Sudan signs deal on normalising ties with Israel, agrees aid deal

KHARTOUM, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan signed the “Abraham Accords” paving the way to normalising ties with Israel, alongside an aid deal to access $1 billion annual World Bank financing, during an unprecedented visit by the US treasury chief.The deals were signed less than a month after Washington removed Khartoum…

Covid-19: Kenyan government sacks 86 doctors striking coronavirus conditions

NAIROBI, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Kenyan government dismissed 86 doctors who had refused to resume work amid an ongoing strike since December 2020, against poor working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.Chibanzi Mawachonda, secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Pharmacists and Dentist’s Union (KMPDU), a doctors’ association, was among…

Over two million persons displaced in Nigeria – Minister

ABUJA, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouk, said the country currently has over two million displaced persons.She said the affected persons were displaced as a result of the activities of insurgents and bandits or through communal clashes.Farouk disclosed this in…

Covid-19: Nigeria to get vaccine by ‘end of the month’

Nigeria has so far recorded nearly 100,000 cases of Covid-19 ABUJA, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria expects to get its first batch of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of this month as part of its plan to inoculate 40% of the population this year and a further 30% next year, the head of the…

Covid-19: Israel leads in vaccination rates – but is ‘not out of the woods yet’

 JERUSALEM, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The top scientist advising Israel’s government on coronavirus has described the country’s early vaccination rate as “amazing” – but warned it will not be enough to overcome the disease for months yet. So far some one-and-a-half-million people – more than 15% of the population, including half…

Bangladesh seeks Pakistan’s apology for committing genocide in 1971

DHAKA, Jan 8 (NNN-BSS) — Dhaka today reiterated its call toPakistan to offer an official apology for the genocide committed inBangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971. The call was made while the newly appointed High Commissioner ofPakistan to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddiqui paid a courtesy call onState Minister for Foreign Affairs…

South Korean delegation heads to Iran over seized oil tanker

SEOUL, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A South Korean delegation left for Iran onThursday to negotiate the early release of an oil tanker and its crew seizedin strategic Gulf waters this week. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had seized the South Korean-flagged Hankuk Chemi — which it said was carrying 7,200…

Iraq court orders Trump arrest over drone strike on Iran general

BAGHDAD, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Baghdad court has issued a warrant for the arrest of US President Donald Trump as part of its investigation into the killing of a top Iraqi paramilitary commander. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s largely pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, died in…

Covid-19: Asian nations toughen virus curbs as Europe fights new strain

TOKYO, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Countries in Asia were stepping up theirfight against the coronavirus to suppress a contagion they hadpreviously tamed, as warnings grew in Europe over a new fast-spreadingvariant. Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo as the capital regionclocked a 24-hour record of almost 2,500 infections,…

US Congress certifies Biden win over Trump

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Congress formally certified Joe Biden as the next US president on Thursday, dealing a hammer blow to Donald Trump whose supporters stormed the Capitol hours earlier, triggering unprecedented scenes of mayhem in the seat of American democracy. Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives…