Beijing Winter Olympic 2022: African athletics opposes politicization of sports

 YAOUNDE, Dec 31 (NNN-XINHUA) — African Athletics Confederation president Hamad Kalkaba Malboum has called for efforts not to let politics get in the way of sports. “Sports is first and foremost apolitical. Sports is a means to bypass egoism so that, young people in the world could gather in one…

Covid-19: As virus surges, England builds temporary hospitals

  LONDON, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — England is building temporary hospitals to help cope with rising coronavirus cases, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday issued a stark warning to those not fully vaccinated.    The new “surge hubs” would deal with a potential overspill of inpatients as surging virus cases…

US voices ‘concern’ on Iran space launch but favors talks

  WASHINGTON, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States voiced concern about Iran’s new space launch, saying it would help the clerical state’s missile program, but indicated it was still pursuing diplomacy to return to a nuclear deal.    “The United States remains concerned with Iran’s development of space launch vehicles,…

US: Tiger shot dead after biting worker’s arm at Florida zoo

   MIAMI, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A tiger was shot dead at a Florida zoo after biting a cleaner who had put his arm through the fencing of its enclosure, law enforcement and local media said.   The cleaner at the Naples Zoo was “was either petting or feeding” the…

Covid-19: Peru closes all beaches for New Year’s celebrations to keep strains at bay

LIMA, Dec 31 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The government of Peru Wednesday announced access to the country’s beaches, lagoons and rivers will be banned on Dec 31 and Jan 1, 2022, to contain the advance of the covid-19 pandemic. Peru’s Health Minister Hernando Cevallos said closing the countries’ beaches for the remainder…

Covid-19: Sanitary emergency declared in Bolivia as cases soar

LA PAZ, Dec 31 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) –The Government of Bolivia declared a nationwide sanitary emergency due to an increase in the number of covid-19 cases, Health Minister Jeyson Auza announced. After a National Strategic Council meeting, Auza conveyed the body’s decision: “This declaration of national health emergency has a social security…

Update: 3 killed in demonstrations in Sudan’s Omdurman city

KHARTOUM, Dec 31 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least three people were killed in demonstrations in Sudan’s Omdurman city on Thursday, said the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), a non-governmental organization. “Three people died in the processions in Omdurman by the bullets from the coup forces and their (allied) militias,” the…

177 asylum seekers evacuated from Libya to Niger: UN

TRIPOLI, Dec 31 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday said it has evacuated 177 asylum-seekers from Libya to Niger. “In the last evacuation flight of the year out of Libya, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has brought 177 vulnerable asylum seekers to safety in…

Covid-19: Quebec announces curfew, Ontario cuts isolation period as Canada tackles Omicron

People queue to pick up coronavirus disease (COVID-19) antigen test kits, as the latest Omicron variant emerges as a threat, at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto TORONTO, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada’s Ontario and Quebec announced fresh measures to combat COVID-19 as the country faces a rise in cases that has…

Covid-19: South Africa lifts curfew as it says fourth wave peaks

Passengers queue to get a PCR test against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) before traveling on international flights, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa PRETORIA, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa has lifted a midnight to 4am curfew on people’s movement with immediate effect, believing the country has passed…