The EU and Britain failed to reach an agreement on how to divvy up post-Brexit fish quotas in shared waters from next year meaning provisional quotas will apply.
EU fishing commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius says despite their best efforts to conclude in a timely manner, consultations with the UK on fishing opportunities for 2022 are still ongoing.
He announced that the European Union fishing ministers had approved quotas from January 1, 2022, in EU waters extending into the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Black Sea.
Slovenian Fishing Minister Joze Podgorsek says they haven’t reached an agreement with the UK and remain optimistic that it will be possible to reach it by the 20th of December.
He says that provisional quotas with the UK on shared fishing stocks would remain in force until a new agreement was hammered out.

Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced that parliament will remain suspended until fresh elections are held a year from now.
Mr Saied also laid out plans for a referendum on the constitution next year.
Tunisian President Kais Saied has continued to cement his hold on power while stressing that his actions have been necessary to shake a corrupt political status quo and reinvigorate the failing economy.
The president has set the date for a referendum on the constitution to take place next 25 July a year from the day he staged his dramatic seizure of full executive power.

Ethiopia has rejected a plan by the UN's top human rights body to hold a special session on Friday to discuss the human rights situation in the country.
Ethiopia's foreign ministry says that it was perplexing and saddened by the UN Human Rights Council's decision to hold the session at the request of the European Union.
The Ethiopian government called on member states of the UN rights body to reject and vote against the special session.
The government says carrying out an investigation into the violations of human rights and atrocities committed by the TPLF terrorist group in Afar and Amhara regional states should be the priority at the moment.
The UN rights council says the session will discuss the grave human rights situation in Ethiopia.

A Kenyan court suspended a government order to prevent those who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from accessing services and entering public places such as national parks, bars and restaurants.
High Court judge Antony Mrima however suspended the order pending a hearing of the case filed by a businessman who termed the directive tyrannical and a gross violation of the constitution.
Campaigners including Human Rights Watch have criticised the directive as discriminatory and urged the government to abandon the plan, which also requires visitors from Europe to provide proof of full vaccination.
The health minister Mutahi Kagwe however defended the order saying it was the government’s duty to protect the rights of the vaccinated from exposure to infection.

The US State Department says the United States has targeted eight people from the Democratic Republic of Congo with visa restrictions for their suspected role in illegal wildlife or timber trafficking.
The State Department says the eight Congolese nationals had been sanctioned under Washington’s Immigration and Nationality Act, which means they could be barred entry to the United States.
It says the act targets wildlife and timber traffickers who are believed to be, or have been, complicit in or involved in trafficking in wildlife, wildlife parts, or products.

The African Development Bank says it will lend Nigeria $210 million to support smallholder farmers producing strategic crops and livestock.
AfDB says the funding is the first loan under an AfDB programme designed to reduce logistics costs. The programme is targeting seven states in Nigeria initially before being extended to 17 other African nations.
The bank says the project will support Nigeria’s efforts to raise agricultural productivity, promote investment, create wealth and jobs and transform rural areas into corridors of economic prosperity.

The House of Representatives has approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s loan request of 5.8 billion dollars and grant of $10 million.
The loans are to be sourced from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, China Exim bank, Chinese Africa Development Fund, and International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The House asked that the terms and conditions of the loan from the funding agencies be forwarded to the National Assembly for proper execution and commendation.

The National Security Adviser, Retired Major-General Babagana Monguno, has named some groups supporting terrorist organisations in the Sahel region.
Monguno says terrorism and the rapid escalation of violent activities by militant Islamist groups in the Sahel since 2016 have been primarily driven by the Islamic State in Greater Sahara which mainly operates in Mali and extends to the Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.
He says It is bolstered by activities of groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin, the Islamic and Muslim Support Group and ISGS, which have continued to pose an imminent threat to the stability of the region.
He added that there is a need to reassess and reset foreign and regional government strategies towards the Sahel and set aside faulty assumptions.

The UK government has removed Nigeria and 10 other countries from a red list in the wake of the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19. 
The red list was reintroduced in late November as a precaution after the emergence of the Omicron variant.
The ministers however have cited the further spread of the variant as a reason for reviewing travel rules.
All UK arrivals from red list countries must take COVID tests within 48 hours of setting off for the UK and PCR tests within two days of their arrival.

Britain announced additional measures to stop the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, including the extension of booster jabs to people over 30.
The Department of Health and Social Care says Fully vaccinated contacts of people who test positive for Covid-19 will be required to take daily lateral flow tests for seven days from Tuesday.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the Omicron variant is quickly gaining ground in the UK and is expected to become the dominant strain by mid-December.
Javid says anyone eligible for a booster should get it as soon as possible.