Sierra Leone declares 3-day national mourning after deadly fuel tanker explosion

The aftermath of a fuel tanker explosion in Freetown FREETOWN, Nov 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio declared three days of national mourning from Monday to Wednesday for the 108 lives lost in a fuel tanker explosion here. During his visit to hospitals treating the victims, Bio…

Covid-19: Russia adds 39,165 cases

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Russia registered 39,165 COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, taking the national tally to 8,795,095, the official monitoring and response center said. The national death toll grew by 1,179 to 246,814 and the number of recoveries increased by 26,806 to 7,561,978. The mortality rate…

Covid-19: UK registers over 30,000 new cases

LONDON, Nov 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Another 30,305 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 9,301,909, according to official figures. The country also reported a further 62 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands…

Sharp jump in number of people facing famine: UN

ROME, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN’s food agency said the number of people on the edge of famine in 43 countries had risen to 45 million, as acute hunger spikes around the world. The jump from 42 million people earlier in the year was largely down to a food…

Sudan internet cuts complicate civil disobedience campaign against coup

People chant slogans during a protest in Khartoum KHARTOUM, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sudanese pro-democracy groups launched two days of civil disobedience and strikes on Sunday in protest against last month’s military coup, though participation appeared to be limited by interruptions to internet and phone connections. In a sign of the…

UN envoy visits Tigray, pleads for humanitarian access

UN official visits Ethiopia’s Tigray, calls for aid access UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths UNITED NATIONS, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs visited Ethiopia’s Tigray region Sunday, pleading for greater access for aid to civilians amid escalating clashes between rebel…

Spurred by reopening, more migrants head for US-Mexico border

Migrants travel in a caravan heading to Mexico City, in Arriaga near the border with Oaxaca state, Mexico TIJUANA (Mexico), Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Emboldened by news that the United States and Mexico will reopen shared land-border crossings, hundreds of migrants have arrived at Mexican border cities like Tijuana, hoping…

Relief as more than 800 migrants disembark in Italy

TRAPANI (Italy), Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 800 migrants who were plucked to safety in the Mediterranean disembarked from a charity rescue vessel in Sicily on Sunday (Nov 7), with most set to be transferred to two waiting quarantine ships. Red Cross workers helped the migrants – some wrapped…

Twitter disables Trends in crisis-hit Ethiopia citing safety and security reasons

Twitter is a popular social media platform for Ethiopians at home and in the disapora ADDIS ABABA, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Micro-blogging social media platform, Twitter announced that they were disabling trends for Ethiopia amid spreading insecurity in the country.The move is to combat the incidence of content that could…

Mexico: 19 dead, three injured in highway accident

  MEXICO CITY, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 19 people were killed and three injured in an accident on the highway that connects Mexico City with the central city of Puebla, authorities said.   The crash occurred when a cargo truck crashed into several vehicles at a toll booth…