EU gives 250 camels as gift to Mauritania military to counter jihadists

NOUAKCHOTT, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU has given Mauritania 250 camels as part of its efforts to combat the threat of jihadists and boost border security in the Sahel country, according to the Sahara Media news agency.The arrival of the animals in the town of Achemim in an eastern…

Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to try to resolve dam dispute in Jan 13 Washington meeting -statement

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan plan to meet in Washington on Jan 13 to try to finalize an agreement to resolve their dispute over a massive dam project on the Nile River in Ethiopia, according to a joint statement issued by the…

African governments struggle to turn around loss-making airlines

Kenya Airways planes NAIROBI, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Governments from Kenya to South Africa are struggling to turn around loss-making state-owned airlines through restructuring or by bringing on board private partners.Ethiopian Airlines has bucked the trend, providing a model that others hope to emulate.Following is a summary of the financial…

African countries borrowing like it’s the 1990s – IMF

Kristalina Georgieva WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Record commodity prices and low global interest rates have encouraged African countries to borrow as they did in the 1990s, but now some are struggling to pay up as their revenue slows along with economic growth. The debt of governments as a percentage…

Dec 12 elections: UK PM Johnson pockets reporter’s phone in hospital row

LONDON, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused of grabbing a journalist’s phone and putting it into his pocket to avoid looking at an image of a boy sleeping on a hospital floor. An ITV television reporter attempted to show Johnson the picture — of a…

Pres Putin says Russia has every reason to appeal against sports ban

PARIS, Dec 11 (NNN-XINHUA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin saidthe ruling by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to ban Russiafrom international sporting events for four years violates the Olympiccharter and Russia has every reason to go to court. “The fact that the (WADA’s) decision applies collectively to all Russianathletes proves…

Libya’s UN-backed gov’t to investigate into “mistreatment” of captured east-based army pilot

TRIPOLI, Dec 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Interior Minister of the UN-backed government of Libya, Fathi Bashagha, issued Sunday an order to start an immediate investigation into “mistreatment” of a captured pilot of the rival east-based army. On Saturday, the UN-backed government forces announced shooting down a fighter jet of the…

Rockets hit Iraq military complex housing US forces: army

BAGHDAD, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several rockets slammed into an Iraqimilitary complex that hosts US forces next to Baghdad International Airporton Monday, wounding six Iraqi troops, the military said. Security forces found launchers with rockets that had not been firedproperly, indicating a larger attack was planned, a military statement said.…

Malaysia reports first case of polio since 1992

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A three-month-old Malaysian infant has been diagnosed with polio, the first case reported in the country in nearly three decades, a top health official said. The baby boy from Tuaran in Malaysia’s Sabah state on Borneo island tested positive for polio on Friday after…

Thailand delays deporting family of Rakhine insurgent leader

Tun Myat Naing is the commander-in-chief of the Arakan Army, which has been fighting the Myanmar army in Rakhine state BANGKOK, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thailand will delay the deportation of the wife and children of the top commander of the Arakan Army insurgent group that is fighting Myanmar’s army…