to contract the Omicron coronavirus variant in the next two months if infections continue at current rates, the World Health Organization said.    “At this rate, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) forecasts that more…

Ethiopia-Tigray conflict: 17 killed in drone strike in Mai Tsebri – aid workers

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seventeen civilians have been killed in a drone strike in the town of Mai Tsebri in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region, aid workers said.    “The strike at Mai Tsebri occurred in the afternoon of Monday and killed 17 civilians working at the flour mill,”…

Four soldiers killed in Burkina Faso attack

OUAGADOUGOU, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least four soldiers were killed in an attack blamed on jihadists in northern Burkina Faso, security sources said.    The “terrorists” targeted a military detachment between Markoye and Tokabangou, near the border with Niger, one of the sources said, using the army’s term for…

Global growth to ‘decelerate markedly’ in 2022: World Bank

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Global growth will “decelerate markedly” this year as Covid-19 outbreaks and supply chain snarls persist while government aid programs expire, the World Bank said.    The Washington-based development lender forecast growth would slow to 4.1 percent this year from an estimated 5.5 percent in 2021,…

Covid-19: Repeated boosters not a viable strategy – WHO

GENEVA, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — WHO experts warned that repeating booster doses of the original Covid vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants and called for new jabs that better protect against transmission.   An expert group created by the World Health Organization to assess the performance of…

Poet Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear on US coin

   WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poet and activist Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman to appear on the US quarter, in a new version of the coin unveiled by the US Mint on Monday.     Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” will also be the first…

Covid-19: Poland records 100,000 Covid-linked deaths

 WARSAW, Jan 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 100,000 people have died in Poland from Covid since the start of the pandemic, the government said, as the mortality rate in the country is among the highest in the world. “It’s another sad day but particularly so today because we have crossed…

Chilean Electoral Court proclaims Gabriel Boric President

SANTIAGO, Jan 11 (NNN-TELESUR) — Chile’s Tribunal Calificador de Elecciones (Tricel-official electoral body) officially proclaimed Monday the victory of the Apruebo Dignidad candidate, Gabriel Boric, in the presidential elections of Dec 19, two months before his inauguration, scheduled for March 11. On Dec 19, it was indicated in the ceremony,…