Nigeria announces plan to lift over 5 mln farmers out of extreme poverty

People walk past closed street stalls and shops in Lagos during a government-imposed lockdown to halt the spread of COVID-19 LAGOS, Dec 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigeria plans to lift at least five million smallholder farmers out of extreme poverty with support to increase their productivity, said a top agriculture official.…

Voting ends in Ghana’s general election

Electoral officials count ballots after the voting ended at a polling station in Accra ACCRA, Dec 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Voting ended on Monday in 38,622 polling stations within the 16 regions across Ghana. The voting process generally went peacefully except for two persons sustaining gunshot wounds after a shooting incident…

Covid-19: Africa’s confirmed cases pass 2.26 mln – Africa CDC

Locals wear face masks as a preventive measure against coronavirus, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania ADDIS ABABA, Dec 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent has reached 2,261,589, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The continental disease control and…

Romania’s PM resigns amid failure to achieve election goal

Ludovic Orban BUCHAREST, Dec 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban announced his resignation late Monday, after the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL) he leads failed to achieve its goal of scoring the best in Sunday’s parliamentary election. President Klaus Iohannis soon signed the decree, accepting Orban’s resignation and…

US Pres-elect Biden taps ex-general as first Black Pentagon chief: media

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) –– Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to be the first African-American secretary of defense, US media reported. A veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the…

Covid-19: Paris Airshow cancelled in blow to aerospace recovery

PARIS, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Paris Airshow has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two, raising questions about the speed of the aerospace industry’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Organisers said Europe’s largest industrial showcase, which attracts more than 300,000 people every other June in alternation…

IOC bans Belarus president Lukashenko from Games

BERLIN, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is banned from attending the Olympic Games as head of his country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), as part of provisional sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee on Monday. The IOC banned two other officials from the NOC, including Lukashenko’s son,…

House votes to open US doors to Hong Kong residents

If the US Senate approves, Hong Kong would be the only wealthy place to enjoy Temporary Protected Status WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US House of Representatives voted to welcome Hong Kong residents to live temporarily in the United States, vowing to be a beacon for rights as China clamps…

UK, EU leaders to meet face-to-face to try to seal Brexit trade deal

BRUSSELS/LONDON, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British and EU leaders will meet face-to-face to try to seal a post-Brexit trade deal after failing again to narrow their differences on Monday, increasing the chance of a disorderly parting of ways at the end of the month. With just over three weeks before…

Covid-19: WHO against mandatory vaccines

GENEVA, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization said that persuading people on the merits of a COVID-19 vaccine would be far more effective than trying to make the jabs mandatory. The WHO said it would be down to individual countries as to how they want to conduct their…