Vote count starts in The Gambia presidential election

People wait in line before the opening of a voting station at a market in the Manjai Kunda neighbourhood in Banjul BANJUL, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Polls have closed in The Gambia after citizens cast their vote for president in a tightly fought race seen as a test of democratic…

Hundreds of Ivory Coast women march against rape

Demonstrators protest against violence against women and girls, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast ABIDJAN, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of women in Ivory Coast took to the streets of Abidjan on Saturday to protest a surge of violence against women, in a country where 800 women reported rapes in 2020. The…

Total solar eclipse plunges Antarctica into darkness

Picture released by the Chilean Air Force showing a total solar eclipse from Union Glacier in Antarctica SANTIAGO, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A total solar eclipse plunged Antarctica from summer into darkness early Saturday in a rare astronomical spectacle witnessed by a handful of scientists and thrill-seekers — and countless…

Ethiopia closes schools to boost civil war effort

The fighting has destroyed many schools, the government says  ADDIS ABABA, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopian authorities have closed all secondary schools so pupils can harvest crops for those on the frontline of the civil war, state-affiliated media says. The closure will last for one week, according to the education…

Austria avalanche kills three

  VIENNA, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An avalanche in the Salzburg region killed three people and injured two while they were skiing off-piste, Austria’s Red Cross said Saturday.   The accident happened Saturday about 2,400 metres up in the Lungau district, soon after 1:45 pm local time, Red Cross spokesman…

Update: Million-dollar bond as US school shooter parents plead not guilty

  WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The parents of a 15-year-old who shot dead four students at a US high school with a gun bought by his father pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter Saturday, as a Michigan judgeset a combined million-dollar bond for their release.   James and Jennifer…

Covid-19: Brazil’s Rio cancels New Year celebration as pandemic continues

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The mayor of Rio de Janeiro canceled New Year’s Eve celebrations after Brazil confirmed the first known cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Latin America’s biggest country. Eduardo Paes tweeted on Saturday that he would follow the recommendations of Rio de Janeiro…

Covid-19: Thousands march in Austria, Netherlands against coronavirus lockdown

VIENNA, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people marched through Vienna on Saturday to protest against restrictions on public life designed to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Faced with surging daily infections, the government last month made Austria the first country in Western Europe to reimpose a lockdown and said it…

Covid-19: Chile says detects first case of Omicron variant

SANTIAGO, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chilean health authorities reported on Saturday that they detected the first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a person who had arrived in the copper-producing South American country from Africa. The foreign patient residing in Chile arrived in the country on Nov…

Thousands block roads across Serbia in anti-government protest

Anti-government protesters wear masks during a protest in Belgrade, Serbia BELGRADE, Dec 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people blocked roads across Serbia in an anti-government protest against two new laws that environmentalists say will let foreign companies exploit local resources. Serbia’s government has offered mineral resources to companies including China’s…