World

French President Emmanuel Macron chairs a video conference with foreign compagnies executives on November 6, 2020 at the Elysee presidential Palace in Paris, as part of a “mini choose France” forum, designed to attract more foreign businesses. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, the presidency said, adding that he would now self-isolate for the next week. He is one of several world leaders who have contracted Covid-19, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump. Macron was tested after the “onset of the first symptoms”…

[FILES] Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US, Sylvanus Nsofor (left); Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Director, Africa Centre, Atlantic Council Dr. Peter Pham at a High-Level Roundtable convened by the Council in Washington, DC, USIn a statement, U.S. said “We are saddened by the passing on December 10 of His Excellency Sylvanus Nsofor, Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States, and offer our sincere condolences to his family and all those who worked with him.  Ambassador Nsofor was an important and influential member of the diplomatic community in Washington, D.C. and helped to strengthen our partnerships across…

Dutch prosecutors Wednesday said a man had cracked US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account in October despite denials from Washington and the company, but added that the so-called “ethical hacker” would not face charges. The man, named as Victor Gevers in Dutch media, reportedly hacked into Trump’s account @realDonaldTrump by guessing his password on October 16, Dutch media reports said. Both the White House and Twitter have strenuously denied reports that the account had been hacked. Gevers, 44, disclosed the hack immediately, saying the password he guessed was “maga2020!”, referring to the Trump slogan “Make America Great Again.” “We believe…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 28, 2018 An anti-Brexit demonstrator waves a Union flag alongside a European Union flag outside the Houses of Parliament in London. – The British government said on September 7, 2020, that it was taking steps to “clarify” how Northern Ireland’s trade will be handled after Brexit, but insisted it remained committed to its EU withdrawal agreement and the province’s peace process. Britain cannot allow the peace process or its internal market “to inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences” of the Brexit protocol relating to Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman…

FILE PHOTO: Indonesian President Joko Widodo reacts as he wears a protective mask during an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Wednesday he would be the first person in the country to be vaccinated for Covid-19 as he unveiled a campaign promising free inoculations for everyone in world’s fourth most-populous nation. Widodo’s announcement comes as Indonesia battles misinformation over the virus in order to stave off a fresh wave of infections, with some 630,000 recorded by Wednesday and more than 19,000 deaths. “The Covid-19 vaccine…

ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 15: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden speaks during a drive-in rally for U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock at Pullman Yard on December 15, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Biden’s stop in Georgia comes less than a month before the January 5 runoff election for Ossoff and Warnock as they try to unseat Republican incumbents Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP President-elect Joe Biden threw his weight into the Democratic battle for control of the US Senate on Tuesday,…

Unemployment. Photo/VON Britain’s unemployment rate has struck the highest level in four years after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out a record amount of jobs, official data showed on Tuesday. The rate — or proportion of the workforce that is unemployed — hit 4.9 percent in the three months to the end of October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. That compared with a rate of 4.8 percent for the quarter to the end of September. The ONS added that the rate was last higher in August 2016, when it had stood at 5.0 percent. Since the…

Sudan’s Prime Minister in the transitional government Abdalla Hamdok addresses people as they celebrate the first anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir, at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, Sudan December 25, 2019. Picture taken December 25, 2019. REUTERS/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has criticised the security sector’s vast business holdings as “unacceptable”, at a time of tension within the civilian-military administration. The transitional government is ruling Sudan following last year’s ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir by the army, amid youth-led pro-democracy mass protests. Hamdok, an economist, was speaking Monday…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 31, 2019 (FILES) In this file photograph taken on October 31, 2019, Guinea’s President Alpha Conde greets his supporters as he stands in a vehicle proceeding along a road in Conakry. – Guinea’s ruling party on August 31 confirmed months of speculation that President Alpha Conde will seek a third term in office, a possibility that had already sparked deadly mass protests. The news came after the 82-year-old president pushed through a constitutional reform in March that critics had already argued was a ploy to allow him to run for office again…

NCDC Director Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu PHOTO: Twitter The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 201 new infections of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. The NCDC made this known via its verified website on Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country has conducted about 848,194 tests since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced. The public health agency said that no death linked to the virus caused by the novel coronavirus was recorded in the country in the last 24 hours. It noted that the new infections brought the country’s totals…