Russia explosion: Teen detonates device at Orthodox Convent School, 8 injured

The 18-year-old man is reported to be a graduate of the Orthodox school in Serpukhov MOSCOW, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Russian teenager has detonated an explosive device at an Orthodox school near a convent outside Moscow, injuring a number of people. Russia’s interior ministry says an 18-year-old man, a…

Channel tragedy: French authorities identify 26 victims – mostly Iraqi Kurds

PARIS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French authorities have formally identified 26 of the 27 bodies recovered after last month’s mass drowning in the English Channel. Sixteen Kurdish people from Iraq and four Afghans were among the victims, whose families are being informed. They included two friends from the same town…

Covid-19: UK removes all 11 African countries from red list as Omicron had spread widely

LONDON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The government has said that all 11 countries will be removed from the UK’s travel red list from 4am on Wednesday. Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are on the list. The red list was reintroduced in late…

Covid-19: US crosses 800,000 deaths

     WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, crossed 800,000 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University showed.      The figure is greater than the entire population of several states, including North Dakota and Alaska.      Around…

UN blamed Taliban for at least 72 extrajudicial killings

   GENEVA, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN has said there are “credible allegations” of more than 100 extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August, with most blamed on the country’s new rulers.    UN deputy rights chief Nada Al-Nashif said she was deeply alarmed by…

South African court orders ex-president Zuma back to jail

  JOHANNESBURG, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A South African court ordered former president Jacob Zuma to return to prison, invalidating the medical parole he was granted in September.    The decision to place Zuma on medical parole is “declared unlawful and set aside”, read the ruling by High Court Judge Elias Matojane.…

Tunisia opposition condemns extension of parliament freeze

   TUNIS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied slammed his decision to extend a months-long suspension of parliament, accusing him of dealing another blow to the country’s nascent democracy.    Saied had on Monday vowed to press on with reforms to Tunisia’s political system, months after…

Latest: Haiti gas truck explosion deaths rises to 62

  CAP-HAITIEN (Haiti), Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A massive gas truck explosion killed at least 62 people in Haiti on Tuesday, after bystanders swarmed the vehicle to collect spilled fuel — a precious commodity in a nation plaguedby acute shortages.   The blast in Haiti’s second city of Cap-Haitien is…

13 killed in boat accident in western DR Congo

KINSHASA, Dec 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Thirteen people have been killed and 17 others were rescued following a shipwreck overnight from Saturday to Sunday on the Congo River near the Ibali village, Mai-Ndombe province, in the Western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to Crispin Ipondo Bonda, provincial minister in…

Culture day on Beijing Winter Olympics held in New York

People participate in a flash mob on Jan 20, 2020 during the “Chinese Lantern, Highlight 2022” Cultural Day for the Beijing Winter Olympics in New York NEW YORK, Dec 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — A Winter Olympics-themed Day was celebrated at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden in New York on…