UN ends peacekeeping mission in Sudan

Unamid troops from Tanzania deployed in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, conducting a routine patrol KHARTOUM, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Security Council has ended the peacekeeping mission in Sudan, adding another international trait to Khartoum as it rebuilds from years of war and isolation.The decision reached on Tuesday night…

Covid-19: US will require negative tests for all UK passengers; France reports first case of UK variant

US require all airline passengers arriving from UK to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure starting Monday WASHINGTON/PARIS, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US government will require all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure starting Monday amid…

Covid-19: South Africa rejects claim its variant more dangerous than UK strain

South Africa is the country hit hardest by coronavirus on the continent.PHOTO: REUTERS PRETORIA, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa’s health minister has rejected his British counterpart’s claim that a new coronavirus variant in the country is more contagious or dangerous than a similar one in spreading the UK. “At…

Storm: Over 100,000 New Yorkers suffer from power loss on Christmas

NEW YORK, Dec 26 (NNN-XINHUA) — More than 100,000 New Yorkers woke up Christmas morning on Friday without electricity after a powerful storm lashed the northeast of the United States overnight. Westchester, Rockland, Ulster, Orange and Dutchess counties were particularly hard hit, with 73,926 outages reported between the five of…

UN says three Burundian peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three Burundian peacekeepers have been killed by “unidentified armed combatants” in the Central African Republic, the United Nations said. “Three peacekeepers from Burundi were killed and two others were wounded” following attacks in the south and centre of the country, the UN said in…

Brexit: EU diplomats to get trade deal briefing

 BRUSSELS, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) —EU ambassadors are to receive a Christmas Day briefing on the post-Brexit trade deal reached with the UK. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier will update the diplomats on the agreement, reached after months of fraught talks on fishing rights and business rules. The UK is set to exit…

Covid-19: WHO reports over 655,000 new daily cases

GENEVA, Dec 26 (NNN-TASS) — More than 655,000 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus have been recorded globally in the past day, pushing a total number of infections to 78.19 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its daily bulletin. According to the WHO updates, the coronavirus-related deaths increased…

Moroccan king and Israeli’s Netanyahu hold phone call following normalisation of relations

RABAT/JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation during which the Israeli premier invited the king for a visit. The phone call comes three days after an Israeli delegation signed a US-sponsored normalisation agreement with Morocco in Rabat. “The…

US says ready for stronger post-Brexit ties with UK, EU

WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration congratulated Britain and the EU on their post-Brexit trade deal, saying Washington was ready to build “stronger transatlantic ties.” “Congrats to the UK and the EU for concluding a historic Brexit deal,” read a message from the national security…

Boat capsizes in Lake Albert, killing 26: Ugandan official

KAMPALA, Dec 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 26 people died when their boat sank on Lake Albert, which marks the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ugandan officials said. The boat was carrying passengers between two Ugandan locations in the lake’s northeast on Wednesday when it “hit…