US Pres Trump says China trade deal might have to wait for 2020 election

US Pres Donald Trump and Pres Xi of China LONDON, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump said a trade agreement with China might have to wait until after the US presidential election in November 2020, denting hopes of a quick resolution to the dispute which has weighed on…

France and EU ready to fight back over U.S. tariff threat, ministers say

The US government said it may impose duties of up to 100 per cent on US$2.4 billion of imports from France, including champagne, handbags, cheese and other products PARIS, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France and the European Union are ready to fight back over the latest U.S. tariff threats on…

South African court cuts jail term for farmers in coffin case

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A South African court has cut the sentences of two white farmers who forced a black man into a coffin and threatened to kill him, sparking nationwide outrage. Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson had their convictions for attempted murder and intimidation set aside by…

Update: Huge blaze at Sudan ceramics factory kills 23

KHARTOUM, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of people killed in the fire which swept through a ceramics factory in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum has risen to 23, while more than 130 have been injured, the government has said in a statement.The fire was triggered after a gas tanker exploded, it…

US court orders banks to release Trump’s financial documents

NEW YORK, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A US appeals court ruled Tuesday that two banks must hand over documents about Donald Trump’s finances to Congress, in the latest legal blow to the president.Two Democratic-controlled committees issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Capital One in April demanding that they hand over…

Nigeria: Universities Commission uncovers 100 fake professors in varsities

NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Abubakar Rasheed ABUJA, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The National Universities Commission has said it has uncovered about 100 fake professors across Nigerian universities.The NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Abubakar Rasheed, stated this in the November edition of the commission’s bulletin.The ES noted that the commission published the…

Burkina Faso: 20 militants, 3 soldiers killed in clashes near Mali border

OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Burkina Faso’s armed forces says soldiers have killed at least 20 militants after gunmen launched two simultaneous overnight attacks on military positions. Islamic extremists have increased attacks and gained more territories this year in Burkina Faso, displacing nearly half a million people. The office of the armed forces commander general said in a statement that…

US Pres Trump blasts French counter-part Macron ‘brain dead’ comments as ‘nasty’

LONDON, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump has accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of being “nasty” for saying Nato was “brain dead”. Trump is in London for a summit marking the Western military alliance’s 70th anniversary. Trump said Nato served a great purpose, and Macron’s remarks had…

‘Internet fraud academy’ busted in Nigeria: anti-corruption agency

ABUJA, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency says it has arrested 23 people undergoing training in internet fraud scams in a remote village in the south of the country.The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the suspects – aged between 19 and 35 – were being trained on…

Anger, hope and pleas for action at UN climate meet

MADRID, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Confronted with a climate crisis threatening civilisation itself, humanity must choose between hope and surrender, UN chief Antonio Guterres told the opening plenary of a UN climate conference. “One is the path of surrender, where we have sleep-walked past the point of no return, jeopardising…