Algeria appoints university professor Abdelaziz Djerad as prime minister

Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad was tasked with forming Algeria’s next government ALGIERS, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Saturday named a university professor and former diplomat as prime minister as he builds a new government to handle political unrest and a looming economic challenge. Abdelaziz Djerad, 65, served…

DR Congo Ebola death toll 2,231 to date – monitoring agency

KINSHASA, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A total of 2,231 people have died out of 3,373 declared cases of Ebola in the current epidemic in the DR Congo, according to the agency overseeing the response, health officials said.Deadly unrest in the fragile state has hampered the fight against the disease during…

Sudan to postpone lifting of fuel subsidies – minister

Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi KHARTOUM, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudan’s transitional government is to postpone lifting fuel subsidies, initially planned as part of the 2020 budget, the information minister said. Finance minister Ibrahim Elbadawi had said on Friday the fuel subsidies will be gradually removed. But the government met on…

‘World’s oldest rhino’ Fausta dies in Tanzania aged 57

Conservationists in Ngorongoro said Fausta (pictured) was the oldest rhino in the world DAR ES SALAAM, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A rhino thought to be the oldest in the world has died in Tanzania, aged 57.Fausta, an eastern black rhino, was first sighted in the Ngorongoro crater in 1965, when…

From newlywed to widow on a deadly morning in Mogadishu

Qali Ibrahim, lost her husband in the car bomb explosion MOGADISHU, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Her ears still ringing from the deafening sound of an explosion near her home in the Somali capital on Saturday morning, 18-year-old Qali Ibrahim frantically dialed her husband’s mobile phone. Minutes earlier he had left…

Presidential election run-off caps turbulent year for Guinea-Bissau

After months of acrimony, the people of Guinea-Bissau are being asked to choose between former prime ministers Domingos Simoes Pereira, from the traditional ruling party, and opposition figure Umaro Sissoco Embalo. Christophe Van Der Perre BISSAU, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guinea-Bissau began counting ballots after a calm day of voting in…

Ghana to rake in US$56 million from cannabis deal

ACCRA, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ghana is said to make an amount of US$56 million in five years from both the cultivation and exportation of industrial hemp pending parliamentary approval.Having about 100 acres of land ready for business, The Hemp Association of Ghana (HAG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)…

Ghana to drop the cedi for ECO – Government

ACCRA, Dec 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ghana will soon swap the cedi for the new single ECOWAS common currency, the eco when trading within the ECOWAS region. “We, in Ghana, are determined to do whatever we can to enable us join the Member States of UEMOA, soon, in the use of…

Constitutional Court rules French government can scan social media for tax cheats

Social media apps PARIS, Dec 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The French government can go ahead with plans to trawl social media to detect tax avoidance, the constitutional court has ruled.Customs and tax officials will be allowed to review users’ profiles, posts and pictures for evidence of undisclosed income.The new rules are…

‘More than 20’ killed in Mogadishu car bomb: police

MOGADISHU, Dec 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A massive car bomb blast left more than 20 people dead and many others wounded in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police and witnesses said. “The blast was devastating, and I could confirm more than 20 civilianskilled, there were many more wounded, but the…