Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali in 2017 is freed

BAMAKO, Oct 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali four years ago has been freed. Gloria Cecilia Narváez was taken hostage in 2017 while working as a missionary in Koutiala, about 400 kilometres east of the capital Bamako. It is not clear whether a ransom was paid to…

Brazil: Extreme drought in triggers fatal sand storms

 SAO PAULO, Oct 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Unusually powerful sandstorms have left at least six people dead in Sao Paulo in recent weeks, local media said, as southeastern Brazil grapples with severe drought.   Scenes of huge orange dust clouds rumbling across the countryside — with winds of up to 100…

Congo’s US$6 billion China mining deal ‘unconscionable’, says draft report

KINSHASA, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Democratic Republic of Congo should renegotiate its US$6 billion infrastructure-for-minerals deal with Chinese investors, according to the draft of a report commissioned by a global anti-corruption body of governments, companies and activists. The draft describes the deal that was first signed in 2008 as “unconscionable”…

Bootleg alcohol kills 17 in Russia

   MOSCOW, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seventeen people in Russia have died after drinking surrogate alcohol containing highly toxic methanol, officials said Friday, with investigators launching criminal probes.   The deaths are the latest in Russia from the consumption of a cheap alcohol substitute, a persistent problem that authorities have…

Morocco names new government, keeps foreign, interior ministers

King Mohammed VI has final say on all major decisions, while the new government’s main task will be to implement a development model that the palace has commissioned RABAT, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI named a new government on Thursday after last month’s election, keeping the foreign…

Ex-Nazi guard, 100, refuses to discuss atrocities at trial

Presiding judge Udo Lechtermann (3rd R) and other judges are pictured before the opening of a trial against defendant Josef S (L) sitting next to his lawyer Stefan Waterkamp (2nd L) in Brandenburg an der Havel, northeastern Germany BRANDENBURG AN DER HAVEL (Germany), Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 100-year-old former…

Nigeria rescues nearly 200 kidnap victims in northwest

Nigerian security forces have rescued nearly 200 kidnap victims during raids on camps of criminal gangs in dense forests in the country’s northwest, police said ABUJA, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigerian security forces have rescued nearly 200 kidnap victims during raids on camps of criminal gangs in dense forests in…

Outgoing German Chancellor Merkel pays farewell visit to Rome, meets PM Draghi

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomes visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Rome, Italy ROME, Oct 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi thanked outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel for playing a “decisive role” in shaping the future of the European Union (EU). His remarks came at the conclusion…

Covid-19: Legal challenge to France’s health pass is thrown out

STRASBOURG, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Court of Human Rights has thrown out a legal challenge to the French government’s Coronavirus regulations, deeming the case inadmissible.The French health passport certifies that a person has recovered from the coronavirus, has been fully vaccinated or has got a negative test result…

Covid-19: Tanzania to release stats on weekly basis – Govt

Tanzania launched mass vaccinations in late July with J&J vaccines DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Tanzanian government has said that Covid-19 statistics will be made public on a weekly basis, and urged the public to adhere to the recommended prevention methods against the coronavirus.Tanzania submitted the latest…