Sudan sends troops to Ethiopian border as tensions rise

KHARTOUM, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Saturday sees tensions rise between Sudan and neighbour Ethiopia as Khartoum deployed significant military reinforcements along its eastern border days after an ambush attributed to Ethiopian forces.Incidents regularly occur on this agricultural border between Ethiopian farmers who come to cultivate on this territory claimed by…

Covid-10: Netherlands ban UK flights to stop virus ‘mutation’

THE HAGUE, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Dutch government on Sunday banned all passenger flights from Britain after finding the first case of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in the UK. The ban, from 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday until Jan 1, came hours afterBritain announced…

Brexit: UK-EU trade talks enter critical 48-hour period

 BRUSSELS, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK and EU continue to negotiate as talks on a post-Brexit trade deal enter another critical 48-hour period. Talks in Brussels are understood to be focused on how many years it will take to phase in new fisheries arrangements. With the two sides at…

Eastern Africa expand rapid reaction forces, accepting Sudan as new member

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces KIGALI, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Defense ministers from eastern African countries decided to expand the region’s rapid reaction forces by taking in a standby force from Sudan. The size of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), the mandate of which is to enhance…

UN extends peacekeeping mission in DRC, while initiating drawdown

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Security Council extended its peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo by one year, while initiating a plan for a gradual withdrawal from the country. A French resolution concerning the mission, known as MONUSCO, was adopted by 14 out of 15…

Top Burkina court certifies President Kabore’s re-election

OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Burkina Faso’s top court, the Constitutional Council, certified that President Roch Marc Christian Kabore had been re-elected, winning 57.74 of the vote in a ballot on Nov 22. “The candidate Kabore, Roch Marc Christian, is elected president,” the court’s president, Kassoum Kambou, announced. Kambou said…

Covid-19: French Pres Macron ‘stable’ after virus infection – presidency

PARIS, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The condition of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, is stable, and tests had given reassuring results, a statement from his office said. Macron, who is working in self-isolation from an official residence outside Paris, “is still presenting the same…

Covid-19: Pres-elect Biden to receive vaccine Monday

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will get their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, a transition official informed. “On Monday, President-elect Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden will receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Delaware, and they’ll also…

US says cyberattack ‘under control,’ Pres Trump plays down Russian role

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trumpdownplayed a massive cyberattack on US goverment agencies,declaring it “under control” and undercutting the assessment by hisown administration that Russia was to blame. “I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control,”Trump tweeted in his first public comments on the hack,…

Covid-19: US Congress agrees stopgap to avert shutdown

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US lawmakers struggling to reach a critical pandemic relief and federal spending deal struck a last-minute agreement to avert a midnight shutdown of the government and extend negotiations through the weekend. Congressional leaders are frantically trying to resolve sticking points in a roughly $900 billion…