Niger’s government has announced plans to ramp up military presence in a region in which more than 100 civilians were killed in an attack by gunmen over the weekend.

Niger aims to permanently set up a company in the affected province, said the commander in charge, Mamane Sani.

Sani spoke after visiting the site of Saturday’s attack on two villages near the border with Mali together with Prime Minister Brigi Rafini.

He said more than 100 people were killed in the attack on two villages – Tchombangou and Zaroumdareye – with around 30 others injured.

According to Sani, no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Terrorist groups that have pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda or the militant group, Islamic State (IS), are active in Niger and other countries in the region.

The government has little control over the desert-like expanses outside the cities, a fact exploited by both jihadist groups and criminal networks.

Niger is one of the most important transit countries for African migrants, who want to reach Europe via the Mediterranean.

Together with Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Burkina Faso, Niger is part of the G5 Sahel group that has pledged to fight terrorist groups. (dpa/NAN)

A dialysis patient is the first person in the world to receive the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine outside a clinical trial.

Brian Pinker, 82, received the jab at Oxford University hospital in Oxford at 7:30 am (0730 GMT), according to Britain’s National Health Service.

Pinker, who is from Oxford, said he was proud to be receiving the jab in his home city, which is 82 kilometres north of London.

“I am so pleased to be getting the COVID-19 vaccine today and I’m really proud that it is one that was invented in Oxford,” he said.

“The nurses, doctors and staff today have all been brilliant and I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife Shirley later this year.”

It comes after the vaccine was approved first by Britain’s regulatory body, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), for emergency usage on Dec. 30.

Britain began its mass vaccination programme in early December with the Pfizer/BioNTech injection. (dpa/NAN)

Seventeen more U.S. soldiers and six civilians in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said on Monday.

The USFK said in a statement that 23 USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between Dec. 16 and 31.

Eight service members and one dependent arrived at Osan Air Base on U.S. government-chartered flights from the United States on Dec. 16, 21 and 29.

The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

Nine service members, three dependents, one contractor and one retiree arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on international commercial flights on Dec. 16, 19, 21, 27, 28, 29 and 31.

The confirmed patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys and Osan Air Base, both of which are located in Pyeongtaek.

The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 509, according to Yonhap news agency.

The COVID-19 resurged here since November.

In the latest tally, South Korea reported 1,020 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 64,264.

The daily caseload rose above 1,000 in three days, hovering above 100 for 58 days since Nov. 8. (Xinhua/NAN)