Africa (except North Africa)

KAMPALA, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) has expressed disappointment following financial sanctions imposed against Maj General Abel Kandiho by the United States (US) government.

Maj Gen Kandiho who is the Chief of Military Intelligence in UPDF was slapped with sanctions over alleged human rights abuses committed under his watch.

In a statement by UPDF, the US government acted without due process and in total disregard of the principle of “fair hearing”, coupled with failure to make the necessary consultations.

MAPUTO, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- A five-day online program on training and sharing experience on clinical nursing organized by China's Sichuan Provincial Commission of Health kicked off here on Monday.

More than 40 nurses from the Maputo Central Hospital (HCM) will benefit from the program, which includes lectures, seminars, operational training on COVID-19 patients care, infection prevention and control, as well as basic and advanced life support technologies.

Dec 5 (Reuters) - The United States "strongly condemns" a militant attack on a bus in central Mali that killed at least 31 people and wounded 17, the State Department said on Sunday.

Unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire on the bus as it traveled from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara, 6 miles (10 km) away. 

The villages sit in the heart of the Mopti region, an epicenter of violence in Mali fueled by insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

BANJUL, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Alieu Momar Njie, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of The Gambia, declared on Sunday that Adama Barrow, the leader of the National People's Party (NPP), as the winner of the presidential election held on Saturday.

Barrow amassed 457,519 votes, around 53 percent of the total votes cast. He beat his main challenger Ousainu Darboe of the United Democratic Party (UDP) who collected 238,253 of the votes cast.

MOGADISHU, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Sunday received 500,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by China to help intensify the fight against the pandemic in the country amid the Omicron variant.

Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Fei Shengchao said the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines demonstrates China's commitment to honoring its pledge with actions and protecting the lives and health of the Somali people.

"It speaks to China's commitment to putting people and their lives first, and closing the immunization gap in Somalia," Fei said in Mogadishu.

KITUI, Kenya, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday joined citizens in mourning the death of 24 people who drowned after a bus with more than 30 passengers plunged into River Enziu at a village in Kitui County, eastern part of the country.

Kenyatta sent his condolences to the families that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate incident in Mwingi area when a bus they were traveling in plunged into River Enziu on Saturday afternoon.

BANJUL, Gambia, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Voting came to an end exactly at 5:00 p.m. Saturday evening in Gambia's capital Banjul as the president and other candidates all called for peace and calm in the country.

It is the first presidential election since long-term ruler Yahya Jammeh was defeated in 2016 by the current leader.

ALGIERS, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Saturday that Algeria will launch new reforms to boost the industry sector for economic recovery.

"It is time to establish an industry sector based on coherent and strong foundations, which serves the national interests, and will become one of the pillars of comprehensive and sustained national development," Tebboune said at the opening ceremony of the National Conference on Industry Recovery in the capital Algiers.

KINSHASA, Dec 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A year ago, the world kicked off one of the greatest initiatives in medical history: the rush to vaccinate Earth’s human population against Covid-19.

   Since the launch of mass vaccination in Britain on Nov 8 2020, billions of jabs have since poured off production lines and rich countries are lining up booster shots to top up protection for their citizens.

   But in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there’s little talk of a vaccine success story.

BAMAKO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Unidentified armed men attacked a convoy belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali on Friday, killing one civilian worker and wounding another, the mission said.

The convoy was travelling from the northern city of Kidal to Gao and came under fire about 100 km (62 miles) northeast of the town of Bourem, the mission said in a statement on Twitter.