Covid-19: Britain to roll out booster vaccines for over 50s

LONDON, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Booster vaccines will be offered to people aged 50 and over, those in care homes, and frontline health and social care workers, the Government has announced.Experts said the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine should be used as the booster dose for more than 30 million people, and that…

Colombia: Environmental defenders killed in record numbers in 2020 – Report

Activists gather around crosses in front of the Colombian Embassy in Brussels BOGOTA, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombia is the world’s most dangerous country for environmental defenders, a report by Global Witness, an international human rights group, highlighted.For the second year in a row, the Andean nation saw the highest…

Czech president and his predecessor both treated in same hospital

Milos Zeman PRAGUE, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Czech President Milos Zeman has been taken to hospital, his spokesperson said, without disclosing the reason or his anticipated length of stay.A separate adviser to the president told Czech Radio that it was a matter of routine examinations.Zeman’s predecessor, Vaclav Klaus, is also…

Coal replaces wind as Germany’s biggest energy source in first half of the year

This was 20.9 percent more than the same six-month period last year BERLIN, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Coal displaced wind power as Germany’s most important energy source in the first half of the year, with a debate over climate change, measures raging ahead of elections in September.According to calculations by…

Greece probes crash that killed witness in Netanyahu trial

A coast guard vessel arrives with two bodies at Pythagorio port, on the eastern Aegean island of Samos ATHENS, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greek authorities are investigating the crash of a private plane from Israel that killed a prosecution witness in Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.Haim Geron, a former senior official…

Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis: Protest against abuses in Tigray region held at UNHCR’s Geneva HQ

300 protesters gathered in Geneva in front of the United Nations headquarters GENEVA, Sept 15 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Around 300 protesters gathered in Geneva in front of the United Nations headquarters to call for an independent investigation into alleged human rights violations in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict.The protest came as the UN…

Nigeria faces growing cholera outbreak, Covid cases

Cholera bacteria ABUJA, Sept 15 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Nigeria is seeing one of its worst cholera outbreaks in years, with more than 2,300 people dying from suspected cases as the West African nation struggles to deal with its impact alongside the coronavirus pandemic.A total of 69,925 suspected cholera infections had been…

AfCFTA Secretariat signs landmark agreement with UK Government

The AfCFTA is headquartered in Accra, Ghana ACCRA (Ghana), Sept 15 (NNN-GNA) — The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom (UK) Government to formalise shared commitment to the success of the agreement.A statement issued by the UK High…

Burkina Faso rescues 374 children from traffickers

Last year, 2,318 children were intercepted through checks on buses OUAGADOUGOU, Sept 15 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Burkina Faso authorities rescued 374 children between January and March from being trafficked to neighbouring countries to work in agriculture or small-scale mines, government figures released showed.“For some time now, this phenomenon affecting children has…

Djibouti prez, 74, undergoing medical checks due to ‘lack of rest’: government

Campaign signboards of Ismail Omar Guelleh, Djibouti president DJIBOUTI, Sept 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ismail Omar Guelleh, the Djiboutian president has been reported ill but the Minister of Foreign Affairs says it is as a result of fatigue and not as bad as it is being made to seem.“President Ismail Omar…